Introduction

When in my adolescence I first read Freud it was very exciting to discover that psychoanalysis addressed itself to all fields of human endeavour and could throw a light on pathology and achievement alike, and that the practice of psychoanalysis could satisfy equally a wish for a therapeutic endeavour in psychoanalytic practice and an interest in the humanities.

At the beginning of my practice I was lucky in having among my patients both some artists and some psychotics. Both those kinds of patient draw one’s attention to the crucial importance of symbolism and its vicissitudes. Psychoanalysis, I discovered, and rediscovered again and again, is a unique tool for investigating it.

Since that time I have written a number of papers on the subject of phantasy, dream, symbolism, and art. I have also lectured on these subjects in various settings to various audiences and on various levels. The editors of this series thought that it would be worth while for me to try and bring together my thoughts on those themes. I am grateful to them for stimulating me to attempt to do so in this book. The way I conceived this book dictated the way I deal here with references to other authors. I try to show the development of my thought without discussing other views or entering into controversies. I include only those works which illuminated my problems at the time I was struggling with them. Thus, for instance, in the chapter on art I quote extensively from Rodin and other artists. But of art critics and writers on aesthetics I refer only to Bell and Fry because I found their views on aesthetics illuminating and some of their criticism of psychoanalytic writers in the field relevant. Of psychoanalytic writers, my main inspiration comes of course from Freud and Klein. Later, Bion added considerably to my own understanding of symbolism and thought processes. These apart, I refer to only a few authors who influenced me at various times. A technical problem preoccupied me: how to make my writ