Abstract
Drawing on a psychodynamic relational perspective, Stanley in The Jack-Roller can be seen as propelled by multiple losses and the lack of early development through play into a defended position that can be characterized as schizoid—alternating between isolation and destructive patterns of relating. This is one interpretation of his situation. To utilize a relational approach, however, also challenges our view of interpretation. In a therapeutic context, interpretation as destructive, giving insight or a search for the `truth' may be less important than other aspects of relating such as playing, disagreeing or not knowing. The implications for a psychodynamic or psychosocial sociology are that it challenges us to find methods that are fully intersubjective, contingent and constructive.
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