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עמוד:*12
* 12 ; oblivious to her overtures . Rooted to the spot, Narcissus continued to stare at his reflection eventually, overcome by hunger and thirst, he fell into the water and drowned . The above theme strikes at the root of the narcissistic experience . The phenomenon involves an emotional short - sightedness that has a severe effect on its victims ( children or spouses ) since they are burdened with the obligation of serving as both mirror and sound box for the narcissist, all of it being orchestrated by him and him only . Miller ( 2001 ) tells us that Echo's advances show up his beauty and nobility, but sever him from all his other parts, such as doubt, shame, envy, love of others and sharing with others . This severance, or the dissonance between himself and his self - image on the one hand, and other parts of his mental makeup on the other, implant in him a "false self", which others around him encounter and sense, but which he himself fails to see and feel . These detached parts are "deposited", with the help of projective identification, in the narcissist's partners, who become, whether consciously or unconsciously, responsible for his happiness . Espesa ( 2004 ) refers to the narcissist's projective identification vis - à - vis his partners, and claims it is something that also occurs between the narcissist as patient and his therapist . According to him, in many cases such patients establish a "negative pre - transference" vis - à - vis the therapist and, clearly, their children as well . In therapy they find it extremely difficult to recall their childhood in the presence of the therapist, and what is particularly striking is the appearance of this difficulty around painful memories that were experienced in relation to their parents . Dissociative narcissism is a key characteristic of parents displaying the above characteristics . It is based in large part on the denial of past conflicts, as also on denial of the possibility that their childhood has any immediate impact on their current parenting or on their relationship with their spouses . Thus, the therapist, in Espasa's opinion, must tread very carefully before making premature interpretations in working with this population so as to avoid encountering their opposition . In dealing with narcissistic parents, the therapist must invest much effort in consolidating the therapeutic pact, suggesting long - term interventions in order to help them in their interaction with their children . Kohut ( 2007 ) claims that the fundamental need of a person with a narcissistic personality disorder is for an admired individual beside whom he can be in the capacity of a "favoured child" and aspire to resemble . His approach brings to mind the possibility that the narcissistic drama is in fact a kind of production, involving re - editing of an experience that went bad in childhood, an attempt to return things to their rightful place, or to reverse and correct a distortion that occurred in early relations with the parent . Kristeva ( 2014 ) states that Narcissus's fault lies in the fact that he does not realize that his reflection in the river water is only skin deep and mirrors no self - awareness . Thus, in her opinion, Narcissus is "guilty" both of that lack and of blithely accepting a superficial and incomplete conception of who and what he is .
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אדמוני, אריאל
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