Karen Horney: Neo-Freudianism

While Horney acknowledged and agreed with Freud on many issues, she was also critical of him on several key beliefs. Freud’s notion of “penis envy” in particular was subject to criticism by Horney.[6] She thought Freud had merely stumbled upon women’s jealousy of men’s generic power in the world. Horney accepted that penis envy might occur occasionally in neurotic women, but stated that “womb envy” occurs just as much in men: Horney felt that men were envious of a woman’s ability to bear children. The degree to which men are driven to success may be merely a substitute for the fact that they cannot carry, nurture and bear children.