Eighty-Third Session

Richard was again waiting at the corner of the road. He glanced furtively at Mrs K. She said that she had been able after all to rearrange. his times. Richard seemed pleased, but still did not look at her. He said he had planned an ‘excursion’ and was going to climb one of the higher hills with John Wilson and John's friend. In the

playroom, Richard opened his suitcase and said that the lobster had disappeared, but at once added that this was only a story, the lobster was still in the case, together with the photographs, his camera, and the other things.

Mrs K. pointed out that Richard hardly dared to look at her. He seemed to be terrified because of the previous session. Probably he felt that she had changed into the ‘wicked brute’ by being impatient with him.

Richard said sarcastically, ‘Hitler said, “My patience is exhausted.”’

Mrs K. interpreted that she had, in his mind, completely changed into Hitler. He felt that she contained Hitler, therefore he was attempting all the more to break up the floor and cut the table, in order to cut out Hitler. What he had said about the lobster on the previous day had shown that he felt it was inside himself and Mrs K. and was linked with the octopus-Daddy, while at the same time he wished it to be a good and edible genital. But he had great doubts of its goodness and therefore he had just now said that it had disappeared, though it actually was in his suitcase. The lobster being in the case together with the nice photograph of the landscape meant that Richard contained both the good Mummy and the bad Daddy-genital. When Richard compared Mrs K. with Hitler, he meant that she was only pretending to be ‘sweet’ and ‘light blue’ by keeping calm and not showing anger; but he had always suspected this and expected her, as he did with his mother, to feel angry when he himself felt furious, biting and attacking her. Therefore, he had so often asked her, as he asked his mother, whether he had hurt her feel