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In recent years, the word “violence” has taken on many different meanings. For that reason, it has become a problematic term in psychology and psychopathology. It is particularly confusing when used indiscriminately to refer to the basic violent instinct of narcissistic protection (self-defense) and to define the aggressiveness that generates hatred and sadism. This is no longer the basic instinct, but a secondary component that has undergone a process of perversion, infiltrated the primary basic instinct, and radically transformed its meaning. This paper uses three clinical examples to show these processes at work in a young mother.