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The broad scope of this book will fascinate anyone intrigued by the psychological, social, literary, and artistic dimensions of adolescence. That John Neubauer, professor of comparative literature at the University of Amsterdam, focuses on the turn of the century
(roughly 1880-1925) limits his vistas, but it enables him to concentrate on greater detail. He defines adolescence and elucidates the views that psychologists of that period held. He studies the portrayal of teenagers in literature and art, and examines Freud's treatment of Dora. He discusses literature written for and by adolescents. He demonstrates how adult influence spawned educational institutions and led to youth movements that dictated moral standards, some of which were corrupt and prepared the path to Nazism later in the century.
Neubauer's multidimensional approach casts an interesting light on the significance of adolescence. For the most part he goes along with conceptions psychoanalysts use. He recognizes the importance of biological changes at puberty and the role of society in determining the degree of stress, strife, and internal conflict. He writes about identity formation and diffusion as well as about cognitive changes. Then, in a surprise turn, he considers adolescence a “new category” that appeared at the end of the nineteenth century: “The term itself had little currency earlier” (p. 6). The emerging uses of the word determined its cultural significance and even many of its characteristics; in effect, life imitates art. (Young lovers' melancholy pining in identification with Goethe's Werther is an excellent example of this phenomenon.)
In a more radical statement, Neubauer asserts that “adolescence can be defined as a middle-class social formation in industrial societies generated by the expansion of secondary education” (p. 6). However, the author does not restrict himself to this narrow definition. His studies fit the more conventional understanding of teenagers.
Examining fictional a