If you have come this far it is because you are wondering how psychoanalysis understands envy In this article, we are going to bring some of this discussion to you. However, before we get to what it means to psychoanalysis, we think it is important to see what the dictionary says. Besides, we want to talk about the concept in a general way, so that we can then approach the psychoanalytic view of the subject.

Envy according to the dictionary

Jealousy is a feminine noun. Etymologically, the word is of Latin origin. It comes from the word " invite "Thus, among its meanings we see:

• feeling of greed for the sake of happiness, the superiority of others ;
• feeling or an indomitable will to possess what belongs to another person ;
• the object, the goods, the possessions that are targeted of envy.

Among the synonyms for envy we see: jealousy, emulation .

Concept of Envy

Envy, or invidiousness, is a feeling of anguish, or even anger, at what the other has This feeling generates the desire to have exactly what the other person has, be it things, qualities or "people".

It can also be defined as the feeling of frustration and resentment generated when faced with an unfulfilled desire. The one who desires the virtues of the other is incapable of achieving them, either because of incompetence and physical limitation, or intellectual.

Furthermore, envy can be considered a symptom in certain personality disorders It is possible to find this feeling in people who have Passive-Aggressive Personality Disorder and also in those who have Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

In the Catholic tradition, envy is also one of the seven deadly sins (CIC, number 1866).

What psychoanalysis has to say about envy

Envy concerns one who does not see the reality, as we said above, quite the contrary: he invents it in a fanciful and even delirious way.

The envious person has no vision to see himself. His vision is turned outward, toward the other. He stops perceiving what he has, and in this case, what he doesn't have becomes more important. The other has, he doesn't have.

In this context, one desires what the other has. Moreover, the envious person does not admit his lack of it and often acts according to his greed in an extreme way. More deeply, the envious person wants to be the other. Since the feeling is instinctive, it resembles hunger. The individual is hungry for the other.

Cannibalism

In some cases, it is possible to use the concept of cannibalism to characterize the envious person. This occurs in some primitive cultures.

Unable to eat the other alive, the envious person destroys the envied object with his bare hands. He does this by scheming, slandering, weaving a web of lies to make other people feel for him understanding. It even promotes complicity in order to get others to stand against the envied figure.

Jealousy in Shakespeare

When we look at the works of William Shakespeare, we have the story of Iago and Othello. In this context, we see jealousy causing destruction and death through intrigue. Othello, the main character in The Moor of Venice , a play written in 1603, is a general who promotes Cassius to lieutenant. His petty officer Iago feels betrayed, since he wishes he had been the promoted employee.

However, he didn't stop to reflect on the reason why the other came to be promoted and not him. He didn't notice his fault and went to do justice by the instinctual way, which is usual for many people. From then on, Iago, in his hatred for Othello and for Cassius, began to sow discord between the couple Othello and Desdêmona.

Thus, the man began to conceive a terrible plan of revenge that aimed to ruin his enemies.

Iago tried to make Othello believe that Cassius and his wife Desdemona were having an affair. Out of jealousy, another terrible problem, Othello strangles his wife in an insane act. Afterwards, knowing the mistake and injustice he has committed, Othello drives a dagger into his own chest Thus, Iago conceives and carries out his delirious and lethal plot.

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Getting back to the essence of envy

By getting carried away by envy, a person reverts to a primary ego state. In this way, he is driven only by instincts, something that we learn to control over time. Although the person tries to create rational justifications for his attitudes, in reality, there is no reason for this behavior.

What exists is in fact a pendency toward irrationality, that is, an instinctiveness that translates into primal behavior and that can drive someone to insanity.

Melanie Klein, envy and ego in childhood

For the psychoanalyst Melanie Klein, the origin of envy is perceived already in early childhood, or pre-objective phase. This is because the child is not able to distinguish itself from the world around it. Thus, he is in Freud's "anobjectal phase" or "primary narcissism".

Throughout the baby's development, in an ideal situation, the subject, instead of envying, learns to admire. Thus, he will be enchanted by the differences and will appreciate them in the other. His curiosity and ecstasy before the new, the discoveries occur in a joyful way, free from the fear of loss.

This is because there will always be wonderful discoveries to make, and when not, the subject will have it in himself to make some for himself. In addition, he will learn to fall and get up. After all, when things don't happen this way, the envious man or woman thinks "I don't want to be me, I want to be you".

Thus, one wishes to transform oneself into this other with the capacity to love, to rejoice, to experience pain and suffering, but without annulling oneself. After all, for the person who is out of balance, the life drive is not at the center and, for this reason, desires it from the other.

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This whole foray into the theory of desire in childhood is important. For besides revealing how our desire, is formed and extends the issue of drives, it discusses how we internalize it. According to psychoanalysis, we internalize childhood traumas in our unconscious.

That is, these traumas translate into our day-to-day behaviors. Hence, our feelings can be more or less inflated.

Conclusion

Jealousy If we look only to the other, we stop fighting for what we want. For this reason, it is necessary to understand at what level our childhood interferes in our adult life, and to analyze and work on it. One way to achieve this self-knowledge is through our online Clinical Psychoanalysis course. So, check out the program and enroll!