ABSTRACT
“Bothered by Alligators” is the intriguing title of Marion Milner’s last publication. Written when she was in her nineties up to the time of her death in 1998, the book is a fascinating account of her capacity for free association, developing psychoanalytic thinking and engagement with her own mind using spontaneous expression through images, poetry and religious texts. Central to the book is a diary, written in the 1930s, of her observations of the conversations and play of her young son from the age of two to nine and an illustrated story book written by him at the age of seven. The questioning that evolves in her interpretation of the meaning of his graphic images and stories contribute to the deeply personal exploration and understanding of herself and others. The authors comment, from a contemporary perspective, on Milner’s pioneering ideas and her remarkable ability and agility to freely explore novel thoughts and associations regarding developing relationships with her son, her parents and her experience of being a working mother, child analyst and being in analysis with Donald Winnicott.
