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Struggle Against The Introjects
Struggle Against The Introjects
In previous communications I have studied the ego repeats these attempts at destruction,
various aspects of the complex relationship the internalized objects do not cease to exist and
between the ego as a total field of organized to exert their power. Thus, the ego is compelled
forces, and the internal images, resulting from to act out its destructive impulses indefinitely.
early introjections. In view of this basic situation, the ego, inevit-
From the point of view of general homeo- ably, becomes self-destructive. The attempts
stasis, an ideal condition is achieved when the to do away with the object may be followed by
essential introjects become completely assimi- the attempt to replace it once more by an even
lated and integrated into the ego. However, more powerful introjected image. Subsequently,
such an ideal situation is hardly ever attained the wish to destroy the original object may lead
in view of intense ambivalent hypercathexis of to even more self-destructiveness, so that
the original internalized images. Thus, the ego destructive acting out inevitably results in self-
develops various reactions in its constant destructive activities.
attempts to achieve the impossible task of com- Clinical illustrations for these reaction patterns
plete integration. may be gathered from the analysis of patients
In the course of this struggle sectors of the belonging to various clinical groups.
ego consisting, as it were, of introjected images, In the analysis of depression one may observe
become externalized and clustered around real the attempts of the ego to reinstal the introjects
persons. Between the latter and the ego which have become threatened by the analytical
reactions develop duplicating some of the process. The image of the analyst, fused with
original situations prevailing between the infan- some of the original imagos, is being made the
tile ego and its main objects. object of destructive impulses which, at the same
This parallelism could be demonstrated in time, turn against the self of the patient and
analysis of male homosexuality, latent and produce a temporary deepening of the depres-
manifest schizophrenia (1). An important sion with the flaring up of suicidal impulses. In
concept that emerged in the course of these his dreams he may show himself filled with
investigations was the externalization of various partial introjects, of which then he tries to rid
aspects of the self. In this process they, too, himself by acts of externalization. A female
having become fused with various aspects of patient dreamt that her vagina was filled with
the original objects, became externalized together books and phallic symbols as representatives of
with them, so that, for instance, in male homo- both her father and her analyst. She then
sexuality the homosexual partners proved to be proceeded to eliminate them, in fantasy, by the
substitutes not only for the parental objects but way of the genital, anal, and oral orifices.
for the self as well. Another female patient who in her fourth year
Former studies have demonstrated the in- of age had lost her father and had introjected his
destructibility of original images in the ego legs, which were paralysed as a result of his
field of certain individuals. Yet the amount of illness, reactivated these processes and ex-
aggression directed toward these objects by an perienced pains and weakness in her legs. This
ego, overflowed by strong ambivalence (original was accompanied by outbursts of destructive
as well as a result of defusion of instinctual acting out towards her husband and her analyst,
drives), forces the ego to attempt various forms both acting as substitutes for the paternal imago.
of struggle which, basically, cannot change the Finally, a male patient, whom I have described
situation. Despite the compulsion with which at some length in a previous study, was re-
.. Paper read before the 20th Congress of the International Psycho-Analytical Association, Paris, July-
August, 1957.
182
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constantly relating his instructors (and even some students. He would listen to the stories of a fellow
of his fellow students) to the parental, especially student's sexual exploits and would experience them
maternal, imago: for instance, it would disturb him vicariously. Or in a more primitive identification
to think that his French teacher did not really care he would feel completely one with some homosexual
about his progress, since she was married and had objects of original (brother) or substitute character.
her own family, so that he, Raphael, played no part He would fill himself, he said, with other people's
in her life. interests, since he had none of his own.
It became clear in the course of his analysis that In the second place, while trying to rid himself of
the analytic process was stimulating within his ego a his original introjects, he was unwillingly submitting
set of intense contrasting reactions. On the one to the impact of new internal images which he
hand he was induced to discharge a considerable established as a result of recent contacts, since the
amount of hostility toward the maternal introject onset of his illness. They stuck within his ego
and thus was aiming at its total destruction. As though he was trying to destroy them in outbursts
against this threat of loss of the internalized love of furious hostility: among them were his former
object the ego would set in motion reactions aiming therapist and the young couple in whose home he
at restoring the introject under the guise of various lived after he left his own home and after analysis
substitutes. Since both opposite sets of reactions had helped him to disentangle himself from his-
seemed to occur with equal intensity, the analytic juvenile girl friend. These persons whom he hated
work seemed, time and again, of a rather Sisyphean were very much on his mind and seemed to interfere
nature. with some of his activities. Since he wished them
Here are a few illustrations of the above descrip- to die, in their malevolence they inevitably seemed
tion. Raphael used to see what he described as to destroy him as well. In trying to destroy them he
decomposed mental images of women: for instance, felt as though he was destroying himself. Masturba-
he was seeing only their legs, 'like in a Cubist tion was experienced as self-castration.
