T he Melanie Klein Conference on the Oedipus Com-
plex, which took place in September 1987, was
organized jointly by Professor J. Sandler of the
Psychoanalysis Unit at University College, London, and
Mrs. Ruth Riesenberg-Malcolm on behalf of the Melanie
Klein Trust. It was considered so successful and the three
papers presented there seemed to reflect so well the current
developments in modern Kleinian views of the Oedipus
complex that the Trust decided to have the papers
published.

To bring these current views into context we decided to
reprint with them Melanie Klein paper 'The Oedipus
complex in the light of early anxieties' ( 1945). In addition,
Dr. Hanna Segal has expanded her introduction which links
Klein's paper with the modern work presented here. She
also indicates the influence of other post-Kleinian writing,
especially that of Bion.

John Steiner

The Tavistock Clinic
120 Belsize Lane
London NW3 5BA

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