You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
Otto Kernberg has long staked out his territory in psychoanalytic thinking, and one would not expect to find love on a map of that territory. He acknowledges in the preface to this book that he has been more known for dealing with aggression, and there are times while reading the book that I felt Kernberg was still focusing on aggression. He repeatedly asserts that the integration of aggression into one's loving relationships and identifications is essential to the formation of stable love relationships. The book, however, is clearly written and reads easily, and thus seems to be both a continuation and an eloquent counterpoint to all of Kernberg's previous work. Apparently, one who has delved into the worst problems that a person can have in forming relationships can appreciate the best of human relations.
Kernberg says that his investigation into the nature of love began with the role of eros and sexuality and a return to Freud's ideas on unconscious fantasy and infantile sexuality, and the first few chapters of this book seem to focus on the sexual side of love. In fact, throughout the book, Kernberg focuses on the sort of love that occurs between mature adults, which includes sexuality, and that