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This book's purpose is to explore the underlying structure of narcissism, particularly the associated sadomasochism which the authors view unequivocally as being its fundamental axis. They assert early that narcissism is “… a bipolar organization of the psychic apparatus that alternates between a sadistic and masochistic position, each being the necessary mirror and complement of the other” (p. 3). They are not content with Freudian structural theory, and they seek to enlarge it. They depart from biological libido theory as a primary explanatory hypothesis, although they retain the topographic theory and the repetition compulsion, while seeking to recast them in a new light. They turn to other theories deriving from social anthropology (Levi-Strauss), linguistics (de Saussure), and modern French psychoanalysis (Lacan) to explore the dynamics of narcissists and to intensify their study of transference and countertransference phenomena. They weave their ideas together with others deriving from M. Klein, Winnicott, Bion, and Kernberg. They aspire to use their broadened therapeutic armamentarium in the treatment of difficult patients. Since the book focuses on sadomasochistic operations between people, it brings to the foreground and emphasizes interpersonal issues of power, destructiveness, frustration, victimization, and exploitation. The analyst is instructed in the details of the patient's various ploys so that he may strategically pull the analysand out of his sadomasochistic patterns using “therapeutic power” (p. 8).
In Chapter 2, the authors outline their understanding of the metapsychology of sadomasochism when studied using the theory of semiotics, i.e., that science that concerns itself with the explanation of systems of signs, as originally elucidated by Ferdinand de Saussure. Jacques Lacan has applied this theory to the study of the unconscious. This is an interesting and complex area for study, and the authors outline it competently, increasing our interest