Pathological Narciasiam g4 - opus4.kobv.de

Otto Kernberg

g4

Borderline Conditions andPathological Narciasiam

Jason Aronson, Inc. New York1975

P.4

While it is possible to identify the main differencesbetween borderline personality organization and *.;.._.psychotic states (l), it is usually more difficultto identify the differences between borderlinepersonality organization and the neuroses. Becauseof this difficulty, I have attempted in this paperto clarify the complex distinctions betweenborderline personality organization and the neuroses.

1/ Prosch, J. The psychotic character: clinicalpsychiatric considerations. Psychiat. Quart.

38i81-96, 1964

Otto Kernberg Borderline Conditions and—Pathological Narcissism --p.213/214

There are patients who describe a painful and disturbing subject experience which they frequentlyrefer to as a feeling of emptiness. In typicalcases, it is as if this emptiness were their basicmodality of subjective experience from which theyattempt to escape by engagement in many activitiesor in frantic social interactions, by the ingestionof drugs or alcohol, or by attempts to obtaininstinctual gratifications through sex, aggression,food, or compulsive activities that reduce theirfocusing on their inner experience. Other patients,in contrast, seem to succumb to this experience ofemptiness and to acquire what might be described asa mechanical style of life—going through themotions of daily activities with a deadening sense

of unreality or a blurring of any subjective

Excerpt of Kernberg, O., 1975: Borderline conditions and pathological Narcism, New York (Jason Aronson) 1975.

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In

experience, so that they seem to merge, so toApeak,—with whatever immediate inanimate or huraan-environment surrounds them.

Otto Kernberg Borderline Conditions andPa Lhologli

p.214/215irolssism

Psychoanalytic exploration regularly reveals thatthese patients suffer from an unconscious sense ofguilt and that the "emptying" of their subjectiveexperience reflects their superego's attack, as itwere, on the self. The harsh internal punishmentinflicted by the superego consists in the implicitdictum that they do not deserve to be loved andappreciated, and that they are condemned to be alone.On a deeper level, and in severe cases, internalfantasies determined by superego pressures are thatbecause of their badness they have destroyed theirinner objects and are therefore left alone in aworld now devoid of love.

Otto Kernberg Borderline Conditions andRatho-logical- Narcissismp.215/6

The subjective experience of the therapist whorelates to depressed in contrast to schizoid patientswith experiences of emptiness is remarkably different.In the relation with a patient presenting a depressivepersonality structure or chronic neurotic depression, tthe therapist may have a sense of intense human contact,a subjective experience of empathy, and at the same.time, be aware that the patient cannot accept emotion- jally the very availability of the therapist in spite \of his awareness of the therapist as a real person. \The unconscious sense of guilt that prevents the ;depressed patient's accepting love or concern as it is \offered, is reflected in the transference and in the |therapist's emotional reaction to it. In contrast, 'the therapist in contact with schizoid patients 'describing a subjective sense of emptiness., of lack of ,


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i?': emotional meaning of their relationship with allnthftr nftonlft and of Hfft in gpnpmi t may oyp0r^np0

5 simil ar oc+- »»;>»"» cram/in 4- -..-.^ ,J ,• ,- j i ... . ....4 l • — •••••• •• • ii.ii,. i_m ijtr;i in i, n I , lllciy f-x£"-* r • f^nr-o

a similar estrangement and distance and unavailabilityi5..n*s_i!lter^tions with these patients.

Q.tto Kernberg Borderline Conditions andPatholog.jp.217

This example illustrates a stage of resolution ofJ™t2tSaCa?*.ba^ Chf°nically resistant and °* \frustrating situation in the therapeutic relation „uJschizoid personalities, namely the^dispersal InT !fragmentation of emotions in all humanP?efatiSnsinHU?±n?,a ^r°nic sense of emptiness in the patient?he schizoidhIrapi?t,S resP°n^ to such pa?Ln^The schizoid experience of emptiness is not close toa sense of loneliness; loneliness implies an intensefull awareness of the possibility of significant 'relations withhave availabletreatment.

Otto Kernberg

others, which these patients do notto them for a long time in their

Borderline Conditions and-Pathological. Narcissism.,p.219/20

I. think that all I have said so far about the

symptom of emptiness lends itself to the followinggeneralizations. The subjective experience ofemptiness represents a temporary or permanent lossof the normal relationship of the self with objectrepresentations, that is, with the world of inner-objects that fixates intrapsychically the significant experiences with others and constitutes a basicingredient of ego identity. Patients with anormally constituted ego identity and, therefore, astable integrated self and a stable integrated worldof internal objects, such as depressive personalitystructures, illustrate this process during periodswhen severe superego pressures threaten them withabandonment by their internal objects because oftheir internal sense of not deserving to be loved.


