The theoretical differences between Freud and Klein can, in part, be interpreted through the lens of their respective relationships with their mothers. While Freud believed that free association could not be effectively used with children, Klein revised psychoanalytic techniques to include children in the therapeutic process. It can be argued that Klein’s own experiences as an unwanted child may have shaped her theoretical assumptions—particularly her view that psychic life and even sexual dynamics begin at birth.
Klein proposed that the ego exists from birth and undergoes development over time. Central to this developmental process is the infant’s relationship with objects, especially the primary caregiver. She explained the infant’s fundamental distinction between “good” and “bad” objects by associating these early experiences with the mother, thereby emphasizing the mother’s primary role in psychic development. In this regard, Klein’s theoretical contributions may reflect an attempt to process and conceptualize her own early relationship with her mother. Her notion of the “bad breast” as a persecutory and painful internal object can be seen as an expression of this perspective.
In her formulation of envy, Klein highlighted the infant’s destructive feelings toward a third party who receives the mother’s care and attention. These hostile emotions, directed at a rival, are deeply rooted in the early mother-infant relationship. According to Klein, infants begin life by internalizing experiences of good and bad through the mother’s body, which serves as the first object and context for psychic development. This early relational matrix prepares the infant to confront and manage destructive impulses.
The fact that children are capable of expressing unconscious material through symbolic play—what Klein referred to as “free play”—supports her assertion that the ego is present from birth and capable of development. Unlike other psychoanalytic theories that regard infants as largely unconscious beings, Klein emphasized that the infant possesses the capacity to perceive, interpret, and respond to internal and external stimuli from the moment of birth.
Furthermore, she argued that infants are capable of experiencing a range of affective dimensions—such as good and bad, pleasure and pain, and primitive phantasy. The idea that the infant has the ability to form internal experiences from birth distinguishes Klein’s theory from others. She also maintained that thinking itself develops through lived emotional experiences, whereas in many other theories, infants are considered largely unaware of their experiences.