Introduction. The subject of this article is an analysis of the thoughts of Donald W. Winnicott and Luce Irigaray and the problem of autonomy, the question of how it is constructed from early childhood to adulthood. Both of these theories are related to Freud’s concept of psychoanalysis, which shows the stages of child development and emphasises the importance of childhood experiences on the development of the person and his or her autonomy, with particular emphasis on the importance of parents, the family, the mother, and the father. For all these theories, autonomy is underpinned by two stages: the close dependence of the child on the mother and the break with her, the separation, which allows the child to define his or her own identity, to individualise. Aim. In analysing the development of the child and in the process of building autonomy, the aim of the article is to bring out the importance of the mother in both these stages: the symbiotic community and close interdependence with the child, and in the process of separation, the break with her, which are the conditions for autonomy. Methods and materials. Critical subject literature review. Results and conclusion. In describing the role of the mother arising from an analysis of Donald W. Winnicott’s and Luce Irigaray’s concepts, I mark their distancing from the assumptions of Freudian psychoanalysis and the cultural stereotypes associated with the image of the mother, the woman, while at the same time bringing out their closeness and similarity in that the relationship between mother and child is based on love. The mother, therefore, introduces autonomy and culture in the fullest way, providing basic experiences in the child’s development, from symbiotic dependence through separation: love, trust, self-confidence, respect for separateness, which characterises basic relationships with relatives and in society.