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Because my thinking has been significantly influenced by Charles Brenner I begin this paper with a quote from his “Reflections.” Reflecting on the concept compromise formation, Brenner (1986) states: “No thought, no action, no plan, no fantasy, dream or symptom is ever simply [the result of the expression of] one or another of those [factors]. It is always multiply determined by all of them” (p. 40). Brenner continues, “When presented in this way as a theoretical generalization, this is a statement with which most analysts would agree … yet my experience is that we all do need to be reminded of it, and repeatedly. What is accepted as theory is, as a rule, neglected in practice” (p. 40).
The goal of this paper is to explore the advantages of Brenner's (1982) contemporary elaboration of Freud's concept compromise formation for the understanding of phenomena typically thought of as narcissistic and masochistic.
Because this paper draws heavily on Brenner's (1982) The Mind in Conflict it is worth reviewing some of its essential elements. In this work the mind is conceived of as interminably in conflict. The consequences of the conflicts are compromises between the four conscious or unconscious elements of conflicts resulting in fantasies or derivative enactments.