y, e t IC D BACKGROUN
9
THE PSYCHOANALYTIC BACKGROUND Melanie Klein's contributions are so rooted in the basic Freudian discoveries that they cannot be comprehended without some understanding of Freud. However, Freud's fundamental discoveries of the nature of the unconscious, infantile sexuality and the long history to the ideas about transference cannot be dealt with systematically in this book. Nevertheless, I think it is necessary to point towards some aspects of the fundamental ideas which are especially relevant to the developments which Klein eventually made herself. Chapter 1 is therefore a scene-setting exercise; it may perhaps be passed over by readers who are familiar with Freud's work. My elucidation of Freudian concepts is selective - confined to those upon which Klein especially depended - and also rather cursory. Those who need a sounder basis, or want a greater depth, should consult Sandier, Dare and Holder (1973) and Laplanche and Pontalis (1973). When Freud started his research (in the 1880s) into the symptoms of neurotic and hysterical women, the dominant mode of psychotherapy had been developed, principally in France, out of Mesmerism, known in medical and scientific circles as 'hypnosis 1 . Although its value was disputed, a number of French physicians persisted with developing this kind of therapy, a development which culminated in the methods and ideas of Pierre Janet. The general thrust of the French method was that the contents of the mind could be changed by suggestion. Unwanted thoughts and troublesome feelings could be eradicated; attitudes could be changed. However, this depended upon the patients
Transcript of y, e t IC D BACKGROUN
THE
PSYC
HOAN
ALYT
ICBA
CKGR
OUND
Mel
anie
Kle
in's
cont
ribut
ions
are
so
root
ed i
n th
e ba
sic F
reud
ian
disc
over
ies
that
the
y ca
nnot
be
com
preh
ende
d w
ithou
t so
me
unde
rsta
ndin
g of
Fre
ud. H
owev
er, F
reud
's fu
ndam
enta
l disc
over
ies
of th
e na
ture
of t
he u
ncon
scio
us, i
nfan
tile
sexu
ality
and
the
long
histo
ry t
o th
e id
eas
abou
t tra
nsfe
renc
e ca
nnot
be
deal
t w
ithsy
stem
atic
ally
in th
is bo
ok. N
ever
thel
ess,
I thi
nk it
is n
eces
sary
topo
int
tow
ards
som
e as
pect
s of
the
fund
amen
tal
idea
s w
hich
are
espe
cially
rel
evan
t to
the
deve
lopm
ents
whi
ch K
lein
eve
ntua
llym
ade
hers
elf.
Chap
ter
1 is t
here
fore
a sc
ene-
setti
ng e
xerc
ise; i
t may
perh
aps
be p
asse
d ov
er b
y re
ader
s w
ho a
re fa
mili
ar w
ith F
reud
'sw
ork.
My
eluc
idat
ion
of F
reud
ian
conc
epts
is se
lect
ive
- co
nfin
edto
thos
e up
on w
hich
Kle
in e
spec
ially
dep
ende
d -
and
also
rath
ercu
rsor
y. T
hose
who
nee
d a s
ound
er b
asis,
or w
ant a
gre
ater
dep
th,
shou
ld c
onsu
lt Sa
ndie
r, D
are a
nd H
olde
r (19
73) a
nd L
apla
nche
and
Pont
alis
(197
3).
Whe
n Fr
eud
starte
d hi
s re
sear
ch
(in t
he
1880
s) i
nto
the
sym
ptom
s of
neu
rotic
and
hys
teric
al w
omen
, the
dom
inan
t mod
eof
psy
chot
hera
py h
ad b
een
deve
lope
d, p
rinci
pally
in F
ranc
e, o
utof
M
esm
erism
, kn
own
in
med
ical
and
sc
ient
ific
circ
les
as'hy
pnos
is1 . Alth
ough
its v
alue
was
dis
pute
d, a
num
ber o
f Fre
nch
phys
icia
ns p
ersis
ted
with
dev
elop
ing
this
kind
of
ther
apy,
ade
velo
pmen
t whi
ch c
ulm
inat
ed in
the
met
hods
and
idea
s of P
ierre
Jane
t. Th
e ge
nera
l th
rust
of
the
Fren
ch m
etho
d w
as t
hat
the
cont
ents
of th
e m
ind
coul
d be
cha
nged
by
sugg
estio
n. U
nwan
ted
thou
ghts
and
troub
leso
me
feel
ings
cou
ld b
e er
adic
ated
; at
titud
esco
uld
be c
hang
ed.
How
ever
, th
is de
pend
ed u
pon
the
patie
nts
10TH
E FO
UN
DA
TIO
N
bein
g pl
iant
and
will
ing
to a
ccep
t the
sugg
estio
ns. S
ome
phys
icia
nsus
ed h
ypno
sis
to in
duce
the
patie
nt i
nto
a pa
rticu
larly
sug
gest
ible
stat
e of
min
d, w
hile
oth
ers
atte
mpt
ed t
o ac
com
plis
h th
eir
aim
sw
ith th
e pa
tient
in th
e no
rmal
wak
ing
stat
e; b
ut a
ll va
riant
s of
this
ther
apy
had
in c
omm
on th
e fa
ct t
hat t
he d
octo
r too
k ov
er c
ontro
lof
the
patie
nt's
min
d an
d ch
ange
d its
con
tent
s.Fr
eud'
s lin
e of
app
roac
h w
as d
iffer
ent.
He
had
stud
ied
thes
ehy
pnot
ic a
nd s
ugge
stiv
e th
erap
ies
in F
ranc
e, b
ut i
n th
e en
d he
aban
done
d th
em.
Inst
ead
he t
ook
up t
he i
deas
of
a V
ienn
ese
med
ical
col
leag
ue, J
osef
Bre
uer.
