The Aegis of Narcissism Michae[lcirc]s Case

Abstract

de Oliveira, D.T. The Aegis of Narcissism. Michael's Case. Int Forum Psychoanal 1992;1:180-183. Stockholm ISSN 0803-706X

The author summarizes the main contributions to the establishment of the concept of “narcissism”, starting with Freud and continuing with some postfreudian authors; two interviews with a client are related from a psychoanalytic point of view. The client demonstrates a great need to be loved and admired, showing, at the same time, a grandiose representation of himself, in spite of a deep dependence on those nearest to him. The author uses the case for theoretical reflections about the concept of narcissism. These reflections support the view that there is not “one” narcissism nor a “good” or “bad” narcissism, nor even a “normal” or “pathological” narcissism, but narcissistic conditions related to the subject's conflicts with himself and with the world. The narcissist economy can be conceived in a way that makes unnecessary the tendency to see narcissism as an isolated nosologic entity.