«Mein Herz hat mich nie im Stich gelassen!»

Abstract

Harvey's modern insight into the archetypal idea of the heart as the centre of blood motion transforms the heart into a machine which becomes a spare part interchangeable from any chest to any other {[}Hillman]. As we try to show in the case of Elmar, a 41-year-old technician 2 years after his transplantation, the possibilities of cardiac surgery and its archetypal foundations do not exclude a personalized and symbolic vision of both the `old' heart and the `new' one. Intrapersonal and therapeutic issues of this `inter-cardiac conflict' are discussed.