Bre
uer
had
foun
d so
met
hing
diffe
rent
: if h
e br
ough
t his
pat
ient
into
a h
ypno
tic tr
ance
, the
n go
the
r2 to
talk
abo
ut h
er s
ympt
oms
and
asso
ciat
ed f
eelin
gs a
ndth
ough
ts, h
e no
ticed
that
a st
rong
em
otio
nal r
espo
nse
deve
lope
ddu
ring
the
tranc
e. T
hen,
afte
r the
em
otio
nal r
elea
se, t
he s
ympt
omab
ated
. Fre
ud b
ecam
e m
ore a
ttrac
ted
to th
is e
xpre
ssiv
e m
etho
d, in
cont
rast
to
th
e di
dact
ic
(or
corre
ctiv
e)
met
hods
of
Fr
ench
sugg
estio
nist
s. A
nd t
his
has
rem
aine
d a
fund
amen
tal
diff
eren
cebe
twee
n ps
ycho
anal
ysis
and
cer
tain
oth
er f
orm
s of
the
rapy
-
expr
essio
n of
wha
t is i
n th
e m
ind
vers
us c
orre
ctio
n of
it.
Thus
Fre
ud's
rese
arch
led
him
to
a m
etho
d fo
r ex
plor
ing
the
patie
nt's
psyc
he r
athe
r th
an c
ontro
lling
it.
It is
now
wel
l kno
wn
that
the
se e
xplo
ratio
ns
led
to
his
disc
over
y of
the
dy
nam
ic'u
ncon
scio
us',
a pa
rt of
the
min
d w
hich
is
activ
e in
inf
luen
cing
thou
ghts
, fee
lings
, rel
atio
nshi
ps, a
ttitu
des a
nd b
ehav
iour
in a
way
whi
ch i
s co
mpl
etel
y un
know
n to
the
per
son.
3 He
soug
ht t
o gi
veex
pres
sion
to
wha
t is n
ot u
nder
con
trol,
rath
er th
an to
con
trol i
t.In
the
proc
ess
he d
iscov
ered
tha
t the
con
tent
s of
this
unc
onsc
ious
min
d de
rived
fro
m c
hild
hood
ups
ets,
traum
as a
nd f
right
enin
gph
anta
sies
; an
d in
par
ticul
ar h
e po
inte
d to
a tr
oubl
ed c
hild
hood
phas
e do
min
ated
by w
orry
abo
ut s
exua
l mat
ters
, esp
ecia
lly a
set o
ffe
ars
and
long
ings
con
nect
ed
with
the
par
ents
' se
xual
ity,
the
emer
genc
e of
bab
ies
from
m
othe
r, an
d an
xiet
y ab
out
sexu
alvi
olen
ce o
f var
ious
kin
ds. T
his
inte
nse,
trou
bled
sex
ual l
ife o
f th
ech
ild c
ame
to b
e kn
own
as th
e O
edip
us c
ompl
ex.
In l
ater
cha
pter
s w
e w
ill s
ee h
ow K
lein
ian
anal
ysts
hav
ede
velo
ped
the
notio
n of
exp
ress
ion
(as o
ppos
ed to
sug
gesti
on)
inte
rms
of co
ntai
ning
, and
the
ther
apeu
tic e
ffect
s of
sim
ply
know
ing,
beco
min
g aw
are,
and
thin
king
thou
ghts
.
THE
PSY
CHO
AN
ALY
TIC
BA
CK
GR
OU
ND
11
SYM
BOL
INTE
RPR
ETA
TIO
N
Beca
use
Freu
d w
as n
ot a
ver
y go
od h
ypno
tist,
his
use
of h
ypno
sis
gave
way
to s
impl
e en
cour
agem
ent
of h
is p
atie
nts,
in th
e w
akin
gst
ate,
to
rem
embe
r th
eir
child
hood
pa
st -
he
calle
d th
is t
he'p
ress
ure
met
hod'
. Ev
entu
ally
he
deve
lope
d th
e m
etho
d of
fre
eas
soci
atio
n, w
hen
he h
ad m
ade a
noth
er d
isco
very
- th
e way
dre
ams
can
be d
ecod
ed a
s set
s of p
erso
nal s
ymbo
ls. In
effe
ct, d
ream
s arc
aki
nd o
f sec
ret c
omm
unic
atio
n w
ith o
nese
lf. W
hy w
ould
som
eone
com
mun
icat
e in
sec
ret
with
the
mse
lves
? It
soun
ds a
bit
odd.
How
ever
, on
ce i
t is
reco
gniz
ed t
hat a
n un
cons
ciou
s pa
rt of
the
min
d is
kept
in so
me w
ay o
ut o
f tha
t per
son'
s con
scio
us a
war
enes
s,th
en th
e iss
ues w
hich
rem
ain
in th
e un
cons
ciou
s, an
d ar
e ac
tive i
nin
fluen
cing
the
m, m
ust b
e re
pres
ente
d in
som
e w
ay w
hich
is n
otat
all
appa
rent
to
the
cons
ciou
s pe
rson
. Thu
s dre
ams
repr
esen
t an
unco
nsci
ous
thin
king
abo
ut t
he s
ecre
t th
ough
ts a
nd p
hant
asie
sw
hich
hav
e to
rem
ain
unkn
own.
So F
reud
thou
ght t
hat t
his m
enta
lac
tivity
, whi
ch is
not c
onsc
ious
ly a
ppre
ciat
ed, c
ould
par
tially
bre
akth
roug
h, a
s it
wer
e, i
nto
cons
ciou
snes
s w
hen
the
min
d is
in th
eun
cons
ciou
s st
ate
of b
eing
asle
ep.
But
the
cont
ents
are
obs
cure
dby
bei
ng r
epre
sent
ed i
n di
sgui
sing
sym
bols.
