ABSTRACT
This paper constitutes an attempt to explore further the puzzling phenomenon of the blame victims of misfortune and trauma impose on themselves. The role of unconscious wishes and the symbolic meaning of ill fate have been used to explain the personal meaning of the traumatic events in a person’s life; however, the omnipotence and the inability to “use” external reality for gratification and exoneration require additional explanations which transcend the analysis of personal meaning. The present study aims at shedding additional light on that aspect of trauma and its impact on personality organization.
