Peering into One of Winnicott's "Blank Spots"

In his Philosophy of Right, Hegel wrote that "Whatever happens, every individual is a child of his time; so philosophy too is its own time apprehended in thoughts" (1821, 11). Could the same be true for psychoanalysis? If it could, how can one generation of psychoanalysts apprehend the thoughts of an earlier generation? This is a question a reader may hold in mind when approaching this long-awaited new biography of Donald Woods Winnicott, a man often regarded as one of the most "human" and well-loved of psychoanalytic theorists.

The skill displayed by F. Robert Rodman as he draws the reader into the life of his subject bears all the hallmarks of a fine biographer. At the same time, the author gently guides the reader, whether novice or professed, into the consideration of Winnicott's life, including his silences and resistances: those theories-in-potential, floating on a remote horizon, or at the periphery of vision. While seeking to maintain a tension between close examination and simultaneously casting into the distance, the reader becomes conscious that Rodman is writing about one of the most innovative of psychological thinkers, whose life bridged a number of historical moments and whose "blank spots" seem increasingly obvious, until they reach the point where they dominate, becoming a major preoccupation. The author pays careful attention to the ebb and flow between Winnicott's life and work, bringing forth questions about the way his internal life relates to the external realm of family, church, school, and then, of course, the vast new world of psychoanalysis. As he surveys the sometimes severe terrain of Winnicott's life, Rodman's scholarly and affectionate approach to his subject offers probing insights, though never reckless enthusiasm.

An example of this open approach is found at the end of the second chapter when Rodman states that "although Winnicott does not warrant criticism for what he did not contribute, particularly in view of all he did, it is nonetheless interesting to consider how his own sexual problems affected his psychoanalytic meditations. For each contributor has his or her own life as a basis for the imaginative construction of those of others" (2003, 22). In these few words Rodman not only touches on Winnicott's difficulties with sex and sexual relationships, but also lays the groundwork for studying both the internal and external relations between what is personal and the "other."

Winnicott was a genteel man from the West Country who articulated his theories in plain English, and he represents a distinct break with a British tradition in which an infant was seen as tyrannical and manipulative: a small, immensely powerful being whose will had to be broken by whatever means it took. There can be little doubt that Winnicott introduced a new and radical discourse with the well-being of children as its foundation.

In his developmental theories, Winnicott invented over time such humanizing terms as "good-enough mother," "containment," "holding," "facilitating environment," "reverie," "True Self," "False Self," and "transitional phenomena." He rarely used the language of psychopathology. Rodman allows the reader to see that Winnicott's revolution in British child-rearing practice was a consequence of his own particular understanding of psychoanalysis, influenced at first by Melanie Klein's theories about the earliest stages of childhood. That he was invited by the BBC, in 1949, to give talks about child care on the radio allowed his thoughts to be very widely heard and discussed. Through the shifts he brought to child-rearing methods, he wrought changes within the consulting room, so that the terms he applied to child-rearing began also to have a feedback effect on his psychoanalytic model.

The word "relationship," signifying for Winnicott the bond between a mother and her infant, had rarely been used in this manner. His "revolution" was not politically motivated, but arose out of his belief in children and his desire that they should have the best psychological opportunities in life. Winnicott recognized that many...