Dr. Benedek in this book attempts to present, against a backdrop of war and peace, the basic dynamisms of human relationships. Her thesis is divided into four parts. Part I, on the individual, outlines, in conformity with the orthodox freudian doctrine, the mechanisms of personality growth, maturation and psychosexual development. Part II, on the soldier, deals with the influences of the sudden and deep-going change in the personality brought about by army life: the stresses of induction, acclimatization and demobilization. Part III, on the family in war, is the major essay, 140 pages devoted to such divers subjects as the relationship which exist between sons (soldiers) and their mothers, fathers, siblings, wives and children; mourning for the soldier and the disabled veteran. Part iv, on men, women: the changing sexual mores, is a critique of sexual behavior which highlights the social and sexual problems of femininity in recent years.
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