Sibling rivalry and the problem of hatred

According to Murray Stein, what the envious subject covets from the other is the self. Due to his or her own disrupted inner ego-self relationship, this self is projected onto the other, leaving the subject empty, unable to reach the inner self. Feelings of hatred towards the object of envy, or object-self are generated. Due to the Christian ethics with which we are all inculcated, this envy is often hidden, experienced as a destructive force. Stein suggests that it could be construed as a drive towards psychic wholeness which has encountered opposition, hence, the analytic work with chronically envious patients must strive to bring this envy to light, in order to evacuate it and heal the relationship between the ego and self.