ABSTRACT
Many psychic developmental accomplishments lie “between the thumb and the teddy bear.” In this paper, one that gained him significant recognition, Winnicott is carefully observing the process whereby a child comes to traverse the difference between a world that is entirely subjective—the new infant’s world of omnipotence—and a world that consists of objects and occurrences external to the infant. He explores the meaning of an area that lies between objective and subjective realities in the life of the infant. The piece of blanket appears to be the vehicle of transit on this important journey. The infant’s transitional object is neither internal nor external. The transitional object and transitional phenomena represent the infant’s first foray into the realm of illusion and creativity beyond that which the maternal environment provided for him. This intermediate area of experience is the resting place between inner and outer reality. It is the prototype fo\r the place of creativity, of freedom, of play, of imagination, of arts and religion where, in adulthood, reality does not constrain.
