The author discusses 'L' Enfant et les sortileges', an opera by Ravel based
on a short story by Colette, which traces the trials and tribulations of a
young boy whose bad behaviour leads to his being sent to his room, left al
one and given only tea and bread until dinner. His progression from angel t
o persecution and fear, the various defences he employs to protect himself
from fee ling overwhelmed and his despair ave graphically illustrated throu
gh words and music The author considers the opera in relation to Klein's th
eory of the paranoid-schizoid position and the struggle involved in maintai
ning contact with good objects, externally and internally,. Revisiting the
opera in light of Meltzer's contribution to psychoanalytic thinking provide
s a wider perspective in which to explore what he has termed the aesthetic
conflict and its place in relation to the depressive position and developme
ntal processes.