E. Th. A. Hoffmann's Tales: Ego Ideal and Parental Loss

Heinz Hartmann and associates have traced the development of the ego-ideal to the earliest stages of magical thinking in childhood, preceding the appearance of moral behavior. Since identification—more precisely, introjection—during the preoedipal period is basic to the formation of the ego-ideal, Hartmann has argued that there is a tendency during the prephallic stage to identify with the parents as idealized, powerful, magical protectors, rather than exemplars of moral behavior. The capacity for moral judgment and behavior continues to grow throughout childhood and adolescence and the ego-ideal eventually is integrated with the moral demands of the superego. Under optimal conditions, the result is an individual who aspires not only to moral virtue but also to other forms of excellence.1

We see in the above schema of personality development one of the sources of inspiration for artists and writers, as well as a foundation for the emergence of altruism. This is not to minimize the role of narcissism derived from early self-idealization or due to regression to primary narcissism, as is sometimes seen in cases of early loss of a parent. Such narcissism, if linked with excessive or compensatory self-aggrandizement from an early age, at times can produce ambitious and creative personalities, but of a one-sided character.

According to a study of Rank and MacNaughton,2 one of the impediments to a successful synthesis of the various components of the personality is the absence of a stable mother-image. Robert W. White3 has criticized such emphasis