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However, under these circumstances, the capacity"fnr normal object-relations always remains and may beactualized in the transference and in other interpersonal experiences.

Otto Kernberg Borderline Conditions and

Pathological Narcissism•pTZZ3

An important question has been raised in recentyears regarding the relation between the subjectiveexperience of futility and emptiness, on the onehand, and the rapid breakdown or shifts in socialstability and cultural values, on the other. Thequestion has been posed of whether contemporarysocial and cultural changes have affected the patternsof object relations. On the basis of the analysisunderlying what I have said so far, I do not thinkthat changes in contemporary culture have effects onpatterns of object relations, if we define objectrelations not simply in terms of actual interactionsbetween a person and others, but in terms of the-intrapsychic structures that govern such interactions,and in terms of the internal capacity to relate indepth to others. Many authors have talked aboutwhat has been called this "age of alienation," and it


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;has been implied that social and cultural alienationmay faster rHslntenrRtinn of j-h* i-ap^-j^y ofinvolvement in depth with others/

Otto Kernberg Borderline Conditions and_Pathological Narcissismp".223 "

Kenistom (1, 2) comparing youth in protest withalienated youth, has provided important sociologicalevidence indicating that generalized withdrawal fromrelations with others and the incapacity to establishdeep, lasting relations are not a direct reflectionof youth culture, but stem from very early childhoodconflicts and family pathology.. By the same token,I do not think that changes in contemporary moralityhave changed the need and the capacity for intimacyin various forms. This is not to say that suchchanges in the patterns of intimacy could not occurover a period of several generations, if and whenchanges in cultural patterns affect family structureto such an extent that the earliest development inchildhood would be influenced. It seems to me thatone has to make a distinction between the effects, ofsocial disorganization, of severe disruption of the


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family*structure and of earliest child development(all of which have a definite impact on thedevelopment of the personality), and the effectsof rapid cultural change reflected in changing socia]

—* and sexual" morest these latter do not, I think, !bring about chronic experiences of emptiness and i

"* futility, unless there exists severe pathology— of internalized object relations which stems from

infancy and early childhood..

JD/ Keniston, K#, Young Radicals. New Yorkt HarcourtBrace and World, Inc. 1968

2// Keniston, &.., Student Activism, Moral Developmentand Morality. Amer. J. Qrthopsychiat.. 4Q.:577-592.,197Q

Otto Kernberg

Otto Kernberg

Borderline Conditions andRathological-Nar-Gi&sism-p.227

I. suggested in Chapter 1 that narcissistic as adescriptive term has been both abused and overused,but that there does exist a group of patients inwhom the main problem appears to be the disturbanceof their self-regard in connection with specific-disturbances in their object relationships,, andwhom we might consider almost a pure culture ofpathological development of narcissism. It isfor these patients that I would reserve the termnarcissistic personalities. On the surface, thesepatients may not present seriously disturbedbehavior; some of them may function socially verywell!, and they usually have much better impulsecontrol than the infantile personality.

Borderline Conditions and

Pathological NarcissismP..22BT9

-The main characteristics of these narcissisticpersonalities are grandiosity, extreme self-centeredness, and a remarkable absence of interestin and. empathy for others in spite of the factthat they are so very eager to obtain admirationand approval from other people.. These patientsexperience a remarkably intense envy of other,people who seem to have things they do not have orwho simply seem to enjoy their lives. Thesepatients not only lack emotional depth and fail tounderstand complex emotions in other people, buttheir own feelings lack differentiation, with quickflare-ups and subsequent dispersal of emotion.They are especially deficient in genuine feelingsof sadness and mournful longing; their incapacityfor experiencing depressive reactions is a basicfeature of their personalities. When abandoned or


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thias82f2cSd1oXv0tV?5 P^°Ple theY may show what onfurtgefn J1l:!!.T:1.n.ni ^ "hich °"ai^kT- j r. — * r3aill||i out wnicn on

fotSn examinatlon emerges as anger and resentment,4S-^f -Wi^ fuVengefUl wishes» r^ther than real ':ippCICia^.the loss of aperson whom the*

Qtto Kernberg Borderline Conditions andPathol ngiral Harrigo^p .230

In short, the surface functioning of the-narcissistic personality is much better than that ofthe average borderline patient:, therefore, theircapacity for regression—even to the level ofpsychotic functioning when undergoing psychoanalysis-may come as a real surprise to the analyst.

