So the Witch Won't Eat Me: Fantasy and the Child's Fear of Infanticide (Master Work) [Paperback]

Dorothy Bloch (Author)

Book Description

Series: Master Work | Publication Date: July 7, 1977

In So the Witch Won't Eat Me Bloch draws on 25 years of psychoanalytic practice. Her book is both a summary of her experience as a therapist and a disclosure of what she has learned about the inner workings of the human mind. She believes that the fear of infanticide, which originates in our vulnerability as infants, is later compounded by the magical thinking that leads us as children to blame ourselves for any unhappy development in our environment and therefore to anticipate punishment. As she also demonstrates, psychoanalytic treatment can be very effective in resolving the resulting emotional problems.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book presents an exceptionally lucid and sensitive description of the role of destructive aggression in the mind. The author demonstrates the extent to which primitive attempts to defend against it figure in the thoughts and fantasies of human beings during the various periods of psychological development. She beautifully illuminates the constructive uses of aggression in interpersonal relations. (Hyman Spotnitz, M.D. )

Want to understand the terror in your heart? Feelings of worthlessness? Of depression? Of murderous fury? Read this highly important book. Dorothy Bloch takes a daring look inside the human mind to reveal the terrifying fears we all experience as children out of our desperate need to believe our mothers and fathers love us, as we turn anger inward, sometimes destroying ourselves. (Lucy Freeman )

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Jason Aronson, Inc. (July 7, 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568212593
• ISBN-13: 978-1568212593
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,892,122 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Terror Begins in the Home, October 18, 2009

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This review is from: So the Witch Won't Eat Me: Fantasy and the Child's Fear of Infanticide (Master Work) (Paperback)

This is an insightful book that features detailed descriptions of numerous children with fears, phobias and obsessions. Although the author relies on outdated psychoanalytic theory to analyze the cases, she argues convincingly that children are often the victims of parents who express excessive jealousy, thereby provoking the child's expectation of retaliation - probably the murder of the child.

Well written with humor and optimism about successful treatment, this book is useful for parents to learn how to prevent children's terror in the first place: if a little boy wants to monopolize his mommy, or a little girl wants to monopolize her daddy, don't express anger or resentment. Be mature about it - show your understanding of the child's feelings and show your love for the child.

Here's a taste of what's in this book:
Little girl: "A bad boy at school showed me his wee-wee."
Therapist: "I think you like wee-wees."
Little girl: "I love them!"

When a child expresses an exaggerated need for parental approval, that may be a sign that the child is terrified of the parent's wrath. Reassure the child that it's all right to have feelings a parent may disapprove of. Parental disapproval isn't a death sentence, or at least it shouldn't be. Children not only have a right to live, they have a right to stray from their parents' expectations and preferences. Highly recommended!