ABSTRACT
One month into Penelope’s analysis, her mother went away on a trip and during this time she brought to all sessions an old, worn pillow doll. Over her clothes she wore something of her mother’s, a piece of some sheer and frilly evening wear, a ring and a necklace. Her downcast and pale appearance made her look like a sleepwalking and strange figure, a sad and elegant rag doll. Mother wrote the respective subtitles: a “screaming whale”, a “crying whale” and a “screaming dragon”. Mother became very moved by Penelope’s despair when she saw the door closed. From that moment on she cooperated as she could with our work. Confidently, Penelope re-established a routine of getting closer and withdrawing. Improving one’s contact with inner and outer reality lessens persecutory anxieties and assists the taming of instinctual drives without annihilating its strength.