Otto Kernberg Borderline Conditions and— Pathological Narcissism-.

p.231/32

_ -L propose that a process of refusion of theinternalized self and object images does occur in^naJCi2?XftlC PersonalitY at a level of develop-"J.H1 W^Cêgo boundaries have already becomeStable.. At this point, there is a fusion of idealself, ideal object, and actual self images as adefense against an intolerable reality in the interpersonal, realm, with a concomitant devaluation anddestruction of object images as well as of externalobjects. In their fantasies, these patients identifythemselves with their own ideal self images, in order-to deny normal dependency on external objects and onthe internalized representations of the externalobjects. It is as if they were saying,M do notneed to fear that I will be rejected for not livingup to the ideal of myself which alone makes it


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possible for me to be-loved by the ideal person Iimagine wouia love me., That ideal person and my idealimage of that person and my real self are all one,-and better than the ideal person whom I wanted to loveme, so that I do not need anybody else any more." Inother words, the normal tension between actual self.on the one hand,, and ideal self and ideal object onthe other, is eliminated by the building up of an inflated self concept within which the actual self andthe ideal self and ideal object are confused. At thesame time, the remnants of the unacceptable selfimages are repressed and projected onto externalobjects, which are devaluated. This process is in jmarked contrast to the normal differentiation between |ideal self images on the one hand and ideal objectimages on the other, both of which represent theinternalized demands of objects as well asgratification from these objects if the demands are"met. "The normal superego integrates, ideal selfimages and ideal object images.; the tension between

actual self images and suebecomes tension between th

patients presenting patholthe pathological fusion beobject, and actual self imintegration of the superegidealization is highly unrcondensation of such ideal

parental demands and withsuperego forerunners.

h integrated ideal ones,e ago and superego... Inogical narcissism, however,tween ideal self, idealages prevents sucho, because the process ofealistic, preventing theized images with actualthe aggressively determined.

Otto Kernberg Borderline Conditions and£.atholog±cal. -Narcissismp.237

One patient fell in love with a woman whom heconsidered very beautiful, gifted, warm, in short,completely satisfying. He had a brief period ofawareness of how much he hated her for being soperfect, just before she responded, to him and decided,to marry him. After their marriage he felt boredwith her and became completely indifferent toward her.During his psychoanalysis he came to understand how.he treated his analyst in a similar way; hedepreciated everything he was receiving from hisanalyst in order to prevent his envy and hatred fromcoming to the surface. After that, the patientgradually developed strong suspiciousness and hatredtoward his wife for having all that he felt he didnot have, and he was also afraid that she wouldabandon him and leave him with even less. At thesame time, however, he was able for the first time to


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^vranrjenderne^ t0 hIsT*" *y her exP—ions ofand his increasing ISi?^

-without having t^dSfend^gaLs'fJt'bv £»>»*«*•awareness of other peoole LS h lu ^ destroying his;-analyst-"come alive- as re?Vn. ,th hlS wife and "is- ttltiencu, and eventually peStedîm jndePeêntnot only hatred but also lovftoward thl eXperience

Gttto Kernberg Borderline Conditions and~ ~ E^±^cOo-gic.al-_Nar-ci^sisc

p.238

among other functions, a narcissistic one" the?'

peraonanty in thi n^TeLlTs.TLTulsT^Thus for example, the stubbornness or oppositionali^m0nlr°JSstlliVe P^fe^îes often has a ?t?ongtl0nallSmnarcissistic quality; however, there is much morestability and depth in the interpersonal re5at?Cnships


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of obsessive personalities than in those ofnarcissistic personalities, in spite of the fact thatboth may appear superficially as quite "cold."' A'lso,,

:he value systems of narcissistic personalities are[enerally corruptible, in contrast to the rigid moralityif they obsessive personality.