painting'. In his art course he was most impressed Incidentally, Raphel developed what he called his
by scenes of torture in Breughel or by nails being • theory of paranoia': he explained his suspicious-
driven in the hands of Christ in pictures of the ness as a reaction against his' blurred perception'.
Crucifixion. Thus, the maternal introject was In his wish to get away from the maternal intro-
disintegrating under the impact of his hostility and, ject, Raphael inevitably mobilized his homosexual
by the same token, much of his hostility was attachment to his father and, more particularly, to
threatening the integrity of the self. his brother. This took the form of spells of com-
In defending himself against his urge for reaffirm- plete identification so that at times he felt he was
ing his introjection of parental and substitute images, both himself and a fellow student.
Raphael was blocking his' doors of perception '.5 The struggle against the internal images led to a
In particular he was defending himself against scopto- depletion of Raphael's ego. Consequently, people
philia: he felt his vision becoming blurred, and that and even inanimate objects acquired greater power
it was against his wish that he listened: time and as contrasted with the painful feeling of his own
again hecould hear no better than dimly and described object weakness. At times his notes and textbooks
his sinuses and Eustachian tubes as swollen. seemed alive and frightening.
And yet, much as he was trying to cut himself Beset by all this strife and struggle, the ego quite
off from the outside world and to rid himself of the naturally was making constant attempts at regres-
parental introjects, they were catching up with him sion. Relapses into masturbation were accompanied
in a twofold way. by intense introversion and autoerotic fascination
Firstly, he was regressing to some infantile stage with his own body. Yet at the same time destructive
of development and was reactivating infantile impulses, directed at the introjects, were sapping
libidinal impulses, so as to re-establish and to main- the strength of the somatic and mental ego.
tain his contact with and allegiance to his original
objects. Instead of studying, he would, for instance, Some of the reaction patterns described in
feel compelled to betake himself to the Times Square this clinical observation can be found on a
area and to enter one of the amusement centres grandiose scale in certain manifestations of
where he would look at pictures of nude females, group psychology. As one important illus-
become aroused and have an ejaculation. Thus, he tration I have pointed elsewhere certain themes
was gratifying his scoptophilia and would accuse of religious experience (5). In addition I would
himself of submitting to the power of the • peeping
machines '. like to mention some aspects of Indian philoso-
In trying to rid himself of his introjects, he was phy which clearly reflect the struggle against the
experiencing the feeling of emptiness of his ego, introjects. Thus it becomes apparent that we
which he proceeded to fill in by passively submitting deal here with some of the universal patterns of
to the impact of casual acquaintances or fellow the mind.
5 William Blake.
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REFERENCES
(1) BYCHOWSKI, G. (1956). 'The Ego and the (New York: Intern. Univ. Press, 1951.)
Introjects.' Psychoanal. Quarterly, 25. (5) - - 'Origins of Religious Experience.'
(2) - - (1956). 'The Release of Internal Psychoanalysisand the Social Sciences. Vol. 5.
Images.' Int. J. Psycho-Anal., 37. (6) PIERRE-QUINT, L. Le Combat de Marcel
(3) - - 'Walt Whitman: A Study in Sublima- Proust. (paris: Club Francais du Livre, 1955.)
tion.' Psycho-analysis and the Social Sciences. (7) The Upanishads. Translated by Swami
Vol. 3. (New York: Intern. Univ. Press, 1951.) Nikhilananda. (New York: Harper, 1949.)
(4) - - ' From Catharsis to Work of Art: The (8) ZIMMER, H. Philosophies of India. Bollingen
Making of an Artist.' In Psychoanalysisand Culture. Series, No. 26, Pantheon Books, 1951.
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