Editing Melanie Klein (section)

=== Relation to the good object ===
According to Klein, envy threatens the capacity to establish a relationship with the good object. Excessive envy can prevent the infant from forming a positive relationship with the breast and internalizing it as a good internal object. This undermines the process of establishing a good internal object, which is vital for healthy ego development.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Klein |first=Melanie |title=The selected Melanie Klein |date=1987 |publisher=Free Press |isbn=978-0-02-921481-7 |editor-last=Mitchell |editor-first=Juliet |location=New York}}</ref> Klein also distinguishes between envy and greed: "Excessive greed aims at complete scooping out, sucking dry, and devouring the breast; whereas envy aims at poisoning and destroying the good breast so that it cannot be enjoyed."<ref>{{Citation |last=Klein |first=Melanie |title=The writings of Melanie Klein. Vol. 3: Envy and gratitude and other works, 1946 - 1963 |date=1980 |issue=104 |series=The international psycho-analytical Library |edition=2nd impr |location=London |publisher=Hogarth Press |isbn=978-0-7012-0409-9}}</ref> This distinction is important for understanding the difficulties in moving from the [[Paranoid-schizoid and depressive positions#Paranoid-schizoid position|paranoid-schizoid position]] to the [[Paranoid-schizoid and depressive positions#Depressive position|depressive position]]. 

Excessive envy can impede the transition to the depressive position because the individual cannot develop the capacity to feel concern for and repair the damaged good object. Clinically, this manifests in the continued use of splitting and other primitive defense mechanisms.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Segal |first=Hanna |title=Introduction to the Work of Melanie Klein |date=2018 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-946439-50-8 |edition=New, enlarged |series=Karnac classics |location=London}}</ref>