This collection of case studies and essays presents Freudian and post Freudian psychoanalytic views of how women develop. Laura Arens Fuerstein traces the histories of women who had distant, cold, dominant mothers and who subsequently developed ties to abusive men. Carolyn Celentano examines the lives of women who had suffocating, intrusive mothers. Ronald W.Levin explains how medical treatment can exacerbate psychosomatic symptoms in patients who had troubled interactions with both parents. Kenneth R.King and Theodore L.Dorpat present an account of an analysis of a father-daughter incest victim.

An essay by Florence Holland, written 20 years ago and now published posthumously, discusses why some women become homosexuals. Susan Kavaler-Adler presents object relations insights into Emily Dickinson's life and work. Sidney M. Rosenblatt and Penny W. Caccavo analyze the symbolism in fairy tales about the evolution of a girl into a woman.