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This paper brings together Freud's formulations concerning narcissism, correlating his statements on this topic with particular stages in the development of his thinking. The authors then attempt to view the concept of narcissism in the light of current understanding with particular reference to the structural concepts and the present formulations in ego psychology. The paper is limited to the study of narcissism as libidinal investment of the self representation. Comparable studies utilizing our knowledge of stages in the development of aggression and their interrelation with self and object direct libido are foreshadowed.
The authors suggest a revision of terms in line with earlier suggestions of Jacobson. Primary narcissism is thought of as a primary state of energy distribution not truly narcissistic, since no sufficient ego structure exists for cathexis of a self representation. The energy involved is physiological. The 'something added' to autoerotism to constitute narcissism would be ego development. At first the distribution of libido is diffuse, later it is invested indiscriminately in object and self concomitantly since they are undifferentiated, next both self and object representations are cathected. These representations may be conscious or unconscious. As development proceeds, libido is further invested in the ego ideal, various identifications and, finally, the superego. Such growth is dependent on the maturation of ego functioning and the resources available for the furnishing of neutralized energy.
The authors lean towards keeping the terms ego ideal and superego separate. The superego represents a definite structure with energies at its disposal and with the power to cathect. The ego ideal arises much earlier, is cathected by the ego, but itself does not have the power to cathect. The ego ideal is 'anatomically' a part of the ego, conscious or unconscious, while the superego has become a structure apart from the ego with functions of its