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The concept of narcissism is reviewed. The author emphasizes that the therapist is too often engaged in the attempt to replace the patient's narcissistic position with object love rather than transforming narcissism from its more primitive origins into more mature psychological structures. Considerable attention is devoted to two forms into which primary narcissism is differentiated: the narcissistic self and the idealized parent image. 'The fact that the original narcissism has passed through a cherished object before its reinternalization and that the narcissistic investment itself has been raised to the new developmental level of idealization accounts for the unique emotional importance of our standards, values, and ideals in so far as they are part of the superego.'
The evolution of the narcissistic self is an important maturational step. Too early interference with the narcissistic self may ultimately result in narcissistic vulnerability due to the repression of grandiose fantasies, no longer accessible to modifying influences. The significant transformations of narcissism from preformed narcissistic structures are elaborated in relation to their contribution to man's creativity, his capacity for empathy, his capacity to accept his finiteness on earth, his sense of humor, and his wisdom.