Ednei Soares is a psychoanalyst and holds a PhD from Radboud University. He is a Research Assistant at the Center for Contemporary European Philosophy and conducts research in Brazil and the Netherlands for the Stichting Psychoanalytische Fondsen. His academic career has included work at Radboud University's Behavioural Science Institute and teaching at universities in Brazil. He is a member of SIPP–ISPP.

By following the thread of fetishism across Sigmund Freud’s work, this book uncovers a fundamental instability within psychoanalytic thought itself. Both historically precise and conceptually bold, it transforms what Freud called a “riddle” into a powerful lens for rethinking sexuality, normativity, and desire. A significant contribution to contemporary debates in psychoanalysis, philosophy, and gender studies. - Léa Silveira, Federal University of Ceará

• AcknowledgementsChapter 1 IntroductionChapter 2 Freud and His Forebears: Binet and Krafft-Ebing 1. The Riddle of Fetishism 2. Alfred Binet and the Riddle of Fetishism Binet and Doubling Binet’s Conceptualization of Fetishism: The Birth of a Riddle 3. Freud, Krafft-Ebing, and the Problem of Perversions Krafft-Ebing’s Classification of Perversions Fetishism, Masochism, and Shared Aetiology 4. Freud’s Clinical Framework: The Neurosis–Perversion OppositionChapter 3 The Neurotic “Negative”: Freud’s Early Perversion Theory 1. Freud’s Early Aetiology of Neurosis and Perversion 2. Inherited Concepts: Trauma, Splitting, and Defence in Freud’s 1890s Work 3. The Nascent “Riddle”: Fetishism’s Challenge to Freud’s Early FrameworkChapter 4 The Initial Confrontation: Fetishism in Freud’s Three Essays and Early Revisions (1905–8) 1. Fetishism and the Breakdown of Freud’s 1905 Framework 2. Childhood Impressions and the Turn to Fantasy 3. Infantile Theories, Castration Anxiety, and the ObjectChapter 5 Deepening the Riddle: Fetishism, Trauma, and the Oedipus Complex (1909–20) 1. On the Genesis of Fetishism (1909) 2. The Role of the Fetish in Totem and Taboo 3. Freud’s Development of Binet’s Theory of Childhood Trauma 4. The Oedipus Complex and the Aetiology of Perversions 5. Fetishism and the RiddleChapter 6 Freud’s Late Works on Fetishism 1. Freud on Fetishism: Early and Late 2. Fetishism (1927) and Other Works 3. Freud on Disavowal, Scotomization, and Splitting in Fetishism 4. Freud on Binet on Double-Sided Fetishes 5. Fetishism in Freud’s Works in the Late 1930s 6. Freud, Fetishism, and the Brain 7. Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory and FetishismChapter 7 “Fetishism” and Freud’s Riddle in Jacques Lacan’s Work 1. Doubling, Personality, and Perversity in Lacan’s Theorization of Fetishism Binet’s Ideas on Paranoia as Doubling of Personality in Lacan’s Explorations Lacan’s Initial Approach to Fetishism Lacan’s Psychoanalytic Model of Doubling 2. Lacan’s Debate on Fetishism with Object-Relation Theory Fetishism as an Object-Relation Phenomenon Fetishism as a Paradigm of Perversion in Lacan’s Theory 3. The Fetish as a Model of the Object of Human Desire in Lacan’s ThinkingConclusion References

Ednei Soares is a psychoanalyst and holds a PhD from Radboud University. He is a Research Assistant at the Center for Contemporary European Philosophy and conducts research in Brazil and the Netherlands for the Stichting Psychoanalytische Fondsen. His academic career has included work at Radboud University's Behavioural Science Institute and teaching at universities in Brazil. He is a member of SIPP–ISPP.

By following the thread of fetishism across Sigmund Freud’s work, this book uncovers a fundamental instability within psychoanalytic thought itself. Both historically precise and conceptually bold, it transforms what Freud called a “riddle” into a powerful lens for rethinking sexuality, normativity, and desire. A significant contribution to contemporary debates in psychoanalysis, philosophy, and gender studies. - Léa Silveira, Federal University of Ceará

