Shadows holding their breath : Winnicott, Bion, and integration from the perspective of aesthetic experience

Abstract

In the search for meaningful living, the theme of transformation and existence of differing self-states appears important in both Winnicott and Bion, well-exemplified by their theories of transitional phenomena and the caesura, respectively. For Winnicott, the possibility for differing self-states to coexist without strain emerges in the transitional area of experiencing. Bion emphasises the encounter with a gap between changing and contradictory self-states, acknowledging the tension that oppositions cause. This approach culminates in his account of the caesura. This article elucidates the differences in their approaches, highlights the value in both and explores the possibility to acknowledge both emotional realities – the strain-free coexistence of differing self-states and the preoccupation with the gap between them – in aesthetic experience, as one of its defining features is that of tolerating oppositions. I argue that aesthetic experience appears as an important source for engaging with diverging self-states. To address this, I look at an Emily Dickinson poem and concentrate on the relationship between the experiences of transience and continuity though the theoretical lens of Winnicott and Bion.