Can a Narcissist Ever Marry?: James Fisher and The Uninvited Guest

Abstract

Few books in the burgeoning field of couple psychoanalysis have garnered as much admiration as James Fisher's The Uninvited Guest: Emerging from Narcissism towards Marriage. In this memorial essay, the author pays tribute to the late Dr Fisher and to his perennial book which explores the ways in which pathological narcissism, among other factors, inhibit the development of spousal intimacy, often destroying partnerships entirely. The author describes the creative way in which Fisher drew upon great works of literature, most notably William Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale, and T. S. Eliot's The Cocktail Party, as well as long-forgotten clinical material from Fisher's predecessors at the Family Discussion Bureau (forerunner of the Tavistock Centre for Couple Relationships), in order to understand the ways in which marital partners struggle with false self couplings. The author assesses the importance of Fisher's contribution in the context of the history of couple psychoanalysis.