Books / Culture, power & critical voices
The Bonds of Love: Psychoanalysis, Feminism, and the Problem of Domination
In The Bonds of Love (1988), Jessica Benjamin examines psychoanalysis, feminism and domination, including questions of recognition and independence in relationships.
Book details
Author of listed edition: Jessica Benjamin
Edition: 1988 Pantheon paperback
Publisher: Pantheon Books
Edition year: 1988
Language and origin: English (United States)
ISBN: 9780394757308
Form and genre: Clinical & Theoretical Monograph
Level: Advanced
Historical era: 1980–2009 · Evidence-Based, Trauma & Integrative Era
Covers: Recognition and independence in relationships; Psychoanalysis and feminist social theory; Gender and domination
APA 7th reference: Benjamin, J. (1988). The bonds of love: Psychoanalysis, feminism, and the problem of domination. Pantheon Books.
What it is
The Bonds of Love is a 1988 work by psychoanalyst and feminist theorist Jessica Benjamin. The publisher describes a study of power, recognition and domination in relationships and social life.
What it covers
Benjamin discusses tensions between independence and recognition of another person as a subject. The publisher’s excerpt and contents include discussions of early relationships, gender and domination.
Theoretical and clinical context
A later 2004 paper presents Benjamin’s account of “doer and done to” and shared thirdness in psychoanalytic work. These are interpretive concepts; the abstract does not establish a necessary mechanism of change or treatment effectiveness.
Reading this record
The publisher’s description, excerpt and the later paper’s abstract were consulted; the complete book was not reviewed. An account of mutual recognition should not be used to imply equal power or responsibility in an abusive relationship.
Paired academic and clinical scholarship
Paired work: Beyond Doer and Done To: An Intersubjective View of Thirdness (Jessica Benjamin, 2004)
Reference: Benjamin, J. (2004). Beyond doer and done to: An intersubjective view of thirdness. The Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 73(1), 5–46.
In a 2004 theoretical paper, Benjamin discusses complementarity and shared thirdness in psychoanalytic work; the abstract is not an outcome study.
Sources and inspection notes
Supports: Publisher identifies the 1988 paperback and ISBN, and provides a description, contents and excerpt. The complete book was not reviewed.
Benjamin, J. The bonds of love. Bibliothèque nationale de France catalogue.
Supports: Catalogue records the 1988 Pantheon work and identifies 9780394757308 as a paperback ISBN.
Supports: Abstract describes Benjamin’s theoretical account of thirdness and complementarity; it is not a clinical outcome study.