Problems with that Reflection in the Mirror

Abstract

This article reviews Eros and the Shattering Gaze: Transcending Narcissism by Kenneth A. Kimmel. Using a phenomenological approach, the author combines myth, folktales, Biblical stories, film, and clinical vignettes to offer a variety of perspectives on the problem of masculine narcissism. He divides his book into three sections: the hopeless romantic, a predatory use of relationships, and the deconstructing of an armored selfhood through encountering the other. The last section affords a perspective on how Kimmel sees the transcendence of masculine narcissism occurring through an experience of a shattering—or wounding—other. The reviewer highly recommends this book, especially for anyone interested in a Jungian contribution to the study of narcissism and men’s psychology. The reviewer also notes problematic aspects in one chapter that attempts to explore extreme, monstrous forms of what the author considers to be impenetrable pathological narcissism.

Key Words:

• Apuleius
• death coniunctio
• intimacy
• Jung
• Levinas
• love
• masculinity
• men’s psychology
• narcissism