WOMEN AND THEIR BODIES, THE MOTHER-DAUGHTER BOND. CONTRIBUTIONS FROM KLEINIAN THEORY

Abstract

This paper integrates theoretical contributions from Melanie Klein in the analysis of the movie The Lost Daughter (Gyllenhaal, 2021). It focuses on women, their bodies, and motherhood, with a special emphasis on the mother-daughter bond. It explores some concepts of this author, such as internal world and object relations, Oedipus complex, the mother’s body, attack and retaliation, early anxieties, envy, projective identification, idealization, and reparation. This current theoretical perspective would contribute to understanding the themes presented beyond clinical practice.