ABSTRACT
The germs of the distinction between libidinal and destructive narcissism can be found in the history of the development of the concept. One theme is of narcissism as a defence against adverse object relations; the other theme is of narcissism as a manifestation of a basic hostility to object relations. S. Freud's own original contributions to narcissism began in a footnote that he added in 1910 to the Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality in which he described narcissistic object relations. The chapter shows that the narcissistic object relations developed by the patient, the "twin soul" relationship, is an alliance formed to oppose a murderous superego, represented by the "old woman". It suggests that narcissistic disorders arise when there is a failure of containment in infancy and childhood, which gives rise to an ego-destructive superego. A narcissistic organization is evolved using narcissistic object relationships—internal, external, or both—to evade the hostile superego.
