Many concerns about child abuse, racism, pornography and sexual relationships revolve around the notion of humiliation, without spelling out quite what that involves. This work of psychological discourse on central questions and anxieties of childhood, by a child psychiatrist, examines the theme of humiliation together with its manifestations - excitement, rage and revenge. The material ranges from case studies from the author's own professional experience to Henry James's theory of art and life, and Wittgenstein on the usefulness of hints.