Here is one note I left for Elaine Wranik during the summer of 1991:
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MORE THAN ONE REASON FOR NOT EATING THE GRAPES
_____________________________________REJECTION FROM FRUSTRATION
A hungry wolf sees some grapes growing high along a wall. He tries to reach the grapes to satisfy his hungry but they are beyond his grasp. The frustrated wolf thinks, "Who wants those grapes--they're probably sour anyway."
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REJECTION FROM INNER INHIBITION
A hungry baptist sees some grapes growing high along a wall. He tries to reach the grapes to satisfy his hunger, but as he grasps the grapes he thinks, "I must not eat them. They may have fermented."
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REJECTION BY REASON OF FAILURE OF NARCISSISTIC NOURISHMENT
A hungry hypoglycemic sees some grapes growing along a wall. He tries to reach the grapes hoping the sugar content will compensate for hyperinsulinemia. The grapes prove to be low in sugar content leaving the hypoglycemic with his symptoms. He tosses the remaining grapes to the ground in anger.
From Janet Malcolm, In The Freud Archives, quoting Leonard Shengold, M.D.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to Jeff at the Archives was unfortunate. He very much needs the acceptance and corroboration of people he respects. He wants desperately to have ties to people like Eissler. These connections give him narcissistic nourishment, and when he doesn’t get it, it’s a terrible strain for him. He provoked what happened, of course, but it’s terribly unfortunate that he elicited all this reaction from Anna Freud and Eissler and the whole psychoanalytic establishment. It pushed him in an unhealthy direction. There’s a kind of crazy sincerity there, but he can turn against anyone, because he can feel betrayed by anyone.