On Narcissism...male and female sexes then shows...fundamental differences...in respect of their type of object choices...
Men:
complete object-love of the attachement type...characteristic of the male... the marked sexual overvaluation of...the sexual object...traceable to an impoverishment of the ego...
Women:
especially if the grow up with good looks...develop a certain self-contentment which compensates...for social restrictions...imposed upon them in choice of object. Strictly speaking , it is only themselves that such women love with an intensity comporable to that of the man's love for them...
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: narcissism
Mental disorder characterized by extreme self-absorption, an exaggerated sense of self-importance, and a need for attention and admiration from others. First identified by Havelock Ellis in 1898, the disorder is named for the mythological Narcissus, who fell in love with his own reflection. In addition to an inflated self-image and addiction to fantasy, narcissism is characterized by an unusual coolness and composure, which is shaken only when the narcissistic confidence is threatened, and by the tendency to take others for granted or to exploit them. According to Sigmund Freud, narcissism is a normal stage in children's development, but it is considered a disorder when it occurs after puberty.
Psychoanalysis: Narcissism
The term narcissism, in keeping with the Greek myth of Narcissus, refers to self-love. The concept was introduced in Freud's work shortly before the publication of "On Narcissism: An Introduction" (1914c). This paper was a response to four related issues: the difficulties encountered in psychoanalysis in working with neurotics; the controversy with Jung, who defended the idea of the unity of psychic energy; the debate with Adler over the role of "masculine protest" in symptom-formation; and above all Freud's growing interest in the psychoses, which opened his way to the study of the ego (1923a).
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