Kleins Theory Of The Paranoid Schizoid Position

Kleins Theory Of The Paranoid Schizoid PositionThrough this essay, I am going to prove Melanie Kleins theory of the Paranoid-Schizoid position, referring to some of the defence mechanisms which the sister uses. I will excessively illustrate how parts of the Paranoid-Schizoid position are conveyed with and through Ridley Scotts film, Alien (1979).Melanie Klein believed the first disapprove which the child relates to in the external knowledge domain is its commence. During the Paranoid-Schizoid position, the infant sees inclinations around it as either well-grounded or dismal, concord to its experiences with them. The objects are matte to be loving and easily when the infants wishes are gratified, leaving them feeling happy and satisfied. Conversely, objects are seen as bad when the infants wishes are non met adequately and indeed frustration prevails.At the beginning of life, the infant does not have a perceptual image of its sustain, tho sees her in part-objects th e closely important part-object being the meet. Klein referred to the good knocker, which represents the good mother who feeds the infant on demand and gives them attention, and the bad breast, representing the bad mother who says no or who is take out when the infant wants something. The infant therefore believes they have two different mothers because they cannot that tolerate the idea of loving and hating the alike(p) object Klein termed this process riveting. The infants ego splits due(p) to the care it experiences cause by its paranoid fear of annihilation by the bad breast. The splitting process also prevents the bad breast from reverseing the good breast because the infant notes them separated from one another. Thus, the mother must(prenominal) be either good or bad and the feeling directed towards her must be either love or hate the two cannot to that extent coincide.The film, Alien, clearly portrays this splitting progress. At the beginning of the film, the a lien attaches itself, breast-like, onto Kanes face, and breathes for him in influence to keep him alive. In Kleins theory, aggression is directed towards the bad breast due to persecutory fears they believe the bad breast wants to unload them. Similarly, in Alien, the fauna is seen as frightening and harmful, representing the bad breast which the infant has a desire to destroy. However, the creature also represents the good breast, because it is keeping Kane alive.The infants anxious fears of annihilation cause the ego to develop defence mechanisms, which aim to protect the infant from the bad breast, hitherto also give them control over the good and bad breast, devising sure they are kept separate from one another. The schizoid reception to this anxiety is to end and introject the good and bad breast. Projection allows the infant to project their bad qualities outwards, into the bad breast, such as feelings of aggression, hate and envy. An deterrent example of projection in Alien can be seen at the hold on of the film when Ellen blasts the alien out into space she is ridding herself of the bad object and olibanum destroying it through projection.The infant also uses introjection to bring the good objects from the good breast inwardly them. They can then control the good objects through phantasising that the good objects are inside them. The infant thence wants to introject the good breast and project the bad breast, allowing them to make a clear distinction surrounded by the good objects, which are now inside them, and the bad objects, which have been split from them.Anal aggression is a further defence mechanism used by the infant to gain a sense of control. Since their anxiety is caused by the threatening bad breast, the infant believes they need to defend themselves using last and aggression. The infant does this by entering inside their mother through phantasy to see what harmful objects are within her. They believe there to be faeces, thei r fathers penis, and other babies inside her and consequently want to rid the mother of these bad objects. They also have the desire to put their own faeces inside their mother, since this gives them a feeling of control. The infant succeeds in this process through unconscious mind phantasy they take control by sucking dry, nipping up, scooping out, and robbing the mothers consistency of all its contentparticularly her babiesand expel dangerous substances out of the self and into the mother. The infant thus reduces their feelings of anxiety through aggression, projection and introjection.However, since the infant wants to destroy these objects inside the mother and rob her of them, they automatically feel anxiety that their mother will as want to retaliate and attack them too. Klein writes, In his destructive phantasies he bites and part up the breast, devours it, annihilates it and he feels that the breast will attack him in the same way.Thus, by projecting their bad qualities onto their mother, and through anal aggression, the defence mechanisms rebound, since anxiety and fears of persecution are experienced again. These phantasies of attacking the mother can be seen through Alien when the crew are trying to destroy the creature, which they hate and fear. They project their aggression and hatred onto the creature, which inevitably leaves them believing that the creature is determined to destroy them, along with the disloyal Mother (the spaceships computer). The crew thus want to destroy the creature, whilst at the same time they are being pursued by it.Hanna Segal also notes that there are times when the good object is projected, so it can be kept safe from an overpowering badness which is felt inside. Similarly, bad objects can be change and identified with in an sweat to gain control over them. This is because during feelings of anxiety, projection and introjection are used to keep persecutory and ideal objects as distant from each other as possible , whilst mum maintaining control of them both. In Alien, during the scene when the crew are all feeding around the table, and the creature has appeared to release itself from Kane, he is then literally sunk from within as the alien rips through his chest. In relating this scene to the Paranoid-Schizoid position, Kane introjected the bad persecutory object, with the unconscious phantasy of gaining control over it. The bad object (the creature) is then re-projected when it rips through Kanes chest. Thus, the creature is again the source of persecutory anxiety because it escapes. It thus becomes evident that although defence mechanisms initially protect the individual from harm and anxiety, they a lot rebound, creating further feelings of fear and anxiety.I am now going to discuss the jam which is behind the feeling of aggression. Klein is a great deal claiming that the infant has an innate fix to destroy e very(prenominal)thing that is good. However, David Hiles suggests that t his is simply a misunderstanding of the mechanism of envy. Thus, envy is the force which leads to such hatred of an external object, inevitably causing aggression. This envy is a result of the infants ego experiencing a denial of something they want or need. For example, the mother may be possessing yet withholding something which the infant desires, such as the infant wanting to be fed, or to be given attention. envy is therefore the feeling of conflict that what one desires, and would normally be forthcoming, but is being withheld. The envious impulse within the infant encourages them to attack the very source which they originally relied upon for what was desired. Melanie Klein believed the breast to be the first object envied by the infant. Thus, withholding the breast, which the infant trusts to contain goodness, causes the infant to respond aggressively, often biting the mother physically, or attacking her through phantasy.However, if a nurturing and loving surround is provide d by the mother, and if the Paranoid-Schizoid stage is tolerated and worked through, then normal development will often follow. Excessive envy can lead to a weakened ego, also triggering an intense feeling of guilt. The infant realises that they are destroying the primary good object which is providing them with goodness through their envious attacks. Thus, they are gradually enter the Depressive Position, and easy begin to realise that the mother is a whole object, and that they love and hate the same object.To conclude, the conflict surrounded by love and hate, and experiencing envy, is necessary for the personality to develop, along with the strengthening of the ego. The way in which the infant is brought up and cared for also contributes to the infants satisfaction and development, helping to reduce their feelings of anxiety and fears of persecution. Klein says that Persecutory anxiety is to some extent interrupted by the infants relation to the good breastthe gratification and love which the infant experiences help to counteract persecutory anxiety. Thus, the relationship which the infant has with the good breast eventually reduces anxiety and the fear of persecution. Trust is also established with the good object as the infant gradually realises that the mother is a whole object. The nature of the relationship between the mother and the infant has a great influence upon the infants future relationships with others and upon their brotherly attitude in general.Word count- 1,540