The father’s role in the Winnicott ripening process

Abstract

The objective of this study is to explain Winnicott’s conception about the role of the father, from the early stages of the process of personal maturation to the stage of the Oedipus complex. This study describes the different tasks assigned to the father in Winnicott’s works, and shows that the father is significantly important – not only the mother, what is normally stated by commentators – and emphasizes the fact that the role of the father is not limited, like in the traditional theory, to the role of interdictor and that of the law representative. Keywords: Winnicott, Psychoanalysis, Maturation, Environment, Father’s role, Oedipus complex.