Bullfighting, as a spectacle, provides a special frame for projections, externalizations, and identifications. The central appeal of bullfighting is sadistic gratification, which seems to be of a mostly parricidal nature. The public experiences intense ambivalence toward the protagonists of the fight, who exert attraction for the id as well as for the superego. The existence of intrasystemic conflicts is pointed out. The history of bullfighting reflects the evolution of collective compromise formations between the fulfillment of sadistic drives and superego sensitivities, as influenced by changing social tolerance. The author reviews the most common rationalizations of the spectators, the sexual prototypes in bullfighting, the manifestations of envy toward the bullfighter, and the public's narcissistic regression due to the grandiose identification with him. Some associations from patients are commented upon.
斗牛作为一种景观，为投射、外化和认同提供了一个特殊的框架。斗牛的核心吸引力在于施虐性满足，这种满足似乎大多具有弑父性质。公众对斗牛的主角有着强烈的矛盾情感，这些主角对本我和超我都具有吸引力。文中指出了系统内冲突的存在。斗牛的历史反映了在社会容忍度变化的影响下，施虐冲动的满足与超我敏感性之间集体妥协形式的演变。作者回顾了观众最常见的合理化解释、斗牛中的性原型、对斗牛士的嫉妒表现，以及公众因对他的过度认同而产生的自恋性退行。还对一些患者的联想进行了评论。