Fre
ud w
orke
d ou
t am
etho
d fo
r tra
nsla
ting t
hose
sym
bols
. It w
as n
ot a
dic
tiona
ry, o
r a'd
ream
boo
k',
of w
hich
the
re w
ere
man
y at
the
tim
e; i
t w
as a
met
hod
of u
nrav
ellin
g th
e id
iosy
ncra
tic s
ymbo
l sys
tem
dev
elop
edby
eac
h in
divi
dual
per
son.
Eac
h pe
rson
(in
deed
, ea
ch d
ream
)de
velo
ps u
niqu
e sy
mbo
ls fo
r the
imm
edia
te pu
rpos
e - t
o co
ntin
ueco
ncea
ling
the
unco
nsci
ous
cont
ents
of t
he m
ind.
Freu
d fo
und
that
if h
e to
ok h
is o
wn
drea
ms,
wro
te t
hem
dow
n,br
oke
them
up
into
indi
vidu
al el
emen
ts, a
nd a
llow
ed h
is m
ind
free
rein
on
each
ele
men
t (f
ree
asso
ciat
ion)
, so
me
them
e re
peat
edly
emer
ged.
He
jotte
d do
wn
note
s of
the
sequ
ence
the
se t
houg
hts
took
. Wha
t em
erge
d w
as a
clus
ter o
f spe
cific
issu
es, m
emor
ies a
ndw
ishes
. Th
ey b
egan
to
cohe
re t
oget
her
with
cle
arer
, an
d m
ore
mea
ning
ful,
links
bet
wee
n th
em th
an in
the
man
ifest
elem
ents
ofth
e dr
eam
itse
lf. A
certa
in th
eme c
ame
up li
ke a
phot
ogra
phic
pla
tein
the
deve
lope
r. A
lthou
gh it
was
not
exp
licitl
y co
ntai
ned
in th
edr
eam
, he
belie
ved
that
such
a re
curr
ing
them
e w
as a
n und
erly
ing
(and
disg
uise
d) c
onte
nt -
the
late
nt c
onte
nt o
f the
dre
am. I
t was
inth
is w
ay th
at F
reud
thou
ght h
e co
uld
crac
k th
e co
de o
f the
dre
am
12TH
E FO
UN
DA
TIO
N
and
reve
al i
ts h
idde
n m
eani
ng. H
e co
ntes
ted
the
view
tha
t th
esy
mbo
ls o
f a d
ream
wer
e un
iver
sal.
Inst
ead,
eac
h sy
mbo
l is
chos
enid
iosy
ncra
tica l
ly b
y ea
ch in
divi
dual
- th
at is
to sa
y, on
each
occ
asio
nth
e sy
mbo
ls an
d th
e co
de m
ust b
e int
erpr
eted
ane
w. H
e in
terp
rete
da
num
ber
of h
is o
wn
drea
ms
in th
is w
ay,
and
then
inc
reas
ingl
yth
ose
of h
is pa
tient
s; h
e re
veal
ed a
ful
l su
bter
rane
an
life
ofm
emor
ies
and
wis
hes,
and
a w
hole
unk
now
n 'g
ram
mar
' whi
char
rang
ed t
he
sym
bols
-
the
proc
esse
s of
con
dens
atio
n an
ddi
spla
cem
ent.
Mos
t tro
ublin
g was
the
fact
that
thes
e hi
dden
men
tal
activ
ities
so
ofte
n co
ncer
ned
sexu
al t
houg
hts
and
wis
hes.
He
beca
me
very
unp
opul
ar fo
r the
se i
deas
in h
is o
wn
prud
ish
times
,an
d to
day
they
stil
l re
mai
n ve
ry c
halle
ngin
g on
firs
t ac
quai
nt-
ance
, eve
n th
ough
man
y of
them
are
now
qui
te f
amili
ar i
n ou
rcu
lture
.Th
e m
etho
d of
free
ass
ocia
tion
enta
iled
getti
ng th
e pa
tient
to
rela
x an
d to
say
wha
teve
r ca
me
into
the
ir h
ead.
The
stre
am o
fco
nsci
ousn
ess
that
was
then
pro
duce
d co
uld
be d
ealt
with
like
the
elem
ents
in a
dre
am an
d th
e as
soci
atio
ns to
them
. The
psy
choa
na-
lyst
wou
ld g
athe
r th
e re
curr
ing
- al
beit
hidd
en -
refe
renc
es t
o th
epa
st, a
nd to
chi
ldho
od s
exua
l pre
occu
patio
ns.
Thos
e ite
ms
in th
epa
tient
's th
ough
ts w
hich
cam
e ne
xt t
o ea
ch o
ther
in
the
time
sequ
ence
wer
e de
emed
to h
ave
a lin
ked
mea
ning
. Thu
s as
soci
atio
nsar
e m
eani
ngfu
l lin
ks, e
ven
thou
gh th
e m
eani
ng m
ay b
e ob
scur
ed,
just
as t
he d
ream
con
ceal
s th
roug
h th
e us
e of
obs
curin
g sy
mbo
ls.Fo
r the
rest
of h
is w
orki
ng lif
e Fre
ud re
lied
mai
nly
upon
his
met
hod
of s
ymbo
l in
terp
reta
tion
to b
ring
out
the
patie
nt's
expr
essi
on o
fhi
dden
issu
es.
TRA
NSF
EREN
CE
How
ever
Fre
ud's
unde
rsta
ndin
g of
sym
bols,
and
the
way
the
unco
nsci
ous
uses
sym
bols,
was
gra
dual
ly su
pers
eded
by
anot
her
appr
oach
. Thi
s to
o w
as in
itiat
ed b
y Fr
eud
him
self
- in
fact
, by
adi
sast
rous
failu
re h
e ha
d w
ith h
is w
ell-k
now
n pa
tient
Dor
a. H
e ha
din
tend
ed D
ora's
cas
e, b
egun
in
Oct
ober
189
9, t
o ill
ustra
te h
ism
etho
d of
drea
m in
terp
reta
tion i
n ac
tion
with
a pa
tient
. Dor
a br
oke
off h
er tr
eatm
ent a
coup
le o
f mon
ths l
ater
, at t
he e
nd o
f Dec
embe
r,in
the
mid
dle
of F
reud
's w
ork.
