In the discussion I ran the line against possessiveness that we thought was so cool in the seventies: ‘Jealousy is a completely useless emotion.’

Psychoanalyst: ‘On the contrary. I think jealousy is at the cutting edge of the psyche.’

Me: (riveted) ‘What do you mean?’

Psychoanalyst: ‘It’s painful, but it shows us in no uncertain terms that we are not rational beings. That our lives are not under our conscious control.’