ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a conspectus of Melanie Klein's clinical thinking on the role of siblings in the conscious and unconscious development of the child. It includes: the impact of the primal scene and of the birth of a new sibling, challenges faced by an only child, sibling "sexual" relations, the role of siblings in very early infantile-maternal relations and in the resolution of the Oedipus complex, and, finally, their role in the development of individual sociability and the potential capacity for love in adult life. Melanie Klein was herself the youngest of a group of four siblings: her eldest sister Emilia, brother Emanuel, and her middle sister Sidonie. Klein's clinical cohort of very young children graphically revealed their common and early preoccupations with mother's body, her inside, parental sex, and fears of displacement by new babies whether during pregnancy or newborn. Klein drew attention to some intergenerational aspects of sibling relationships, which may often go unrecognized in daily life.
