In the well known myth of Pandora, hope was the last and most needed gift at the bottom of a box of myriad misfortunes let loose on an unsuspecting world. For most human beings hope is a positive benefit. But in this work, Anna Potamianou shows how in the borderline patient it can become an omnipotent means of denying reality. Indeed, in such individuals, any state of mind or feeling can take on the status of an object, which is then used as a barrier against their fear of change. The author gives both clinical and literary examples of how this happens and goes on to discuss the connection...