The use and meaning of symbolic objects in dyadic relationships: A study of transitional phenomena

The cornerstone of Cauldwell's work rests on the theories of the British psychoanalyst D. W. Winnicott, who pioneered the developmental concept of the transitional object (an object which helps the child go from a state of self-relatedness--"primary narcissism"--to a state of self-relatedness--being in relationship to the world). The thesis of the paper asserts that not only children, but adults as well use transitional phenomena in an attempt to establish a more tangible state of connectedness with themselves and with each other. It is proposed that a sense of being disconnected, of anomie, is related to a developmental failure of attachment, but that people continually make both conscious and unconscious attempts to re-connect in order to "repair" that failure. One way people try to re-create a sense of connectedness is through the use of transitional objects.; The paper introduces a second, cultural perspective, of people's use of transitional objects. Drawing from the works of anthropologists and social psychologists, the paper discusses how couples, and society itself, use transitional objects symbolically, primarily for the purpose of communication. For various reasons, however, the symbolic object may be used to either enhance or to obscure the communication.; As a qualitative, phenomenological study, Cauldwell's dissertation raises the question: In what ways and to what extent do certain couples, at certain times, utilize symbolic objects to facilitate or defend against emotional communication? Two different subjects are used to explore this question. A psychoanalytic approach is used in an in-depth study of a clinical case. The study focuses on a woman who adopted the use of a transitional object as a means of relating both to herself and to men. The second approach is an in-depth study of the play, "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" by Edward Albee. The play, seen as a rite of passage for the characters, is viewed from an anthropological perspective as a representative statement of our culture and as social commentary. In addition, the play is viewed as a psychological study of a couple in transition, which is facilitated by the use of a transitional object. In combination, the clinical case study and the play offer a unique vantage point from which to view the curious phenomenon of the individual, dyadic, and social use of transitional objects.