Transcending bitterness and early paternal loss through mourning and forgiveness

This paper provides an in-depth account of a clinical path to forgiveness following a complicated, delayed mourning of an early loss by a man now entering old age. The search for mourning and forgiveness in light of extreme bitterness in advancing age is highlighted. Despite the intimate connection between mourning and forgiveness, this paper attempts to highlight important differences in their dynamics and psychological aims. Forgiveness is conceived as work, unconsciously motivated, to safeguard and complement the psychological gains of mourning. The distinct features of forgiveness facilitating psychic reorganization, as well as the adaptive function of refusal to forgive as a defense against melancholia, are discussed. The paper concludes that in this case, the motivation for forgiveness was to repair a powerful narcissistic injury.