Discussion of Peter L. Giovacchini's Article, Characterological Aspects of Marital Interaction

Dr. Giovacchini follows through on his earlier work of weaving the fabric of an object relations theory of mate selection and interaction. He further develops the substance of his earlier

hypotheses regarding the concepts of symbiosis and the introjective-projective mechanisms in marital relationships. He conceives that marital interaction involves the projection of the self representation onto the spouse, and then introjection of the projected self representation by both partners. How mutually beneficial the projection-introjections are depends on the levels of ego development of both the partners: the greater the level of ego development, the greater the mutual benefit (symbiosis) and vice versa. This concept is congruent with Grotjahn's, that each spouse desires his or her mate to be the ideal person that he would wish to be if his gender were the same as his spouse's.

Giovacchini makes an important observation regarding the character structures of marital partners when he points out that in lasting marriages the mates are usually of similar or equivalent psychodynamic structure. They are not complementary in the sense that has come to be accepted since someone popularized the phrase “opposites attract,” although Mittelman's work on defense complementarity seemed to support this popular idea. My own studies agree with Giovacchini's observation that what is referred to as complementarity of couples deals only with defenses and superficial aspects of behavior. Deep sources of anxiety are frequently the same or equivalent in those couples where there are significant marital difficulties. Each fails to give the “promised” support the other desires.

The author's hypotheses are provocative, but, while I see specific application for some of his concepts, I do not see the general application that he advances. If he had used the term “pathological” marital interaction in his title and had modified his discussion in this way throughout, I should more easily concur with his