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18
NiclasJohansson
thePsychologyofSex.8Teexpression“Narcissus-liketendency”alreadygivesus
thethreepartiesinthedialoguethatshapestheconcept:Narcissus,thenarcis-
sistandnarcissism,takenfromtheirrespectivefieldsofmythology,psychologi-
calobservationandpsychologicaltheory.Itshowsthebasicmechanismatwork
inEllis)sformulationoftheconcept:narcissismisthecommoncharacteristicof
Narcissusandthenarcissist.WhenEllis,inthequotegivenabove,comparesan
observedpsychologicalconditiontothemythicfigureofNarcissus,hebrings
twosemioticsystemsintocontactwitheachother.Tekeytotheapproximation
isapsychologicallyrealisticinterpretation.Inthecoupleofpagesthatintroduce
the“Narcissus-liketendency”thereisfirstaparagraphwhichintroducesthegen-
eralnotion,andthereaferfollow,inthisorder,exemplificationstakenfromthe
novelsGenioyFigura(1897)byJuanValeraandTagebucheinerVerlorenen(1905)
byMargareteBöhme(thefirstofwhichexplicitlymentionsNarcissus,andthe
secondofwhichvaguelyalludestohim);thedescriptionofthecaseofayoung
womanwhodisplaysthetendency;andobservationsmadebyothermedical
researchers.Teorderingoftheevidence–literarybeforemedical–prompts
ustoaconclusionwhichisconfirmedbytheauthor)slaterretrospective
account:theliteraryevidenceisnotonlyjustasvalidasmedicalobservation;it
alsostructurestheinterpretationofit.TeNarcissusthemeprovidesaframe-
workfortheorderingofpsychologicalobservations.Later,Ellisstatesthatitwas
becausehehadreadValera)snovelthatheassociatedthecaseofthewomanwith
Narcissus.9
What,then,doesnarcissismmeanforEllis?Itisincludedasan“extreme
form”andas“curiosity”inthecategoryofauto-erotism.Auto-erotismhedefines
as“thephenomenaofspontaneoussexualemotiongeneratedintheabsenceof
anexternalstimulusproceeding,directlyorindirectly,fromanotherperson.”10
Teexplicitdefinitionofnarcissismisthatitis“thattendencywhichissome-
timesfound,moreespeciallyperhapsinwomen,forthesexualemotionstobe
absorbed,andofenentirelylost,inself-admiration.”11
WhenwethencomparetheconceptualdefinitiontotheexamplesElliscites,
itbecomesclearhowblunttheconceptiscomparedtothatwhichitissupposed
toexplain.LetusfocusonthequotefromValera)snovel.Ellisquotesthefollow-
ingspeechbytheheroine:
8TeextendedsectiononnarcissismisfirstincludedintheJ.E.Kötscher)sGermantrans-
lation,GeschlechtstriebundSchamgefühl(Würtzburg:Stuber,1907).Irefer,however,toitsfirst
appearanceinEnglish:HavelockEllis,StudiesinthePsychologyofSex:Vol.I(Philadelphia:
F.A.DavisCompany,1913),206-9.
9Ellis,StudiesinthePsychologyofSex:Vol.VII(Philadelphia:F.A.DavisCompany,1928),
354-55.
10Ellis,StudiesinthePsychologyofSex.Vol.I,161.
11Ibid.,206.