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The publication of the English translation of José Bleger's book 40 years after its original Spanish publication in Argentina in 1967 is an important event for the psychoanalytic community for various reasons. Bleger's major theme focuses on the initial stages of psychological development prior to the paranoid-schizoid position postulated by Klein, and 25 years before Ogden's (1989) description of the autistic-contiguous position. Regrettably, Bleger's original ideas have not always been acknowledged. His model is one that has great clinical applicability.
Previously this book has been published in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. This English publication is an important event in the movement of ‘going South’ as recognized by James Hillman. It furthers the integration of the analytic movement in Argentina and South America, and makes them accessible to the English-speaking public. Additionally Bleger's ideas make a meaningful contribution and expansion to the ego-developmental studies by Jungians. As discussed by Samuels (1985), Klein's approach and interest in pre-Oedipal phases of development have parallels to the pioneering studies made by Jung on the Hero's journey and the Dual Mother. Samuels Samuels (1985) compares the early ego defence of splitting, described by Klein, with Jung's (1912/1951) discussions of the dual, ambivalent Mother that the Hero has to face. He further posits that what Klein described at the personal level concerning ego development, Jung had described at the mythological level. Bleger leads us to an even more primitive phase, to an early stage of ego development in which there is a strong un-differentiation and in which the relationship with both the mother and the environment remain much more physical than psychological.
In building up his theoretical model of ego development, Bleger's thought developed under the influence of the psychoanalytic model of the Argentine Psychoanalytic Association (APA) founded in 1942. In an editorial introdu