Otto Kernberg Borderline Conditions and-Eathological-Narcissismp.242

The second illustration of a narcissisticcharacter defense was provided by a male patient withan obsessive personality structure. He was quitederogatory toward the analyst, reveled in his owninterpretations of his material, and saw the analystmainly as a background figure whose function was toapplaud and admire these interpretations and insights,When this attitude was systematically examined,however, and the patient was consistently confrontedwith this defensive pattern, a new, deeper trans-ference pattern evolved. In this new facet of thetransference, the patient saw the analyst as a cold,indifferent, unloving mother image, and experiencedfeelings of sadness and loneliness, representing an-early longing for his idealized mother. In thissecond illustration, too, when the narcissisticcharacter defenses broke down, other transference


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patterns; emerged in which the patient maintained adifferentiated object relationship,—neither devaluatinthe object nor taking flight into an idealized selfimage. In summary, both of these cases developed new,differentiated transference relationships after thenarcissistic character defenses had been dissolved,whereas the narcissistic patient cannot acknowledgethe analyst"as an independent object and continuouslyand stubbornly regards him as a simple extension ofthe patient's own self concept, although theregression within this same transference paradigmmay fluctuate.

0. Kernberg

Otto Kernberg

Borderline Conditions and— Pathol nrpral Mar^j «,«••, ~m

p. 245

At times it is difficult to imagine how frequent andhow repetitive such interactions are, extending asthey do over two or three years of analysis; thisresistance to treatment illustrates the intensity ofthe narcissistic patient's need to deny any dependentrelationship. it is obvious that consistentâ^nati"0rV?f the ne9ative transference is even morecrucial in these patients than in others underqoinqpsychoanalysis. y y

Borderline Conditions and

•gathQl-ogiGa-1 -Nag-ci-ss-igrp.,248/9

I suggested in Chapter 3 that narcissisticpersonalities, in spite of the fact that theirdefensive organization is, broadly speaking, similarto that of the borderline personality, benefit verylittle from expressive, psychoanalytically orientedtreatment approaches geared to that category ofpatients, and that psychoanalysis is the treatment ofchoice for narcissistic personalities. Some of thesepatients not onifcy tolerate the analytic situationwithout excessive regression but are so extremelyresistant to any effort to mobilize their rigidpathological character defenses in the transferencethat they remain untouched by analysis. In patientswith narcissistic personalities and overt borderlinecharacteristics (multiple symptomatology, severe nonspecific manifestations of ego weakness, regression to


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process thinking); psychoanalysis is contraindicated...Thftsft patients usually r-annot t^^r^tQ the severeregression and reactivation of very early pathogenicconflicts in the transference, necessary to theiranalytic treatment, without psychotic decompensation.

.Ai.more supportive treatment approach seemsbest forthis group.. In regard to those narcissistic patientswho seem capable of undergoing psychoanalysis, Ihave found the following prognostic considerationsuseful in individual cases.

Otto Kernberg Borderline Conditions andPathological Narcissismp.,2b7

The crucial test of the motivation of these patientscomes only after a period of analysis. The usuallyacceptable motivations for treatment, such as thewish to get rid of symptoms, may prove quite spuriousin patients with narcissistic personalities. Theymay really want to become "perfect," and may enteranalysis with such expectations. The question ofwhether "perfection" will turn out to mean for themfreedom from symptoms so that they can be superiorto everybody else, or whether it will be exbhangedfor the wish to get rid of their crippled emotionallives, is often difficult to answer at the initiationof treatment. In any case, the more a person wishesto overcome feelings of emptiness, difficulties inempathizing with others, and his internal coldness,the better the prognosis.


Pathological Narcissism —

p.264

Perhaps one difference in my description from thatderived from Kohut's work is my stress on thepathological nature of their internalized object relations,' regardless of the superficially adaptive-behavior-of many of these patients. In addition, I,stress the presence of chronic, intense envy, anddefenses against such envy, particularly devaluation,omnipotent controll, and narcissistic withdrawal, asmajor characteristics of their emotional life.


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5

Otto Kernberg Borderline Conditions andPathological Nflrrissiamp.266

However, a basic disagreement exists between Kohut'aviews and mine regarding the origin of this grandioseself, and whether it reflects the fixation of an-archaic "normal"* primitive self (Kohut's view);, orwhether it reflects a pathological structure,clearly different from normal infantile narcissism(jmy view)\

0. Kernberg Borderline Conditions and

Pathological Narcissism-pT2T0

Kohut (IX thinks that narcissistic personalitiesremain "fixated on archaic grandiose self-configurations and/or on archaic, overestimated,narcissistically cathected objects" (p.3). He clearlyestablishes (p..9) a continuity of pathological andnormal narcissism, in which the grandiose selfrepresents an archaic form of what normally, and inthe course of treatment, may become the normal selfin a continuous process. His analysis focuses almostexclusively on the, vicissitudes of development oflibidinal cathexes, so that his analysis of pathological narcissism is essentially unrelated to anyexamination of the vicissitudes of aggression. Kohutstates Up.xv).:- "Specifically, this study concentrates almost exclusively on the role of the libidinalforces "in the analysis of narcissistic personalities;the discussion of the role of aggression will be taken


