An Analytic View of the Basis of Character1

I am not proposing to take up the subject of character as a general question, but to limit myself to a certain narrow psychoanalytic view of it on the basis of sex.

We are at an epoch in history when there is a crying need for good citizens. By good citizens we mean people of valuable character; we cannot change the human material at our disposal, but we can make the most of the least of it. It is quite certain that we have within us all that we need for the well-being of ourselves and the world at large but it is not ail come-at-able. It is of deep concern that the character of the rising generation should be developed to its full measure, to meet the demands of the problems of reconstruction. New times demand new characters in a sense. This is possible because character is the perpetual acquisition of something that is at all time incomplete. Its first requisite is that it should be capable of growth. Like a tree it must bend in response to external storms while at the same time it strikes its roots deeper into the soil.

The effect of character is seen in reaction to life. It is of the essence of character that one may calculate more or less certainly on the way a given man will respond to life's demands. But we are subject to surprise, we find action sometimes exceeds our expectations, and quite as often disappoints them. If we look for a moment at the outside world we get a hint of these surprises. The war has demonstrated a great amount of heroism, of patient self-sacrifice, of endurance, of tireless discipline and devotion to duty. There