He
dela
yed
publ
icat
ion
of th
is c
ase
for s
ome f
ive y
ears
bef
ore h
e pr
esen
ted
it, w
ith a
disc
ussio
n of
wha
t
THE
PSY
CHO
AN
ALY
TIC
BA
CK
GR
OU
ND
1J
had
gone
wro
ng (F
reud
, 19
05).
It se
ems
that
he
had
been
so in
tent
on i
nter
pret
ing
the
deta
ils o
f th
e dr
eam
sym
bols
and
follo
win
gth
em u
p th
roug
h th
e as
soci
atio
ns t
hat h
e co
mpl
etel
y ov
erlo
oked
anot
her
occu
rren
ce. T
hat
occu
rren
ce c
ame
to b
e kn
own
as th
e'tr
ansf
eren
ce'.
It co
nsist
ed
of a
par
ticul
ar d
evel
opm
ent
in t
heco
urse
of t
he tr
eatm
ent -
not
a v
erba
l pre
sent
atio
n of
sym
bols
, but
dire
ct w
ishes
tow
ards
the
psy
choa
naly
st h
imse
lf. F
reud
's re
adin
gof
this
was
tha
t Dor
a de
velo
ped
a pa
rticu
lar w
ish
to fr
ustra
te hi
man
d le
ave
him
dis
appo
inte
d. T
his
she
did
by t
erm
inat
ing
the
treat
men
t. Fr
eud
did
not
real
ize
this
im
porta
nt d
evel
opm
ent
inD
ora's
rel
atio
nshi
p w
ith h
im u
ntil
it w
as t
oo l
ate.
Her
wish
to
frus
trate
Fre
ud a
nd ta
ke re
veng
e on
him
by
disa
ppoi
ntin
g hi
m w
asco
nnec
ted
with
Dor
a's o
wn
frus
trate
d di
sapp
oint
men
t in
rela
tion
to h
er f
athe
r. Fr
ustra
tions
that
bel
onge
d to
her
rel
atio
nshi
p w
ithhe
r fat
her h
ad b
een
take
n ou
t on
Freu
d.Ev
er s
ince
his
wor
k w
ith B
reue
r ten
yea
rs b
efor
e, F
reud
had
know
n th
at p
atie
nts
may
fall
in
love
with
the
psy
choa
naly
st.
How
ever
, it w
as n
ot D
ora's
love
whi
ch to
ok h
im u
naw
ares
- it
was
her h
atre
d an
d re
veng
e. T
he tr
ansf
eren
ce is
strik
ing
beca
use
of th
ein
tens
ity o
f bo
th l
ove
and
hate
; the
y be
tray
its u
nack
now
ledg
edor
igin
- in
chi
ldho
od.
Freu
d le
arne
d fro
m t
his
that
he
need
ed to
inte
rpre
t m
ore
than
the
sym
bolic
con
tent
of t
he p
atie
nt's
drea
ms
and
othe
r ve
rbal
mat
eria
l. H
e ha
d to
atte
nd to
and
int
erpr
et t
hem
eani
ng o
f th
ese
unus
ual -
and
une
xpec
ted
- as
pect
s of
the
rela
tions
hip
with
him
self.
So
he c
ame
to d
istin
guis
h tw
o w
ays i
nw
hich
pat
ient
s pr
oduc
ed t
heir
mem
orie
s of
the
past
: one
was
by
reco
llect
ing
in w
ords
; th
e ot
her
was
by
repe
atin
g, in
som
e fo
rm,
actu
al p
ast
even
ts o
r pha
ntas
ies.
Rep
etiti
on (o
r re
-cre
atin
g) in
the
rela
tions
hip
(the
tran
sfer
ence
), as
an
expr
essi
ve a
ct r
evea
ling
cont
ents
of t
he p
atie
nt's
unco
nsci
ous,
has
beco
me
a co
rner
ston
eof
psy
choa
naly
tic te
chni
que.
It c
ould
be
argu
ed th
at th
is is
perh
aps
the
mos
t im
port
ant
deve
lopm
ent
in t
he
clin
ical
pra
ctic
e of
psyc
hoan
alys
is-
mor
e im
port
ant
than
any
of
the
mul
titud
e of
deve
lopm
ents
in
psyc
hoan
alyt
ic th
eory
, bec
ause
the
trans
fere
nce
is th
e to
ol b
y w
hich
all
the
evid
ence
and
test
ing
of th
e th
eory
take
plac
e.
As
we
go t
hrou
gh t
he
mat
eria
l in
lat
er c
hapt
ers,
the
incr
easi
ng i
mpo
rtanc
e of
tra
nsfe
renc
e in
Kle
inia
n pr
actic
e w
illem
erge
.
