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Quote by Louise J. Kaplan

“In every adult human there still lives a helpless child who is afraid of aloneness.... This would be so even if there were a possibility for perfect babies and perfect mothers.”

Quote by Louise J. Kaplan

Book:Oneness and separateness: from infant to individual

Work

Oneness and separateness: from infant to individual

Oneness and Separateness: From Infant to Individual delves into the psychological and social aspects of human development, focusing on the transition from a state of unity to the formation of individuality. The book examines how individuals navigate the complexities of relationships and self-identity throughout their lives. more

Author

Louise J. Kaplan

Louise J. Kaplan was an American author born on November 18, 1929, and passed away on January 9, 2012. She was known for her diverse body of work, which included novels, poetry, and essays. more

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“Mothers tend to encourage their sons to run away and romp.... Mothers of little boys often complain that "There's no controlling him." "He's all over the place...." The complaints are tinged with more than a little pride at the boy's marvelous independence and masculine bravado. It's almost as though the mother enjoyed being overwhelmed by her spectacular conquering hero.”

“It is a human circumstance that when we are born we have not yet come into existence. We are lured into our special human existence by a mothering presence that gratifies our innate urges to be suckled, held, rocked, caressed. But that same gratifying presence puts limits on desire and rations satisfaction. In this sense the mother is also the first lawgiver.”

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Book:Adolescence: The Farewell to Childhood

Source: Adolescence: The Farewell to Childhood

“The invisible bond that gives the baby rein to discover his place in the world also brings the creeping baby back to home base....In this way he recharges himself. He refuels on the loving energies that flow to him from his mother. Then he's off for another foray of adventure and exploration.”

World Way Giving Home Mother Energy Adventure Baby Flow Invisible Exploration Places In The World Reins Home Base

Author:Louise J. Kaplan

“Normally an infant learns to use his mother as a "beacon of orientation" during the first five months of life. The mother's presence is like a fixed light that gives the child the security to move out safely to explore the world and then return safely to harbor.”

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Book:Oneness and separateness: from infant to individual

Source: Oneness and separateness: from infant to individual

“Fathers have a special excitement about them that babies find intriguing. At this time in his life an infant counts on his motherfor rootedness and anchoring. He can count on his father to be just different enough from a mother. Fathers embody a delicious mixture of familiarity and novelty. They are novel without being strange or frightening.”

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Book:Oneness and separateness: from infant to individual

Source: Oneness and separateness: from infant to individual

“Another reason for the increased self-centeredness of an adolescent is her susceptibility to humiliation. This brazen, defiant creature is also something tender, raw, thin-skinned, poignantly vulnerable. Her entire sense of personal worth can be shattered by a frown. An innocuous clarification of facts can be heard as a monumental criticism.”

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Book:Adolescence: The Farewell to Childhood

Source: Adolescence: The Farewell to Childhood

“It is an odd fact that what we now know of the mental and emotional life of infants surpasses what we comprehend about adolescents. . . . That they do not confide in us is hardly surprising. They use wise discretion in disguising themselves with the caricatures we design for them. And unfortunately for us, as for them, too often adolescents retain the caricatured personalities they had merely meant to try on for size.”

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Author:Louise J. Kaplan

“Adolescence is a time of active deconstruction, construction, reconstruction--a period in which past, present, and future are rewoven and strung together on the threads of fantasies and wishes that do not necessarily follow the laws of linear chronology.”

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Book:Adolescence: The Farewell to Childhood

Source: Adolescence: The Farewell to Childhood

“During adolescence imagination is boundless. The urge toward self-perfection is at its peak. And with all their self- absorption and personalized dreams of glory, youth are in pursuit of something larger than personal passions, some values or ideals to which they might attach their imaginations.”

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Author:Louise J. Kaplan

“Though they themselves might be as surprised as their parents and teachers to hear it said, adolescents--these poignantly thin- skinned and vulnerable, passionate and impulsive, starkly sexual and monstrously self-absorbed creatures--are, in fact, avid seekers of moral authenticity. They wish above all to achieve some realistic power over the real world in which they live while at the same time remaining true to their values and ideals.”