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Part II    Psychodynamic Theories160
theydonotreceive milkandlove.Thisdualimage ofselfallows them tomanage 
thegood andbadaspects ofexternal objects. Asinfants mature, theirperceptions 
become more realistic, theynolonger seetheworld interms ofpartial objects, and
theiregosbecome more integrated.
Superego
Klein’s picture ofthesuperego differs from Freud’s inatleastthree important aspects. 
First, itemerges much earlier inlife;second, itisnotanoutgrowth oftheOedipus 
complex; andthird, itismuch more harsh andcruel. Klein (1933) arrived atthese 
differences through heranalysis ofyoung children, anexperience Freud didnothave.
There could benodoubt thatasuper-ego hadbeeninfulloperation forsome timein
mysmall patients ofbetween two-and-three-quarters andfouryears ofage,whereas 
according totheaccepted [Freudian] viewthesuper-ego would notbegin tobe
activated untiltheOedipus complex haddieddown—i.e. untilabout thefifthyear
oflife.Furthermore, mydatashowed thatthisearly super-ego wasimmeasurably 
harsher andmore cruel thanthatoftheolder child oradult, andthatitliterally 
crushed down thefeeble egoofthesmall child. (p.267)
Recall thatFreud conceptualized thesuperego asconsisting oftwosubsystems: 
anego-ideal thatproduces inferiority feelings andaconscience thatresults inguilt
feelings. Klein would concur thatthemore mature superego produces feelings ofinfe-
riority andguilt, butheranalysis ofyoung children ledhertobelieve thattheearly 
superego produces notguiltbutterror.
ToKlein, young children fearbeing devoured, cutup,andtornintopieces—
fears thataregreatly outofproportion toanyrealistic dangers. Whyarethechil-
dren’s superegos sodrastically removed from anyactual threats bytheirparents? 
Klein (1933) suggested thattheanswer resides withtheinfant’s owndestructive 
instinct, which isexperienced asanxiety. Tomanage thisanxiety, thechild’s ego
mobilizes libido (lifeinstinct) against thedeath instinct. However, thelifeanddeath 
instincts cannot becompletely separated, sotheegoisforced todefend itself against 
itsownactions. Thisearly egodefense laysthefoundation forthedevelopment ofthe
superego, whose extreme violence isareaction totheego’s aggressive self-defense 
against itsowndestructive tendencies. Klein believed thatthisharsh, cruel superego 
isresponsible formany antisocial andcriminal tendencies inadults.
Klein would describe a5-year-old child’s superego inmuch thesame wayFreud 
did.Bythe5thor6thyear, thesuperego arouses littleanxiety butagreat measure 
ofguilt. Ithaslostmost ofitsseverity while gradually being transformed intoareal-
isticconscience. However, Klein rejected Freud’s notion thatthesuperego isacon-
sequence oftheOedipus complex. Instead, sheinsisted thatitgrows along withthe
Oedipus complex andfinally emerges asrealistic guiltaftertheOedipus complex 
isresolved.
Oedipus Complex
Although Klein believed thatherviewoftheOedipus complex wasmerely anexten -
sionandnotarefutation ofFreud’s ideas, herconception departed from theFreudian 
oneinseveral ways. First, Klein (1946, 1948, 1952) heldthattheOedipus complex Final PDF to printer