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up separately.."' In addition, Kohut examines '-narcissism so predominantly from the viewpoint of thequality uf Lhe instinctual cTra~rl3e7~Tnirtîmply the existence of two entirely different,-narcissistic and object-oriented, libidinal instinctsdetermined by intrinsic qualities rather than by thetarget (self or object)' of the instinctual investment.In his words (pê):: "Nacissism, within my generaloutlook, is defined not by the target of the-instinctual investment (i.e. whether it is thesubject himself or other people), but by the nature or 'quality of the instinctual charge.." He repeats the iessence of this statement later (.p.39 footnote), and iconsiders the development of object iove largely !-independent from that of lower to higher forms ofnarcissism (pp.. 220.., 228, 297),., Kohut conveys the"impression that he analyzes the vicissitudes of normal,And pathological narcissism and of normal and.pathological object relationships as mostly dependent i"on the quality of libidinal cathSxes rather than in s

terms of the vicissitudes of internalized objectrelations.

1// Kohut, H.. (1971). The Analysis of the SelfNew York: Int. Univ. Press.

Otto Kernberg Borderline Conditions and...Pathological Narcissism.

p.271

I disagree with these viewpoints, and like Jacobson(vlX, Mahler CD and van der Waals (3),, I think thatone cannot divorce the study of normal and pathological narcissism from the vicissitudes of both libidinaland aggressive drive derivatives, and from thedevelopment of structural derivatives of internalized-object relations (.4 & 5).. In what follows, I willprovide clinical material as well as theoreticalconsiderations in support of the following viewpoints.,

1/ Jacobson, E, (.1964X. The Self and the Object WorldNew York:. Int. Univ. Press.

2./'- Mahler, M.S. (1968).,, On Human Symbiosis and theVicissitudes of Individuation, vol. It InfantilePsychosis. New York:. Int. Univ. Press.

3/ Van der Waals, H..G. (1965), Problems of narcissism.Bull. Menninger Clin. 29, 293-31L..


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Kernberg, O. (1971) New developments in psychoanalytic object-relations theory. Parts I and III.:Normal and pathological development. (Paper readto the American Psychoanalytic Association.):(Unpublished)Kernberg, 0. (1972T Early ego integration andobject relations. Ann. N.Y. Acad.. Sci.. 193°,233-247

Otto Kernberg Borderline Conditions andPdLhuloylcal Narcissism ~;p.271

Pathological narcissism can only be understood interms of the combined analysis of the vicissitudes oflibidinal and aggressive drive derivatives. Pathological narcissism does not simply reflect libidinalinvestment in the self in contrast to libidinalinvestment in objects, but libidinal investment in apathological self structure. This pathological selfhas defensive functions against underlying libidinallyinvested and aggressively invested primitive self andobject images which reflect intense, predominantlypregenital"conflicts around both love and aggression*-.

0~. Kernberg Borderline Conditions and-Eatholagical—Narcissismp.271/2

To summarize these three viewpoints into one overallstatement: Narcissistic investment (i.e. investmentin the self), and object investment (that is,investment in representations of others and in otherhuman beings) occur simultaneously, and intimatelyinfluence each other, so that one cannot study thevicissitudes of narcissism without studying thevicissitudes of object relationships, in the same wayone cannot study the vicissitudes of normal andpathological narcissism without relating the development of the respective internalized object relations-to both libidinal and aggressive drive derivatives.

0. Kernberg Borderline Conditions and

Pathological—Narcissismp.2.76

The inclusion of the child in the narcissistic world

of mother during certain periods of his early development creates the predisposition for the "specialness"of the child, around which the fantasies of thegrandiose self become crystallized. The narcissisticcharacter defenses protect the patient not onlyagainst the intensity of his narcissistic rage, butalso against his deep convictions of unworthiness, hisfrightening image of the world as being devoid of foodand love, and his self-concept of the hungry wolf outto kill, eat, and survive. All these fears areactivated in the transference at the time when the

patient begins to be able to depend upon the analyst.Excerpt of Kernberg, O., 1975: Borderline conditions and pathological Narcism, New York (Jason Aronson) 1975.

