Madeleine and Willy Baranger’s Contribution to Psychoanalysis

This paper provides a summary of the careers of the psychoanalysts Madeleine and Willy Baranger and the context in which their ideas developed. It will outline their training contributions in Latin American psychoanalytic associations, which culminated in the foundation of the Uruguayan Psychoanalytic Association. The theory of the bipersonal field, later known as the intersubjective field, will be described. This was conceptualized to study the analytic situation when problems of stagnation arise in the analytic process and focuses on the common, unique unconscious phantasy created between analyst and analysand. The concept of the “bastion” and the notion of the “second look” directed toward the intersubjective field will be described as well as the differences between the theory of the intersubjective field and the concept of enactment. The repetition of the analyst will be considered, in particular when the analyst only uses one theory. The distinction between Klein’s early Oedipus and the Freudian Oedipus complex, which the Barangers considered to be two different concepts, will be explored. The essential points of Madeleine Baranger’s article on “bad faith” will be presented. Finally, the concept of resignification and the use of theoretical complementarity will be highlighted.