- Title
- A psychobiographical study of Gavin Maxwell: a Kernberg object relations approach
- Creator
- Walters, Jacqueline
- Subject
- Personality development -- Psychological aspects
- Subject
- Psychology -- Biographical methods
- Date Issued
- 2021-04
- Date
- 2021-04
- Type
- Master's theses
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/52363
- Identifier
- vital:43619
- Description
- Gavin Maxwell was an author and naturalist. He published a memoir called A Ring of Bright Water, which shaped the way millions of readers viewed nature. Maxwell wrote simple prose which paints an idyllic and moving picture of his time spent in his “lost paradise”, alongside his beloved animals, most notably his otters. However, in reality Maxwell was a man in conflict, seen in volatile relationships, financial recklessness, and the preference for the company of animals over people. The aim of this study was to explore Maxwell’s life to gain insight into his personality development. This was achieved by applying Otto Kernberg’s Object Relations Theory to his life experiences. In doing so the author hoped to gain an understanding of the personality dynamics that led to Maxwell’s relational difficulties and eccentricities. Data was collected by triangulating multiple sources of information on his life. Miles and Huberman’s (1994) three step approach was used to analyse data collected. These steps are: data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing and verification. The research study found that Maxwell’s personality development was likely arrested at the third stage of Kernberg’s model. Maxwell relied primarily on immature defence mechanisms based in splitting and possessed a fragile ego structure which he protected through grandiosity. The findings indicated that Maxwell’s personality falls in the borderline level of functioning with a strong likelihood of pathological narcissism.
- Description
- Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Health Sciences, 2021
- Format
- computer
- Format
- online resource
- Format
- Format
- 1 online resource (viii, 114 pages)
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Health Sciences
- Language
- English
- Rights
- rights holder
- Rights
- All Rights Reserved
- Rights
- Open Access
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NMU School of Behavioural Sciences
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | Walters, J.pdf | 865 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |