This article presents the concept of combined parents, which explains a baby’s undifferentiated perception of its parent’s sexual intercourse. The baby perceives that the mother contains the father and, for this reason, does not recognize the functions and attributes of the father, since the attributes belong to the mother. The article distinguishes the theoretical aspect of the concept, which corresponds to Melanie Klein’s esquizo-paranoide position, the defense mechanisms used, and the clinical manifestations involved. The article also discusses a case that shows how a person with the fantasy of combined parents manifests a partial perception of objects, and thus has serious difficulties in understanding the difference between his parents, creating the fantasy that this person himself unites and combines them. This situation brings about distress, envy and hopes concerning the combined parents, as well as a fear of the parents’ retaliation for the child’s having directed his sadistic impulses toward them.
Babies; combined parents; anxiety; Melanie Klein