THE SHADOW OF OBJECT LOVE - RECONSTRUCTING FREUD THEORY OF PREOEDIPALGUILT

The systematic terms of metapsychology expressed in Freud's theory of oedipal guilt have overshadowed his emergent ideas about preoedipal in ternal objects and preoedipal guilt. This article reconstructs the lat ent theory of preoedipal guilt in his notions of narcissism, fantasy, aggression, and ambivalence. Special attention is devoted to his discu ssions of the narcissistic function of creating fantasized objects thr ough identificatory processes, in order to compensate for loss of dist urbances in object relating. Although Freud put forward the notion of oedipal guilt as a derivative of secondary mental processes, he intuit ively grasped that guilt emerges from the conflict-bound sphere of pre oedipal relations. ''A Child Is Being Beaten'' is used as an illustrat ion, as are clinical examples drawn from the author's practice.