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If:-

Otto Kernberg

Qtto Kernberg

Borderline Conditions andPathological Narcissismp_Z82

What are the structural origins and functions ofthe.pathologically condensed grandiose self7 In myview, idealized object images which normally would beintegrated into the ego ideal and as such, into thesuperego, are condensed instead with the self-concept,

Borderline Conditions andPathological Narcissismp.283/4

Bor all these reasons, pathological narcissism cannotbe considered simply a fixation at the level of normalprimitive narcissism. Normal narcissism stems fromthe libidinal investment in an originally undifferentiâted: self and object image from which later, libidinally•invested, self and object images will develop.* These |will eventually determine an integrated self, which ,incorporates libidinally determined and aggressively jdetermined self-images under the predominance of the ,libidinally determined ones. This integrated self issurrounded by integrated object representations whichin turn reflect the integration of earlier, libidinallyinvested and aggressively invested object images, theintegration also occurring under the predominance ofpredominantly libidinal object images. In pathologicalnarcissism this normal "representational world (1).is replaced by a pathological constellation of


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internalized object relations,

1/. Sandler, J. & Rosenblatt, B. (.1962);. The conceptof the representational world. Psychoanal. StudyChild 17


Eathological Narcissism288

The analyst certainly needs to avoid educationpressures or a moralistic stance, and I think that thebest way to achieve this is by analyzing the motiveswhich determine narcissistic defenses, including theactivation of the grandiose self. One prominent reasonwhy these patients cannot tolerate facing theirfeelings of hatred and envy is because they fear suchfeelings will destroy the analyst, destroy their hope.for a good relationship with him, and crush their hopeof being helped. At a deeper level, these patientsfear that their aggression will not only destroy thepotentially loving and giving object but also theirown capacity to give and receive love. Narcissisticpatients also attempt, in denying the reality of theirpmotional relationship with the psychoanalyst, to denythl Singer of tfieir"destructiveness and to preserve


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the iIllusion of being able to "-start all over again."

Otto Kernberg S^L1?' Cation, and PathologicalP.299

I^did not understand her demands and the feeling shehad experienced in the reaction to the narcissisticfrustration which she had suffered as a ?hild" (1 f«m :°" s^tes=- ""I was finally able to tell her [hat her.:anger at me was based on narcissistic processes <

»^^:^^^^£/ rwîSllo^d-rê^.eâJrSrûsS^ror^Sogoul10^1depressive self-preoccup.ation during later years of the ;


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patient's life*" (p.292). In the light of thenveral]—information given about this case, I would raiaathe question to what extent, in making this interpretation, was the analyst implicitly blaming thepatient's mother for having caused the patient»'s anger-and -protecting the patient from full examination ofthe complex origins of her own rageZ In more generalterms, I see a danger of a seductive effect given bythe combination of the analysf's unquestioningacceptance of the patient's idealization, and by theimmediate referral back to the original object of thenegative transference without exploring fully thepatient's participation in the development ofpathological rage within the here and now of thetransference.

1/ Kohut, H. (1971) The Analysis of the Self New York:.,Int. Univ. Press.


Pathological Narcissism__p.308

For practical purposes, object relations in depthinvolve the capacity both to love well, and to hatewell, and particularly to tolerate varying combinationsof loving and hateful feelings, and their toned downmingling in the relationship with the same object andwith the self. Normal object relations as well asnormal narcissism include an integrative conception indepth of others and oneself. All this is in strikingcontrast to the frequent blandness and uninvolvement,the lack of commitment to others as well as to anyconvictions about himself that one sees in narcissistic

patients. Paradoxically, such lack of emotional depthand commitment may permit a better social functioning,for example, in certain political and bureaucraticorganizations in which lack of commitments meanssurvival and access to the top.

inanimate objects have lost their previous, magicallysatisfying qualities. _. ..._ .


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*

contrast to the frequent blandness and uninvolvement,

Otto Kernberg Borderline Conditions andpathological Narcissismp. 311

It is dramatic how intense the denial of this long-range reality can be in narcissistic personalities,who under the influence of the pathological, grandioseself are unconsciously ('and sometimes consciously)convinced of their eternal youth, beauty, power,wealth and the unending availability of suppliesof confirmation, admiration, and security. For them,to accept the breakdown of the illusion of grandiositymeans to accept the dangerous, lingering awareness ofthe depreciated self—the hungry, empty, lonelyprimitive self surrounded by a world of dangerous,sadistically frustrating and revengeful objects.Perhaps the most frightening experience thatnarcissistic personalities need to ward off andeventually may have to face is that of a surroundingworld empty of love and human contact, a world ofdehumanized objects within which animate as well as

inanimate objects have lost their previous, magicallysatisfying qualities. ._


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