14TH
E FO
UN
DA
TIO
N
PSYC
HOSI
S AN
D PS
YCHO
ANAL
YSIS
Jung
was
a ps
ychi
atris
t; Fr
eud
was
a ne
urol
ogist
. Thi
s, am
ong
othe
rdi
ffer
ence
s, cr
eate
d st
rain
s w
hen
Jung
and
his
Zur
ich
grou
p jo
ined
up w
ith F
reud
and
the
Vie
nna g
roup
in 1
906;
and
one
of t
he s
train
sw
as t
hat
Jung
had
con
side
rabl
e ex
perie
nce
treat
ing
psyc
hotic
patie
nts,
whi
le F
reud
did
not
. The
re w
ere
a num
ber o
f oth
er s
train
sto
o, b
ut F
reud
's ex
perie
nce
of ps
ycho
tic p
atie
nts w
as th
at h
e co
uld
not a
naly
se th
em. I
n pa
rticu
lar h
e fou
nd th
at sc
hizo
phre
nics
do
not
rela
te to
the
real
wor
ld, o
nly t
o an
imag
inar
y, c
onst
ruct
ed o
ne. T
hey
live i
n a w
orld
of t
heir
own
delu
sion
s and
hal
luci
natio
ns. A
s a re
sult,
Freu
d's
met
hod,
dep
endi
ng a
s it d
id o
n th
e pa
tient
co-
oper
atin
g in
a re
latio
nshi
p w
ith th
e ps
ycho
anal
yst,
faile
d.Fr
eud
atte
mpt
ed to
und
erst
and
schi
zoph
reni
a by
ana
lysi
ng th
ew
ritte
n au
tobi
ogra
phic
al m
emoi
rs of
Judg
e Sch
rebe
r (Fr
eud,
191
1):
he 'p
sych
oana
lyse
d' th
e bo
ok! O
n th
at b
asis
he
deve
lope
d a t
heor
yof
why
psy
chot
ic p
atie
nts
coul
d no
t be
anal
ysed
. In
the
proc
ess,
in19
14, h
e de
velo
ped
his
theo
ry o
f nar
ciss
ism
.
NA
RC
ISSI
SM
Freu
d to
ok o
ver
the
term
'na
rcis
sism
' fro
m H
avel
ock
Ellis
, an
Engl
ish d
octo
r. Fr
eud
had
take
n a
inte
rest
in
Ellis
bec
ause
bot
hst
udie
d se
xual
diso
rder
s; s
o El
lis, i
n tu
rn, h
ad ta
ken
a kee
n in
tere
stin
Fre
ud. T
he n
arci
ssis
t is d
eepl
y -
even
exc
lusi
vely
- se
lf-in
volv
ed;
so F
reud
thou
ght t
hat t
he s
chiz
ophr
enic
, who
was
so
wra
pped
up
in h
is o
wn
wor
ld c
onst
ruct
ed
with
voi
ces,
hallu
cina
tions
and
delu
sion
s, de
serv
ed th
e te
rm 'n
arci
ssis
tic'.
How
ever
, he
expl
aine
dth
is in
term
s of
the
theo
ries
he w
as u
sing
at t
he ti
me.
LIBI
DO
At t
he
begi
nnin
g of
his
res
earc
h Fr
eud
wis
hed
to m
ake
his
desc
riptio
ns a
s rig
orou
s an
d as
scie
ntifi
c as
pos
sibl
e, a
nd to
giv
eth
e im
pres
sion
tha
t he
cou
ld m
easu
re 'p
sych
ic f
orce
s' (m
enta
len
ergy
) jus
t as G
alile
o or
New
ton
coul
d m
easu
re p
hysi
cal O
iies.
He
used
the
idea
of m
enta
l ene
rgy,
whi
ch h
e ca
lled
'libi
do'.
The
libid
ois
dire
cted
tow
ards
an
obje
ct -
that
is, i
t is i
nves
ted
with
a p
erso
n's
THE
PSY
CHO
AN
ALY
TIC
BA
CK
GR
OU
ND
15
inte
rest
. He t
hen
desc
ribed
the
obje
ct a
s 'ca
thec
ted'
with
the l
ibid
o.Th
e te
rms
'cath
ect',
'ca
thex
is'
and
'libi
do'
wer
e La
tiniz
edsc
ient
ific-
soun
ding
wor
ds i
nven
ted,
in
fact
, by
Fre
ud's
Engl
ishtra
nsla
tors
to
try to
impr
ess
a m
edic
al r
eade
rshi
p. T
hey
wer
e no
tFr
eud'
s ow
n te
rms
in
Ger
man
, w
hich
w
ere
actu
ally
mor
edo
wn-
to-e
arth
. 'L
ibid
o' a
nd '
cath
exis
' re
fer
to t
he i
nter
est
orfa
scin
atio
n th
at s
omeo
ne h
as in
som
e to
pic
or so
me
othe
r pe
rson
.Th
e na
rciss
istic
per
son
is se
lf-in
volv
ed; t
he o
bjec
t of h
is g
reat
est
inte
rest
is h
imse
lf. In
the
case
of t
he p
sych
otic
pat
ient
, int
eres
t in
the
wor
ld a
roun
d ha
s be
en
com
plet
ely
lost.
In
the
scie
ntifi
cte
rmin
olog
y, th
e pa
tient
has
'dec
athe
cted
' all
the
obje
cts i
n th
e re
alw
orld
; ins
tead
, the
libi
do h
as b
een
dire
cted
tow
ards
the
self
- it h
asca
thec
ted
the
ego.
So F
reud
des
crib
ed t
he s
elf-
invo
lvem
ent o
f the
schi
zoph
reni
c as
a w
ithdr
awal
of l
ibid
o fro
m th
e w
orld
; as a
resu
lt,m
enta
l ene
rgy
('lib
ido'
, int
eres
t) ha
s be
en i
nves
ted
in th
e pe
rson
of th
e sc
hizo
phre
nic
alon
e, o
r som
e pa
rt of
the
schi
zoph
reni
c.Fr
eud
disc
usse
d th
e co
mpl
icat
ed r
elat
ions
bet
wee
n th
e na
rcis-
sistic
sta
te,
whe
n th
e lib
ido
has
been
with
draw
n an
d di
rect
edto
war
ds t
he s
elf (
ego-
libid
o, h
e ca
lled
it) a
nd th
e m
ore
usua
l sta
tew
hen
the
wor
ld o
f re
al p
eopl
e an
d th
ings
rem
ains
with
in t
hepe
rson
's in
tere
st (o
bjec
t-lib
ido)
. The
term
'obj
ect'
also
nee
ds a
little
expl
anat
ion.
