ABSTRACT
Melanie Klein's support for the theory of the death instinct constituted one of the sources of her remarkable gift for exploring the world of psychosis and the more primitive levels of psychic development. Klein did to some extent fail in her attempt to formulate a concrete description of mental and psychopathological processes, in so far as her sole reference was to zones and functions of the body. She moved away from the field of investigation specific to psychoanalysis, something that never fails to generate serious epistemological, theoretical, and even technical difficulties. According to the hypothesis, every psycho-physical motion rising above the threshold of consciousness is attended by pleasure in proportion as, beyond a certain limit, it approximates to complete stability, and is attended by unpleasure in proportion as, beyond a certain limit, it deviates from complete stability. This chapter suggests that symbol formation generates layers of stability in the precipice into which the Self is in danger of falling.
