She was enjoying being at home, in the peace and quiet. Nella and Gareth were staying over at his place, and Rose was at Bob’s. The rain was drumming on the window outside, and it was cosy in the sitting room, where she was lying on the sofa, her head propped up on a cushion, reading. Separation from the twin may be experienced as extremely threatening, even catastrophic, as it exposes the patient to a loss of known boundaries with the consequent fear of dropping into a void or ‘nameless dread’. This may result in a narcissistic collusion between analyst and patient, echoing the narcissistic twinship, and designed to maintain the ‘special relationship’ between them and to cover up the painful and difficult developmental matters that are being avoided by the patient . . . She was making good progress with The Twin in the Transference. Not only had the book helped her to understand Elinor’s behaviour, it had also explained her own, to some degree.