It i
s us
ed i
n th
e se
nse
in w
hich
the
term
'ob
ject
' is
used
in
gram
mar
- 'su
bjec
t-ve
rb-o
bjec
t': t
he o
bjec
t upo
n w
hich
an a
ctio
n is
per
form
ed b
y a
subj
ect.
Freu
d lik
ened
this
pro
cess
, in
whi
ch in
tere
st i
n so
me
othe
r pe
rson
or
obje
ct c
an b
e w
ithdr
awn
(and
lat
er p
ossib
ly r
etur
ned)
, to
the
proc
ess
in w
hich
an
amoe
bapu
ts o
ut a
thre
ad o
f pro
topl
asm
(a p
seud
opod
ium
) to
war
ds th
ings
in it
s en
viro
nmen
t to
test
them
as p
oten
tial f
ood,
and
so
on, a
idca
n w
ithdr
aw it
if it
is n
ot i
nter
este
d. H
e sa
w th
e w
ithdr
awal
aid
redi
rect
ion
of th
e lib
ido
(inte
rest
) as
a fl
uid
situ
atio
n, o
ne w
hich
expl
aine
d m
any o
ccur
renc
es i
n no
rmal
psyc
holo
gy a
s wel
l as i
n th
esc
hizo
phre
nic.
Goi
ng to
slee
p, fo
r ins
tanc
e, e
ntai
ls a
with
draw
al o
fin
tere
st i
n th
e ou
tsid
e w
orld
and
an
inve
stm
ent
in t
he in
tern
aldr
eam
wor
ld o
f th
e ni
ght.
Then
, in
the
mor
ning
, aw
aken
ing
invo
lves
the
redi
rect
ion
of th
e lib
ido,
or m
enta
l ene
rgy,
out
war
dsag
ain
to t
he w
orld
and
the
peo
ple
and
thin
gs t
hat
inte
rest
the
pers
on.
Sim
ilarly
, in
illne
ss o
r in
pai
n th
ere
is a
with
draw
al o
fin
tere
st i
nto
the
self,
or
into
the
parti
cula
r or
gan
that
is d
iseas
edan
d in
pai
n; a
too
thac
he b
ecom
es t
he o
nly
expe
rienc
e fo
r th
e
16 THE FOUNDATION
sufferer, and the rest of the world pales into insignificance whilethe tooth throbs.
Freud's bewilderment with the seriously narcissistic conditions,the psychoses, led him to call them the 'narcissistic neuroses'. Thebeginning of the way out of the problem of investigating thempsychoanalytically will be the focus of the next chapter, and thediscoveries made in those attempts are the roots of psychoanalyticthinking which became identifiably Kleinian.
INTROJECTION ANDPROJECTION
In this chapter and the next we will consider certain aspects of thedevelopment of psychoanalytic ideas mostly before Melanie Kleinstarted her work. This concerns the attempts, particularly by Freudand a colleague in Berlin, Karl Abraham, to understand certainpsychotic symptoms and patients. In describing primitive defencemechanisms and unconscious phantasies I shall draw at times uponthe fuller understanding that was contributed by Klein and hercolleagues, but these notions were deeply embedded in thethinking of Freud and Abraham, explicitly described by them, andreceived from them by Klein and her followers.
During the time (around 1910) when Freud was concernedabout his failures with psychotic patients, Karl Abraham started anew line of thinking in which Freud collaborated closely. Abrahamwas a German psychiatrist who had trained in psychoanalysis withJung in Zurich, but returned to Berlin in 1907 to found the BerlinPsycho-Analytical Society. He was one of the foremost psychoana-lysts in the first generation of Freud's followers, and he was anoutstanding clinical observer of patients and their mental states.
Abraham had an important idea: if it is impossible to investigateschizophrenia directly, then perhaps psychoanalysts should startelsewhere. In manic-depressive psychosis the patient has intermit-tent psychotic phases with lucid, apparently normal, periods inbetween, so Abraham attempted analysis of these psychoticsduring their periods of 'normality'. He produced a series of paperson his discoveries between 1911 and his death in 1924. In 1917Freud produced a major theoretical paper on the same topic:
18 THE FOUNDATION
'Mourning and melancholia'. That paper became significant,because it took his theory of narcissism a step further forward.
INTROJECTIONThe idea of the withdrawal of the libido (interest) can explain theextreme self-involvement of manic-depressive patients - the libidohas turned from the object to the self (ego). In that process thepatient's interest becomes invested solely in him- or herself,invested in that patient's own world of ideas, feelings, memories,worth, and so on. In this way such patients are similar toschizophrenics. Depressives spend a major part of their timereflecting on their own actions, worth, moods, and so forth. Freuddeveloped this point in his paper.
But something else happens too. With the loss of interest(withdrawal of the libido) the depressive comes to feel differentabout him- or herself, and feels towards someone else as if he orshe were actually that other lost person. It is as if not only has thelibido been withdrawn, like the amoeba's pseudopodium, but theobject too has been drawn back inside the self (ego) with the libido.This is a very peculiar process leading to a peculiar state of mind -in essence, a mad one. Such a process appears to have, said Freud,some similarities with another - and this time quite normal - stateof mind. He compared the melancholia of the manic-depressivewith the state of mourning of someone bereaved. Following abereavement, there is a withdrawal of involvement; the interest inthe lost one has to be given up. Freud recounted how emotionallyhard it is to give up interest in a dead spouse, or parent, or child,for instance. It requires a prolonged period of active psychologicalwork to detach one's interest, and this entails great pain over manymonths, at least. He described how this is a step-by-step process,as if every memory of the loved one has to be brought out and, bitby bit, relinquished. Gradually, over time, interest in the world isre-established. Other interests become more lively, and thecapacity to love slowly turns towards others. In this Freud thoughthe saw an analogous process to the narcissistic states - for example,sleep or illness. The amoeba's pseudopodium withdraws, andslowly another one is put out again elsewhere.
