fei75766_ch05_149-178.indd 152  02/06/20 11:22 AM
Part II    Psychodynamic Theories152
Unfortunately, Klein didnothaveahappy marriage; shedreaded sexand
abhorred pregnancy (Grosskurth, 1986). Nevertheless, hermarriage toArthur 
produced three children: Melitta, born in1904; Hans, born in1907; andErich, 
born in1914. In1909, theKleins moved toBudapest, where Arthur hadbeen trans -
ferred. There, Klein metSandor Ferenczi, amember ofFreud’s inner circle and
theperson whointroduced herintotheworld ofpsychoanalysis. When hermother 
diedin1914, Klein became depressed andentered analysis withFerenczi, anexperi -
encethatserved asaturning point inherlife.That same yearshereadFreud’s On 
Dreams (1901/1953) “and realized immediately thatwaswhat Iwasaiming at,at
leastduring those years when Iwassoverykeen tofindoutwhat would satisfy me
intellectually andemotionally” (quoted inGrosskurth, 1986, p.69).Atabout the
same timethatshediscovered Freud, heryoungest child, Erich, wasborn. Klein 
wasdeeply taken bypsychoanalysis andtrained hersonaccording toFreudian prin-
ciples. Aspartofthistraining, shebegan topsychoanalyze Erich from thetimehe
wasveryyoung. Inaddition, shealsoattempted toanalyze Melitta andHans, both
ofwhom eventually went toother analysts. Melitta, whobecame apsychoanalyst, 
wasanalyzed byKaren Horney (seeChapter 6)aswellasbyothers (Grosskurth, 
1986). Aninteresting parallel between Horney andKlein isthatKlein lateranalyzed 
Horney’s twoyoungest daughters when theywere 12and9years old.(Horney’s 
oldest daughter was14andrefused tobeanalyzed.) Unlike Melitta’s voluntary 
analysis byHorney, thetwo Horney children were compelled toattend analytic 
sessions, notforthetreatment ofanyneurotic disorder butasapreventive measure 
(Quinn, 1987).
Klein separated from herhusband in1919 butdidnotobtain adivorce for
several years. After theseparation, sheestablished apsychoanalytic practice inBerlin 
andmade herfirstcontributions tothepsychoanalytic literature withapaper deal-
ingwithheranalysis ofErich, whowasnotidentified ashersonuntillongafter
Klein’s death (Grosskurth, 1998). Notcompletely satisfied withherownanalysis 
byFerenczi, sheended therelationship andbegan ananalysis withKarlAbraham, 
another member ofFreud’s inner circle. After only14months, however, Klein expe-
rienced another tragedy when Abraham died. Atthispoint ofherlife,Klein decided 
tobegin aself-analysis, onethatcontinued fortheremainder ofherlife.Before 1919, 
psychoanalysts, including Freud, based theirtheories ofchild development ontheir
therapeutic work withadults .Freud’s onlycasestudy ofachild wasLittle Hans, aboy
whom hesawasapatient onlyonce. Melanie Klein changed thatsituation bypsycho -
analyzing children directly. Herwork withveryyoung children, including herown, 
convinced herthatchildren internalize bothpositive andnegative feelings toward 
theirmother andthattheydevelop asuperego much earlier thanFreud hadbelieved. 
Herslight divergence from standard psychoanalytic theory brought much criticism 
from hercolleagues inBerlin, causing hertofeelincreasingly uncomfortable inthat
city.Then, in1926, Ernest Jones invited hertoLondon toanalyze hischildren andto
deliver aseries oflectures onchild analysis. These lectures laterresulted inherfirst
book, The Psycho-Analysis of Children (Klein, 1932). In1927, shetookuppermanent 
residency inEngland, remaining there untilherdeath onSeptember 22,1960. On
thedayofhermemorial service, herdaughter Melitta delivered afinalposthumous 
insult bygiving aprofessional lecture wearing flamboyant redboots, which scandal -
izedmany inheraudience (Grosskurth, 1986).Final PDF to printer