This is the second part of an extended paper reviewing the nature of the messages Winnicott wished to communicate to his audience through the psychoanalytic case of The Piggle. ‘Introduction and the Treatment’ (published in BJP 31[2]) set out the work in its theoretical and historical context and reviewed the dialogue which serves as the material for the work. This part provides a discussion and a critical analysis of the case, and an examination of both explicit and less worked‐out conclusions which can be drawn from it. The author considers the case as evidence that therapy with a child can be intensive without being extensive. He highlights Winnicott's emphasis on the importance of play for working through internal conflicts, not merely as providing material for interpretation. Whereas Winnicott held firmly to the efficacy of his commotional interpretations, and the notion that Gabrielle's unconscious dispositions were agentive and intentional, the author argues for an alternative to Winnicott's interpretation, highlighting the use of make‐believe play, the irregular timing of the sessions and the child's own maturational processes as being important elements in her recovery. He suggests that, for Winnicott, these factors were intuitively, rather than conceptually worked out, and, in so being, contribute to the enigmatic nature of the original work.

The Piggle is one of only two substantial psychoanalytic case histories to be published under Winnicott's name. Winnicott felt that the case and the associated notes and reflections provided important material for discussion. Claire Winnicott – his wife and literary executor – wanted to bring these to an audience, and did so by overseeing the posthumous publication of the work in 1977. The nature and purpose of the work's message is explored in an extended paper published in two parts, in this and the next issue of the Journal. In Part I, published here, the author discusses the work in its historical context alongside other contemporary child analyses (notably Klein's Narrative of a Child Analysis and McDougall's Dialogue with Sammy) and its ambivalent reception by its contemporary audience. The author identifies theoretical issues raised by the material; the use of commotional and conjunctional interpretations; the use of time, and analysis on demand; the place of play in therapy and the role of the parents. He reviews the dialogue between analyst and child as set out in the text, identifying emerging themes. He attempts to understand what the child, Gabrielle, was trying to communicate. He then reviews Winnicott's interpretation of those sessions, identifying areas in which the interpretations may be at odds with what the child was experiencing. At the end the author encourages the reader to re‐read Winnicott's original text before reading the discussion and critical evaluation that forms the basis of the second part of the paper, ‘Discussion and Critique’.

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This paper considers the meaning, reference and clinical relevance of Winnicott's concept of 'riddance'. Taking its starting point from the infant's behaviour in letting go the spatula, as described in his paper, 'The observation of infants in a set situation', it explores his explanation of riddance activity in the context of Freud's earlier description of his own grandchild's losing and letting go of objects, in 'Beyond the pleasure principle'. Particular attention is paid to Klein's influence on Winnicott's formulations about riddance activity. It is argued that this had the effect of lessening the distinctiveness of his own initial explanation of the phenomena. Discussion of the paper is set against the background of Winnicott's contemporaneous treatment of Klein's son Eric and the ideological differences prevalent within the British Institute of Psycho-Analysis at the time. The subsequent eclipse of the riddance concept in Winnicott's writings and the possible reasons for this are discussed, as well as its eventual re-emergence in the later guise of the 'use of the object'. The clinical relevance for psychotherapy as well as the conceptual utility of the concept of riddance is underscored, and illustrated with reference to Winnicott's treatment of the child patient known as The Piggle.