THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SATANIC CULT INVOLVEMENT: AN ...

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which the self is identified with its objects may vary. Some objects may be assimilated
into the ego, while others may not be assimilated at all, existing as "alien objects or
foreign bodies" (Hinshelwood, 1991, p. 194).
8.5 Satan and satanic pacts in the theory of Melanie K1ein
Psychoanalysis' early acquaintance with demonic phenomena has been through textual
interpretation only; in Freud's case, a historical case study; and in Klein's, a work of
fiction. The opus ofKlein's work contains only one mention ofdemonic phenomena, and
that is in her detailed (1955) interpretation of a satanic pact in a literary work, IfJ were
you, by Julian Green. Klein had no explicit intention of illuminating the issue of the
Devil and demonic possession, but instead, uses the literary work to demonstrate the
related phenomena of introjection and projective identification - the processes whereby
the infant, using parental figures, constructs and consolidates a personal identity. Klein's
article does, however, provide a rich source of material upon which to construct an object
relations theory of Satanism.
The hero of the above-mentioned novel, Fabian, is seduced by the Devil into accepting a
magic formula which allows him to transform himself into those individuals he perceives
as more powerful and attractive than himself. Motivated by envy and greed, he magically
transforms himself into a number of other people perceived to be more fortunate than
him, only to find himself discontent with each transformation. These transformations are
metaphoric depictions, argues Klein, ofprojective identification - fantasies ofsplitting off
parts of the self, projecting them into external objects, and thereby unconsciously
identifying with and controlling the recipient ofthe split-offaspects (Klein, 1946).
The Devil first appears after Fabian's mother forbids him from going out to meet a new
lover, and Fabian, having defied her, discovers that the girl has not arrived. The Devil's
appearance in this context of instinctual frustration suggests, says Klein, that he
represents "the dangerous impulses which are stirred up in the young infant when his
mother frustrates him.
In this sense the Devil is the personification of the infant's