Literature and object relations psychoanalysis have intersected in a wide variety of ways ever since the theory’s early forms were elaborated by Karl Abraham and Melanie Klein. I will begin this overview by briefly discussing the core tenets of object relations theory, and will go on to suggest four tools that object relations offers literary critics: a new perspective on the act of symbol formation and creative production, a new understanding of the very scene of reading, and a new interpretations for the symbolism and narrative trajectory of certain texts, particularly texts examining the mother-child relationship and texts examining modernity as strangely psychotic. Object-relations also offers tools for literary critics examining the psychic process of identification, which is of increasing political importance to scholars of trauma or nationalism.
Freudian objects
In his early scientific writing,...
3187 words
Citation: Wasson, Sara. "Object Relations". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 January 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=782, accessed 09 June 2026.]
