Antinarcissism

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Antinarcissism is a specific form of narcissistic character that, rather than aggrandising the ego, restricts its scope without diminishing the amount of self-investment involved.

Self-limitation

Christopher Bollas introduced the concept of antinarcissism to describe a self-limiting kind of narcissist who refuse to develop themselves or use their talents,[1] so as to maintain their exaggerated sense of self-importance in defeat. "This anti-elaborative person 'stews in his own juice' and adamantly refuses to nurture himself".[2] The antinarcissist may preserve a hostile, even sadistic, core behind a self-effacing facade of care and consideration for others.[3]

André Green similarly wrote of antinarcissism as a negative narcissism that seeks self-destructively to abolish the ego.[4]

Other Formulations

  • Hélène Cixous saw as anti-narcissistic the female internalisation of the male gaze as an alien standard to live up to, as opposed to developing their own selves.[5]
  • Fritz Wittels earlier described as antinarcissistic the tendency of two lovers to lose themselves each in the other.[6]

See also

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References

  1. Tod Sloan, Damaged Life (2002) p. 116
  2. Bollas, quoted in N. Symington, Narcissism (2003) p. 113
  3. A. Gratch, If Men could Talk (2009)
  4. A. M. Cooper et al ed., Psychoanalysis on the Move () p. 79
  5. L. Hart, Fatal Women (2005) p. 65
  6. F. WIttels, Sigmund Freud (2013[1923]) p. 207

External links