The Shadow of the Object - by Christopher Bollas (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Basing his view on the object relations theories of the "British School" of psychoanalysis, Christopher Bollas examines the human subject's memories of its earliest experiences (during infancy and childhood) of the object, whether it be mother, father, or self. He explains in well-written and non-technical language how the object can affect the child, or "cast in shadow," without the child being able to process this relation through mental representations of language.

From the Back Cover

In The Shadow Of The Object is the exploration of psychoanalysis, of the reliving through language of that which is known but not yet thought.

Review Quotes

There is much in this book that is wise, clinically perceptive, and thought-provoking. Bollas is clearly exquisitely sensitive to affective nuances as clues to early, preoedipal events and their developmental consequences....Bollas's book is a lucid, creative, balanced... exposition. It deserves a respectful audience.-- "The Psychoanalytic Quarterly"

About the Author

Christopher Bollas is Director of Education at the Austen Riggs Center of Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts.