Vengeance is ubiquitous in human society and, accordingly, infiltrates psychoanalytic theory and practice although rarely addressed directly. It is a complex emotional state, often conscious and preoccupying, sometimes unconscious, containable or uncontainable, fantasized, enacted or both. The author plumbs the roots of vengeance, highlighting its backward looking, nostalgic origins in which something ideal was stolen or otherwise destroyed, and the subsequent rage and magical thinking seeks restoration through the logic of vengeance.

The specter of stolen dreams and entitled futures, often messianic in human history, breeds vengeance against those blamed for its loss. This paper explores vengeance in history and in the consulting room. Adding to the hypothesis, the author analyzes antisemitism as inherently vengeful, seeking to efface the world of Jews and Judaism, nostalgically longing for a mythical world before the “no” of the Ten Commandments, before the superego, where might was right and instinctual gratification free for the taking.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this presentation participants will be able:

1. To study the concept of vengeance as it is understood in psychoanalysis and as it emerges in human culture.
2. To study the link between pathological nostalgia and vengeance.
3. To explore the psychosocial ramifications of vengeance, including in antisemitism and psychotherapy.

Arthur Leonoff, PhD, CPsych, FIPA

Arthur Leonoff, PhD, CPsych, FIPA is a Supervising & Training analyst with the Canadian Psychoanalytic Society, a recipient of the Citation of Merit, and an Honorary member of the American Psychoanalytic Association. His recent contributions include the book, When Divorces Fail, a study of destructiveness in high conflict divorce, along with other psychoanalytic articles, presentations and book chapters. His most recent psychoanalytic publications are: “Mourning, Melancholia & War,” and “Suicide and Its Discontents,” both published in the Canadian Journal of Psychoanalysis. He is the past chair of International New Groups in the IPA and has served in numerous leadership roles nationally and internationally over the past 30 years.