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35
In the course of treatment it became clear that Bertie was still
emotionally at a very primitive stage of development. In the
confusion between so many "parents" he had failed to form a real
attachment to any one. The normal child forms his character
on his conception of his parents' character, and, because he loves
them, he wants to be like them, and for the most part wants to
do what they want. In Bertie, this essential step in development
had been left out. He had not loved anybody and was left with a
welter of hostility and no way of subduing or canalising it. It
appeared that what came out as sporadic attacks on strangers
and other children was really directed against his parents, particularly
against his father. At this point it was discovered that
the father had had a very unhappy childhood in which he was
brutally treated and that, although he controlled his behaviour,
he often felt very savagely towards Bertie and, though he never
did, his impulse was to thrash him unmercifully. He compensated
for these feelings by an over-protective attitude by which, with the
appearance of sheltering Bertie from dangers, he made him terrified,
e.g., training the boy in road safety, he dwelt in lurid detail on
the possible injuries that could occur in road accidents, and got
the child into a state of being unable to cross the road even with
an adult. It was also found out that the J.'s had not adopted
Alice, as they had said. The true story was that she was the
" illegitimate " child of a neighbour whose husband had been away
in the Arnty at the time of Alice's birth. This neighbour had been
terrified of her husband's reaction to her infidelity and had taken
steps to get the child adopted. Mrs. J. had answered the advertisement,
been horrified by the neglected appearance of the child,
but taken to her immediately and felt " she must have her."
She had wanted to adopt legally but the mother had begged her
not to as her husband would then have had to know about Alice's
existence and parentage. Mrs. J. had agreed to this but had lived
in dread and anxiety ever since, lest she should lose the child
who was not legally hers. Bertie had been jealous of Alice and
had undoubtedly sensed the uneasiness and anxiety in Mrs. J.'s
relationship to the little girl.
The factors in this case have been described at length as a
typical Child Guidance "treatment case." It is a case where
several people have got into severe difficulties, but because of
their good characters and good intentions, the ultimate outlook is
favourable. The relationships which have to be straightened out
in their case are (1) Bertie to his parents; (2) His parents (particularly
his Father) to him; (3) of Bertie to his "sister"; (4) of
Mrs. J. to her sister and her father. In addition, the practical
problem of how the adoption difficulty can be overcome without
Mrs. J. breaking faith with Alice's mother has also to be solved.
What presents itself as inexplicable behaviour on the part of a child