This study aimed at searching in some of Freud s writings the author s view of the paternal figure and its relevance to the individual s subjectivity. We emphasize the theoretical developments regarding the formulation and the importance of the Oedipus complex - both male and female - to the formation of the superego, as well as the importance or narcissism in the I construction and in the identification process. We also highlight the changes occurred in social environment, from Freudian to present time, which had raised questions about the family, with changes in the relationship between men and women, and in the functions of each gender, causing the decline of paternal figure in new family configurations. In addition, we present new approaches on paternity, paternal function and father s place in the context of multiple family configurations in contemporaneity.