ABSTRACT
At the time Klein became a professional psychoanalyst, in 1919, Freud had built on the first three basics, however, there was then an increasing disagreement. Various early colleagues of Freud’s began to develop divergent ideas: Alfred Adler, Carl Jung, and others. Freud saw the need to give a clear lead in what psychoanalysis actually is. Whereas most would have accepted that it consisted of a focus on psychic reality, the unconscious and symbolisation, those who diverged contested the content of the unconscious and of psychic reality; they interpreted the symbols of that content differently. Adler thought the core issue was inferiority and a reactive devotion to power; Jung more like Freud accepted that the core was instinctual, but disagreed with Freud’s emphasis (or over-emphasis, he thought) on the sexual instinct. In response, Freud established that the identity of psychoanalysis was indeed the libido, which became formed into the conflicts over the Oedipal complex.
Did Klein’s early observations carry any weight in this debate?18
