"Is it an animal inside? "Melanie Klein's unpublished Don Juan Paper (1939)
Frank, C.; Klein, M.
Luzifer-Amor Zeitschrift Zur Geschichte der Psychoanalyse 21(41): 120-140
2008
ISSN/ISBN: 0933-3347 PMID: 19230330 Document Number: 619467
Klein had been asked to contribute an article to the birthday number of the International Journal for Jones. The author outlines how she hurriedly wrote a text about Don Juan which, however, was rejected by the editor. Essential parts of it are presented in German translation. The manuscript is discussed in the context of Klein's published work as well as of the relevant contemporary literature. In Klein's view, Don Juan's genitality is determined by oral impulses and fears. By his manic acting out he attempts to ward off a depressive break-down. The paper ends with some reflections about why Klein--ontrary to her intention--failed to revise her manuscript for later publication.