In this paper we propose to use psychoanalytic insights into the development and structure of narcissistic psychopathology to better understand the social psychology of contemporary America. In keeping with Freud's understanding of the relationship between the “normal” and the “pathological,” we believe that by studying pathological narcissism and its etiology we can elucidate what is increasingly thought of as the modal character structure of our time and its origins in a historically situated family structure and pattern of child-rearing.

Toward this end we shall elaborate some of the basic clinical features of the narcissistic character and examine their roots in child development and the early mother-child relationship. We suggest that not only is this clinical disorder