Mark Phillips' Pages: Workbook: 6/28/04: Abused child.

Jacob Lawrence, "The Lovers," 1946 — Jacob Lawrence, *The Lovers* (1946)

June 28, 2004:

Abused child. "I love you mommy." Whack! Picks itself up, tries again. "I love you mommy." Whack!

The psychology becomes that of an abject and strangely fierce dependence. Living for the approval that never comes.

I used to think, It's her father's devil inside her. She means praise, but can't express it. Now because of its consonance with the rest of the pattern I wonder if this isn't in fact the exact center of our emotional world, and has been from the beginning.