Feelings of love and gratitude arise directly and spontaneously in the baby in response to the love and care of his mother. |
I believe that the ego is incapable of splitting the object - internal and external-without a corresponding splitting taking place within the ego. |
It is an essential part of the interpretive work that it should keep in step with fluctuations between love and hatred, between happiness and satisfaction on the one hand and persecutory anxiety and depression on the other. |
My psycho-analytic work has convinced me that when in the baby's mind the conflicts between love and hate arise, and the fears of losing the loved one become active, a very important step is made in development. |
One of the many interesting and surprising experiences of the beginner in child analysis is to find in even very young children a capacity for insight which is often far greater than that of adults. |