The intrauterine dimension in human existence and psychoanalysis: A homageto Bela Grunberger.

Although Bela Grunberger's theory of narcissism indicates possible response s to issues left unresolved by Kohut and Kernberg, it has not been accorded much attention in English and German-speaking countries. In the first sect ion, the author outlines Grunberger's main train of thought and his central hypothesis whereby manifestations of primitive narcissism can be traced ba ck to "prenatal coenesthesia." Prenatal coenesthesia encompasses the satisf action of all the needs of the foetus, which on account of the absence of d rive tensions leads a subjectively bodiless existence in the womb. Only at birth is it forced to emerge from the purely narcissistic dimension and rec ognize the limitations of its physical, drive-governed "equipment". In the second section, Kaminer goes on to describe a further aspect of the dialect ic of narcissism and drive in Grunberger's thinking, the "monad". The term is used to refer to the "dual unity" existing between mother and child. As the infant's drive development progresses, the monad disintegrates and is t ransferred first to the family and later to the surrounding culture. The au thor demonstrates the way the monad operates with reference to various cult ural and clinical examples.