Table of Contents

An Ill-Fated Introduction. The Utility of Contempt. Engendered Self-States. Masochism as Medium. Theater of Judicial Absurdity. Venus With Arms. Epilogue.

About the Author

Abby Stein is Associate Professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and post-graduate faculty at the Manhattan Institute of Psychoanalysis. She is the author of Prologue to Violence: Child Abuse, Dissociation, and Crime (Analytic Press, 2007).

Reviews

"I think that Cupid’s Knife will be very useful for experienced clinicians who are already comfortable conducting psychotherapy and who will most likely find that Stein’s work adds to their ability to imagine the experiences underlying a woman’s pattern of abusive relationships in a way that permits them to formulate more creative and effective responses to the challenges of helping these women. The book could also be useful for non-clinicians who work with women in relevant contexts and people who work with their partners and their children."- Wendy Katz, The International Journal of Psychoanalysis"Any account of romantic love under the siege conditions of relational violence must seek out paradox. Abby Stein has that gift, showing us how women's anger and agency are woven through the tendrils of abuse and victimization. Her book hurts. But it also inspires – her writing, scholarship, and clinical depth transform portraits of "victims" into those of survivors, whose stories demand our attention and respect." - Virginia Goldner, Ph.D., Clinical Professor of Psychology, New York University Post-doctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis; Faculty Emeritus, Gender and Violence Project, Ackerman Institute for the Family

"Any account of romantic love under the siege conditions of relational violence must seek out paradox. Abby Stein has that gift, showing us how women's anger and agency are woven through the tendrils of abuse and victimization. Her book hurts. But it also inspires – her writing, scholarship, and clinical depth transform portraits of "victims" into those of survivors, whose stories demand our attention and respect." - Virginia Goldner, Ph.D., Clinical Professor of Psychology, New York University Post-doctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis; Faculty Emeritus, Gender and Violence Project, Ackerman Institute for the Family