I. Reports of Proceedings of Societies

Second Quarter, 1932

Scientific Meetings

April 13, 1932. Mrs. Joan Riviere: 'Remarks on a case of Morbid Jealousy used as a Defence'. Transitory accessions of persecutery jealousy were found on analysis to be not merely a projection of infidelity in the patient herself (often they were not), but invariably to be projections of the underlying ucs significance of infidelity in oral-erotic-sadistic terms, viz., situations of gratification by despoiling parent-figures (husband, analyst, etc.) of their possessions, organs and love-objects, thus ravaging and triumphing over them. Jealous scenes occurred after patient (in phantasy or reality) had herself secured some triumph or acquisition at another's expense, anxiety and anticipation of talion retribution being thus aroused. This dread produced an intense avoidance of causing a total and lasting loss, or achieving a consummation of possession, i.e. through biting off (the primary ontogenetic idea of 'death', through disappearance of the object by swallowing). To avert this anxiety, fixation (or regression) to a sucking mode of oral possession ensued, a perpetual, protracted absorption, a process not to be completed. All jealousy, even the so-called normal, in part consists of an ucs judgement that the loss is a retribution for acts (and phantasies) of oral aggression by the betrayed himself.

May 4, 1932. Mrs. Klein: 'Homosexuality in the Male'. (Excerpts from a chapter of her forthcoming book The Psycho-analysis of Children.)

May 26, 1932. (1) Dr. Brierley: An abstract of Mrs. Klein's paper, 'Homosexuality in the Male'. (2) Mrs. Isaacs: A series of dreams illustrating the paper. (3) The adjourned discussion of Mrs. Klein's paper was then concluded.

June 1, 1932. Miss Searl: 'Play, Reality and Aggression'. Institution of reality principle only a result of deprivation. Completely satisfied infant needs no external world. Very unsatisfied and impatient infant seeks only to dev