• AcknowledgementsChapter 1 IntroductionChapter 2 Freud and His Forebears: Binet and Krafft-Ebing 1. The Riddle of Fetishism 2. Alfred Binet and the Riddle of Fetishism Binet and Doubling Binet’s Conceptualization of Fetishism: The Birth of a Riddle 3. Freud, Krafft-Ebing, and the Problem of Perversions Krafft-Ebing’s Classification of Perversions Fetishism, Masochism, and Shared Aetiology 4. Freud’s Clinical Framework: The Neurosis–Perversion OppositionChapter 3 The Neurotic “Negative”: Freud’s Early Perversion Theory 1. Freud’s Early Aetiology of Neurosis and Perversion 2. Inherited Concepts: Trauma, Splitting, and Defence in Freud’s 1890s Work 3. The Nascent “Riddle”: Fetishism’s Challenge to Freud’s Early FrameworkChapter 4 The Initial Confrontation: Fetishism in Freud’s Three Essays and Early Revisions (1905–8) 1. Fetishism and the Breakdown of Freud’s 1905 Framework 2. Childhood Impressions and the Turn to Fantasy 3. Infantile Theories, Castration Anxiety, and the ObjectChapter 5 Deepening the Riddle: Fetishism, Trauma, and the Oedipus Complex (1909–20) 1. On the Genesis of Fetishism (1909) 2. The Role of the Fetish in Totem and Taboo 3. Freud’s Development of Binet’s Theory of Childhood Trauma 4. The Oedipus Complex and the Aetiology of Perversions 5. Fetishism and the RiddleChapter 6 Freud’s Late Works on Fetishism 1. Freud on Fetishism: Early and Late 2. Fetishism (1927) and Other Works 3. Freud on Disavowal, Scotomization, and Splitting in Fetishism 4. Freud on Binet on Double-Sided Fetishes 5. Fetishism in Freud’s Works in the Late 1930s 6. Freud, Fetishism, and the Brain 7. Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory and FetishismChapter 7 “Fetishism” and Freud’s Riddle in Jacques Lacan’s Work 1. Doubling, Personality, and Perversity in Lacan’s Theorization of Fetishism Binet’s Ideas on Paranoia as Doubling of Personality in Lacan’s Explorations Lacan’s Initial Approach to Fetishism Lacan’s Psychoanalytic Model of Doubling 2. Lacan’s Debate on Fetishism with Object-Relation Theory Fetishism as an Object-Relation Phenomenon Fetishism as a Paradigm of Perversion in Lacan’s Theory 3. The Fetish as a Model of the Object of Human Desire in Lacan’s ThinkingConclusion References

Ednei Soares is a psychoanalyst and holds a PhD from Radboud University. He is a Research Assistant at the Center for Contemporary European Philosophy and conducts research in Brazil and the Netherlands for the Stichting Psychoanalytische Fondsen. His academic career has included work at Radboud University's Behavioural Science Institute and teaching at universities in Brazil. He is a member of SIPP–ISPP.

By following the thread of fetishism across Sigmund Freud’s work, this book uncovers a fundamental instability within psychoanalytic thought itself. Both historically precise and conceptually bold, it transforms what Freud called a “riddle” into a powerful lens for rethinking sexuality, normativity, and desire. A significant contribution to contemporary debates in psychoanalysis, philosophy, and gender studies. - Léa Silveira, Federal University of Ceará

• AcknowledgementsChapter 1 IntroductionChapter 2 Freud and His Forebears: Binet and Krafft-Ebing 1. The Riddle of Fetishism 2. Alfred Binet and the Riddle of Fetishism Binet and Doubling Binet’s Conceptualization of Fetishism: The Birth of a Riddle 3. Freud, Krafft-Ebing, and the Problem of Perversions Krafft-Ebing’s Classification of Perversions Fetishism, Masochism, and Shared Aetiology 4. Freud’s Clinical Framework: The Neurosis–Perversion OppositionChapter 3 The Neurotic “Negative”: Freud’s Early Perversion Theory 1. Freud’s Early Aetiology of Neurosis and Perversion 2. Inherited Concepts: Trauma, Splitting, and Defence in Freud’s 1890s Work 3. The Nascent “Riddle”: Fetishism’s Challenge to Freud’s Early FrameworkChapter 4 The Initial Confrontation: Fetishism in Freud’s Three Essays and Early Revisions (1905–8) 1. Fetishism and the Breakdown of Freud’s 1905 Framework 2. Childhood Impressions and the Turn to Fantasy 3. Infantile Theories, Castration Anxiety, and the ObjectChapter 5 Deepening the Riddle: Fetishism, Trauma, and the Oedipus Complex (1909–20) 1. On the Genesis of Fetishism (1909) 2. The Role of the Fetish in Totem and Taboo 3. Freud’s Development of Binet’s Theory of Childhood Trauma 4. The Oedipus Complex and the Aetiology of Perversions 5. Fetishism and the RiddleChapter 6 Freud’s Late Works on Fetishism 1. Freud on Fetishism: Early and Late 2. Fetishism (1927) and Other Works 3. Freud on Disavowal, Scotomization, and Splitting in Fetishism 4. Freud on Binet on Double-Sided Fetishes 5. Fetishism in Freud’s Works in the Late 1930s 6. Freud, Fetishism, and the Brain 7. Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory and FetishismChapter 7 “Fetishism” and Freud’s Riddle in Jacques Lacan’s Work 1. Doubling, Personality, and Perversity in Lacan’s Theorization of Fetishism Binet’s Ideas on Paranoia as Doubling of Personality in Lacan’s Explorations Lacan’s Initial Approach to Fetishism Lacan’s Psychoanalytic Model of Doubling 2. Lacan’s Debate on Fetishism with Object-Relation Theory Fetishism as an Object-Relation Phenomenon Fetishism as a Paradigm of Perversion in Lacan’s Theory 3. The Fetish as a Model of the Object of Human Desire in Lacan’s ThinkingConclusion References