Fighting With Spoons: On Caretaking Rivalry Between Mothers and Daughters

Discussion of the case of Bento

“…Bento's symptoms are consistent with an interference in the development of normal, healthy narcissism due to the absence of mirroring as Kohut (Kohut and Wolf, ) described. Schmidt‐Hellerau (, ) has elaborated the importance of the parental object as a preservative screen against dread of the death drive for the formation of representations of a safe self and object, and the precipitant of the self‐preservative drive. Without adequate screening the individual becomes more anxious, passive, depressed, needing care, all consistent with Bento's presentation of himself.…”

Working through Sarah Polley'sStories We Tell(and the issue of creative expression)

“…20 Freud started out thinking of a sexual and preservative drive, before replacing the preservative with aggression. Schmidt-Hellerau (2006) has written extensively on why it might be useful to return to Freud's original drives. marriage that involved meaningful caretaking and the erotic.…”