ABSTRACT
The struggle for dominance discussed in Chapter 5 may lead to an important form of psychic retreat based on resentment and grievance. This type of outcome is illustrated in the present chapter. Here I try to show how resentments can build up and be nursed when the impulse to violence and in particular revenge is prevented from being expressed. The resentment leads to an impasse from which it is diffi - cult for the analyst and patient to extricate themselves. A clinical example illustrating such an impasse is discussed. Extracts from Kidnapped (1886) by Robert Louis Stevenson are then used to illustrate ways in which resentment can sometimes be relinquished and replaced with forgiveness.