In the case of the depressive, the whole process is problematic.
INTROJECTION AND PROJECTION 19
The depressive has a particularly strong ambivalence towards lovedones; that is to say, she or he not only loves but also hates them.Freud thought that the component of aggression and hatred,inevitable in any relationship, is particularly strong in thispathological condition. Even the slightest rebuffs or slights, hardlynoticeable to others, will make depressives feel that they have losttheir loved one and have only a hated one; as if the loved one hasactually been lost. Attention then turns rapidly towards the self -and stays directed there. This results in a particular quality to therelationship with the self, which resembles the way the persononce related to his or her loved object - that is to say, ambivalently,with a special intensity to the hatred. This, then, is self-hate. Whendepressives ruminate upon their worthlessness, this is the hatredthat was once focused upon the object, turned now towards theself (ego). In Freud's view the same reproaches that the depressiveonce directed against the object are now directed against the self.
Because of the excess of hatred, it seems, the patient becomesabsorbed with that same kind of relationship with him- or herself,stuck in a hostile self-relationship. In mourning, in contrast, the lovefor the object is stronger than the hatred, and this leads to a verydifferent course, which allows the eventual turning out again toobjects in the external world. Depression seems to be a process ofmourning which has gone wrong because of the especial strengthof hatred towards the object.
Thus Freud spelled out in this paper a very curious occurrence:it is as though the object is moved from outside the person, literally,to the inside, to join the identity of that person. This is peculiar,even mad. The loved one, who was once hated (as well as loved),has been relocated inside the person, and the hatred continues tobe directed against the ego of the person, inside which the objectis now believed to be located. It becomes real for the patient thatthe object has been moved inside to become an actual part of hisor her own personality. Not only has the libido been withdrawn,but the object itself is also drawn inside. The person's identitybecomes disturbed: it takes on the characteristics of the loved (andhated) one. Freud called this process 'identification': the 'object' isabsorbed into the identity of the 'ego'. Later, with Abraham, thisprocess came to be known as 'introjection'.
20 THE FOUNDATION
Many of Freud's later theories come directly from this idea of aprocess of internalization ('identification', or 'introjection'). In1921 he used the idea of 'identification' as a basis for a revision ofhis theory of social groups. The solidarity in groups, the 'glue' thatsticks people together, is an identification which they have incommon. They all introject the same person (or idea) as a centralpart of themselves (their egos). Christians, for instance, are joinedin their central belief in Christ, and they each 'carry' him in theirheart. In this later view, however, Freud has taken a new step: theodd manoeuvre of introjecting an object is no longer the particularoddity of the depressive - Freud is now observing its regularoccurrence in ordinary people in ordinary groups.
Later, in 1923, Freud based his structural theory of the mind -id, ego and super-ego - upon the idea of introjection. At some pointa child, in the phase of the Oedipus complex, has to give up mother,or father, as their loved one (sexual loved one). Freud thought thatthis was accomplished through the same slow process ofidentification, similar to that in melancholia - that is, the parent iswithdrawn (introjected) into the ego. The super-ego, he said, is 'theheir to the Oedipus complex'. The super-ego is the special bit ofthe ego into which this is absorbed, and it becomes therebysomewhat separate and apart from the rest of the ego. Thesuper-ego represents the standards of the parents which theperson, from then on, honours and loves in the way that the parentswere loved and honoured. The super-ego becomes an internalobject. It is the result of an internalizing movement (introjection)of an object into the inside of the personality. This process givesrise to a new category of objects, 'internal' objects (or 'introjected'objects; or sometimes 'internalized' objects). The only internalobject with which Freud concerned himself was the super-ego.
Abraham, however, took these ideas in a different direction.Whereas Freud's development was a theoretical advance - thestructural model of the mind that integrated the Oedipus complexas well as painful states of unconscious guilt (and masochism) -Abraham's work remained clinical, and his theoretical conclusionswere more limited. His clinical discoveries did in fact suggestprofound theoretical developments, but these were left to othersto make - notably Melanie Klein. We will now look at some ofAbraham's meticulous clinical reports.
INTROJECTION AND PROJECTION 21
THE LOCATION OF OBJECTSThe fullest expression of Abraham's views was written in 1924, justbefore his early death: 'A short study of the development of thelibido, viewed in the light of mental disorders', where he richlyspecified the clinical manifestations of introjection and projection.Abraham concentrated a special interest upon the fate of the object;this contrasted with the more usual emphasis on the vicissitudes ofthe instincts. In Freud's theory of instincts each instinct, and eachcomponent instinct, has a source (in the body), an aim (to dosomething), and an object (the thing or person upon which the dmis carried out). Abraham changed emphasis: from Freud's emphasison the source and the aim to an emphasis on the object. Or rather,he was driven to take this step by his psychotic patients' interestin their objects. It was their anxious interest in what happened totheir objects that led him to emphasize the importance of the'object'.
Abraham illustrated the concreteness of phantasies aboutmoving the object in and out of the self. He established a centralityfor introjection and projection. (A word of warning: this material,coming from psychotic patients, may seem emotionally disturb-ing.)
Example: Anal holding on
One patient, who had had several periods of depression:
began his analysis just as he was recovering from an attack of this[depressive] kind. It had been a severe one, and had set in under rathercurious circumstances. The patient had been fond of a young girl (orsome lime back and had become engaged to her . . . [But something]caused his inclinations to give place to a violent resistance. It had endedin his turning away completely from his love-object...
You will note that the patient turns away from his loved one - thisamounts to the 'withdrawal of the libido from the object'.
During his convalescence a rapprochement took place between himand his fiancee, who had remained constant to him in spite of his havingleft her.
22 THE FOUNDATION
Abraham is indicating to us that the patient's mental state (theclinical depression) recovered with the rediscovery of his love.With the recovery the patient's interest (his libido) turns outwardsto the object again.
