Anger and narcissism: between the void of being and the hunger for having

The borderline syndrome, a typical marginal structure, is certainly a specific, autonomous pathology, with its own distinctive characteristics: among them, acting out, cyclical repetition of events without historical progression and anaclitic depression. Kohut's concept of 'narcissistic hunger' is particularly pertinent to the borderline condition: the borderline patient hungers to have that which is missing in his being. Through the application of the related notions of 'tragic man', 'self objects', 'grandiose self', and 'damaged self', the authors further develop their theory that the borderline syndrome has much in common with paranoid personalities.