Where narcissism has been generally considered a negative trait in Western thought - and sometimes as a particular tendency of women - Freud proposes in his paper “On Narcissism: An Introduction” (1914) that certain aspects of narcissism are necessary to the maturation of the self, and to self-preservation. He argues that narcissism is not a perversion but a normal feature of sexual maturation which arises as a function of “the libidinal complement of the instinct of self-preservation, a measure of which may be justifiably attributed to every living creature.” (66) Narcissism is “primary or normal” and results from the attachment of our innate auto-erotic instincts to particular objects (69) for the purpose of …

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Citation: Clark, Robert. "Narcissism (Freudian Concept)". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 25 February 2007 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=755, accessed 23 November 2024.]