But after some time he had a brief relapse, the onset and termination ofwhich I was able to observe in detail in his analysis.
His resistance to his fiancee re-appeared quite clearly during hisrelapse.. .
Abraham uses the term 'resistance' to indicate an anger towards thefiancee; the patient seems to resist his own love. In this sense heloses her. The loved object is lost, or felt to be lost, because she hasturned suddenly into a hated one. Freud's theory expresses this inobjective terms, the 'direction of the libido'. But Abraham nowemphasizes the patient's concern with the object; it is this kind ofsubjective description of loss which he was beginning to discover.Then he reveals a link between this relapse and a particular kind ofactivity with the object:
. . . . and one of the forms it took was the following transitory symptom:During the time when his state of depression was worse than usual, hehad a compulsion to contract his sphincter ant.
The symptom is a bodily one - holding fast to the contents of thebowels. In linking it with the patient's depressive phase, Abrahamis implying that from the patient's point of view the faeces in thebowel represent his hated ('shitty') fiancee, who is slipping awayfrom him. He attempts to hold on to that object as if it is physicallylocated inside him.
Abraham uses Freud's description of the melancholic's loss ofthe object; but in addition he specifies the melancholic's anxiousattempts to restore the object that has been lost. He then describesanother version of the patient's attempt to hang on to the objectby putting it inside him:
A few days later he told me, once more of his own accord, that he hada fresh symptom which had, as it were, stepped into the shoes of thefirst. As he was walking along the street he had had a compulsivephantasy of eating the excrements that were lying about.
This is a repellent notion. However, it is of great significance; thepatient has, in his strange way, substituted another preoccupationwith faeces, an attempt to put them inside him. Again we are asked
INTROJECTION AND PROJECTION 23
to consider that the faeces are equated with his loved (though alsohated) fiancee; and so, with the phantasy of eating the one, he isinternalizing the other (introjection):
This phantasy turned out to be the expression of a desire to take backinto his body the love-object which he had expelled from it in the formof excrement. We have here, therefore, a literal confirmation of ourtheory that the unconscious regards the loss of an object as an analprocess, and its introjection as an oral one.
Abraham thinks this kind of material conveys the very primitiveways in which the mind of a psychotic patient may connect theoutside world with a phantasied world inside the body (or insidethe self, as it is felt). It does so through a bodily activity - eating. Inaddition, loss may, in this patient, be experienced bodily asdefecating.
These are uncongenial notions, which often seem far-fetched.They are, however, the attempts of that time (the 1920s) to capturethe incomprehensible experiences of the psychotic patient.Abraham repeatedly emphasized the processes of losing andregaining loved ones in terms of losing and regaining substancesand things from and into the body. The importance of objectsbelieved, in phantasy, to be inside the body led to a specialimportance for the bodily processes that bring things (objects)inside the body, or lose them out of the body. These objects arebelieved to be quite real at some primitive level for these patients,and are handled just like bodily, physical objects. Loss of one ofthese objects is experienced, unconsciously, as just as real as theexpulsion of faeces out of the body through the anus.
Abraham's descriptions differ from Freud's paper on melancholiain certain fundamental respects, particularly the extra stress heplaces on the complex to-and-fro motion of the object in and outof the body; the very explicit experience of concrete internalobjects (e.g. just like the bodily experience of something, faeces,in the rectum); the relation of these phantasies to oral and analinstincts (sucking and excreting); and thus a clear link betweenbodily instincts and active relationships with objects. Abrahamdescribes these actual phantasies, in disguised form like thenarratives of dreams, as very primitive processes. Love, loss andrestitution expressed as phantasies of bodily activities are i
24 THE FOUNDATION
considerable amplification of Freud's theories about melancho-liacs. They diverted from Freud's theory of the super-ego, and wereto lead psychoanalytic theory in a new direction.
In summary, Abraham described how his psychotic patientswere preoccupied with very primitive processes which haveimportant characteristics: the concreteness of the phantasies aboutthe personality and its make-up; the belief in a physical presenceof entities inside the body; the connection of phantasies of oralincorporation with the mechanism of introjection, and those ofdefecation with projection. However far-fetched these ideas seemat this point, they can hardly be more strange than the minds ofpsychotic patients. I want to turn our attention in the next chapterto the idea of 'unconscious phantasy', which Freud - and especiallyAbraham - were debating in the early 1920s. I shall repeat theattempt to illustrate this fundamental root of unconsciousmeanings, experiences and activities in phantasies connected withbodily sensations.
UNCONSCIOUS PHANTASY
A further illustration from Abraham's 1924 paper reveals theextraordinarily imaginative, and often desperate, quality ofphantasies that unconsciously underlie and give meaning toexperiences. Bear in mind that in Chapter 2 we saw how thesephantasies are rooted in the experience of the body and itsactivities. In the next example these occurrences are not merelythe mad processes of psychotic patients. Now the discovery is thatthe introjection (and the underlying oral phantasies of incorpora-tion) appear as part of the familiar process of mourning as well asin melancholia. The following illustration refers to 'cannibalism'.The notion comes from the idea of introjection - people, loved orhated objects, may be taken in, through the mouth and in theactivity of eating. This is a bodily expressed notion, or 'phantasy1,which underlies the 'mechanism' of introjection.
Example: The bereaved analysand
Abraham's example is a non-psychotic man whose wife becamevery seriously ill while she was expecting their first child, whichwas eventually born by Caesarean section:
My analysand was hurriedly called to her bedside and arrived after theoperation had been performed. But neither his wife nor the prematurelyborn child could be saved. After some time the husband came back tome and continued his treatment. His analysis, and in especial a dreamhe had shortly after its resumption, made it quite evident that he hadreacted to his painful loss with an act of introjection of anoral-cannibalistic character.
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