In this chapter I shall look first at the way in which Sartre theorises sexuality from L"Etre et le néant through to L"Idiot de la famille. It will be seen that one of Sartre's most abiding bêtes noires in this enterprise is the psychoanalytic theory of Freud. Sartre's own theorisation of the sexual difference can be read in many ways, but at one level certainly it is an attempt to define his own position over and against that of Freud — to keep the latter at a safe distance. L"Idiot de la famille is particularly interesting in this respect since it marks the closest point in Sartre's rapprochement with Freud, whilst still being underpinned by a desire to sidestep many crucial Freudian concepts, not least the dynamic unconscious.