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Our appreciation of any given writer increases with the possibility we have to express not only our agreements but also our disagreements with what he or she proposes. What Segal says may not coincide with our criteria, but what is indisputable
Page 280is that her ideas have dialectical value. [Maldona-do quoted by Quinodoz, p. 89]
This is a biography in the presence of its subject. Many people have contributed to this portrait, not least Hanna Segal herself, when Jean-Michel Quinodoz listened to her with a tape recorder in his hand during 2004-2006. His fascination with Segal as his muse started when he was in supervision with her during the years 1979-1989. Segal had been appointed as Melanie Klein's representative in Geneva, when, in a letter quoted more than once in this book, Klein wrote, “I really think she [Dr. Segal] is by far the best person to explain my work succinctly and also not to be provocative.”1 For Segal, Geneva was more than a Kleinian missionary post; it had been her home as a child after her family left Poznan in Poland when she was twelve years old. Segal has never let Klein down, always sticking to the mission of explaining without seeking to provoke.
Nevertheless, Segal has been at the center of professional controversy throughout her career. Her gift has always been to present Klein's work in as unproblematic a way as she can, and there are surely few of us who did not begin our acquaintance with Klein through Segal's transparent gaze. This book could therefore be a lucid beginning for studying Klein. However, Quinodoz's intention has been to present the essence of Segal herself, and this is what we get. It is a solid treatment of Segal's enduring professional interests, portrayed in ten acts. The ten chapters explore specific themes: the first one, biographical in nature, is followed by nine others into which Quinodoz has shuffled Segal's published contributions. These themes start with aesthetics, her initial work and love; then the schizophrenia