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Our theories about the earliest clinical connexion between love and hate have become more important since analysis of psychoses in adults and children has become more frequent. By clinical connexion I mean a connexion that can be seen and heard in our work.
Repetitions of earlier and earlier aspects of development now appear with greater and greater frequency during analytic sessions. What was once arm-chair theory is becoming more and more important as it may determine the type of interpretation given.
In this paper I shall have less to say about anxiety, depression, enthusiasm, guilt, and fantasy, than I would like in order to say more about love and hate. I use these two short words, love and hate, only as they are shorter than the two words libidinal and aggressive.
Prior to all I say is one assumption. Throughout this paper I assume that a stage of primary narcissism is present before the love and hate I talk about. At the same time we should remember that the value of any assumption is that it makes one clear about what one doubts. The history of science shows the value of doubting assumptions. To be clear about an assumption is to be clear about what we are testing for truth or falsity.
Basic to analysis is instinct theory. Stated simply instinct impulses, in neurological terms, recurrently reduce excitation and, in metapsychological terms, recurrently lead to satisfaction. The word tension refers to the strength of the impulse. If the impulse persists without satisfaction desire appears. If the impulse lasts longer without satisfaction tension increases, and if it persists long enough pain appears. Classically at this point the discussion of the relationship of love to hate begins.
If with Freud we assume two instincts which are fused in such a way that early behaviour cannot be separated into a love part and a hate part—if we assume that some of the strength of primary activity comes from hate and some from love, we assume that, when the activity doe