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The present article examines the horrific rape of Tamar by her half-brother Amnon as recorded in 2 Samuel 13 from three schools of psychoanalytic thought: British Object Relations, Self Psychology, and Relational Intersubjective. Through an examination of the sexual aggression of Amnon and silencing of Tamar by two other males, we hope the reader will gain an increased appreciation for the utility of psychoanalytic thought in developing meaningful hypotheses that can aid in the establishment of empathic connections where appropriate as well as the development of treatment options.
In 2 Samuel 13, the reader is confronted with the tragic and horrific story of Tamar, who is raped and repudiated by her half-brother Amnon, not validated by her brother Absalom, and ignored by her father David. This particular passage can no doubt leave one quite disturbed. Stepping inside the subjective world of a person capable of such acts can evoke feelings in the psychotherapist that are often quite foreign. Although therapists tend to be quite familiar with experiencing sadness, anxiety, despair, and hopelessness with patients, Mitchell and Melikian (1995) note that identifying with a person's sadism and aggressive sexuality can be very unnerving. Indeed, many therapists would find identification with the trauma suffered by Tamar far easier than identifying with Amnon's sexual aggression. While developing an understanding of Amnon's actions does not make them any less reprehensible, such conceptualizations do offer a way to develop a meaningful empathie connection with those who perpetrate such violence.
Toward this aim, three Christian psychologists practicing from three different psychoanalytic perspectives present discussion of the underlying causes and consequences of Amnon's sins against Tamar. Dr. Lowell Hoffman offers a view informed by the British object relations school and its focus on love repudiated and destructiveness. Dr. Earl Bland provides an examination from Kohut's (1984) Self Psychological model in which narcissism, entitlement, and rage emerge from significant failures to meet normal needs for mirroring, idealization and connection. Finally, Dr. Mitchell Hicks explores the passage from a relational intersubjective view focused on the failure of mutual recognition, extreme self assertion at the expense of the subjectivity of the other, and the reversal of doer and done to. It is hoped that this exercise will offer those interested in psychoanalytic ideas an...