MELANIE KLEIN
Final comments The concept of “objects” in Freudian theory seems quite cold, but when we appreciate that in infancy we attach ourselves to a particular person (usually our biological mother) without giving much thought to who that person actually is—rather, we think only in terms of our own needs—the theory does make some sense. Arguably, this tendency carries over into adulthood, for in truth we are often less interested in who a person really is than in how they can satisfy some of our basic wants and wishes. It is only mature people who transcend “object relations” to really care about the worldview, interests, and aspirations of other people. Whether or not you accept all Klein’s ideas, it cannot be denied that most of our relationships with our parents and siblings—even if they are good—are complex, and we should not instantly dismiss the notion that many of our attitudes or hang-ups stem from the first few months of life. For Klein, this was the crucial time when the interaction between natural tendencies and environment sets us up to be a basically satisfied or unsatisfied person. For some, Klein creates a rich world of ideas that explains our deepest needs and longings. For others, her books seem like mumbo-jumbo— Freudianism taken to its worst extremes. Her explanation of schizophrenia, manic depression, and depression as outgrowths of the paranoid-schizoid and depressive positions in infancy should be viewed critically; these days, such conditions are being increasingly fathomed by brain science rather than psychoanalysis. Klein’s style takes a while to get into, but for someone who was denied the chance to attend university she was clearly a profound thinker. Her own childhood clearly shaped her work, and her daughters provided a ready testing ground for her ideas. As with many children of psychoanalysts, this was not always appreciated.
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