Biographical reconstruction cannot, with the tools of psychoanalysis, go further than the stage of assumption. The writer does not have available the patient himself to form further associations or correct faulty interpretations. Furthermore, the analyst must guard against identifying himself with the object of his study. He must keep in mind his proper aim, elucidation of the relation between the artist's life and his work. Here we are offered rewarding insight into the processes leading to creativity and imagination.

There are many errors in biographical data. In modern examples, we must guard against the assumption that the artist's conscious use of contents of the id is valid. Further difficulties arise when the analyst applies preconceived theories