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The Self as Muse

Narcissism and Creativity in the German Imagination 1750-1830

Alexander Mathas - Contributions by Richard Block; Fritz Breithaupt; Susan Gustafson; Gail K. Hart; Martin Klebes; Edgar Landgraf; Alexander Mathäs; F Corey Roberts and Ann Schmiesing

While there are countless philosophical and psychological studies that focus on sources of the self, narcissism has found relatively little attention in a pre-Freudian context. The Self as Muse fills this gap by examining various aspects of narcissism and their significance for the outpouring of creativity in late eighteenth and nineteenth-century German literature.
In many Eighteenth-century works of the period narcissism refers to the creation of an idealized image of the self and the desire to merge with this image. It provided an impetus for poetic production as writers resorted to the Greek myth of Narcissus to express what they perceived as the inner workings of their soul. Yet they were also acutely aware of the vain, and therefore narcissistic, motivations for their explorations of the self. While those influenced by the Pietist tradition attempted to distinguish between an "unselfish" self-scrutiny and self-indulging vanity, others like Goethe took advantage of narcissism's creative potential and integrated it into their aesthetic endeavors. The abundance of confessional and autobiographical accounts, the burgeoning of poetry drawing on personal experience, the emergence of a type of drama that is based on empathy, and the concern with an individual's ability to control one's senses and emotions in general testify to an unprecedented interest in notions of the self in German literature.
Mathäs explains the emergence of narcissism in the literature of the period as a sense-inspired concept that aims to bring about a better comprehension of both the self and other human beings, and how writers used narcissism to improve the moral behavior of their readers. It examines eighteenth-century representations of narcissism against the background of Freudian and post-Freudian notions of the concept, and explores narcissism as a creative process that engages both reader and writer in the production of meaning. By showing narcissism's pervasive allure for a broad array of literary productions, the vol
  • Details
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  • Reviews
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University Press Copublishing Division / Bucknell University Press
Pages: 232 • Trim: 6½ x 9⅜
978-1-61148-032-0 • Hardback • April 2011 • $113.00 • (£87.00)
Series: Transits: Literature, Thought & Culture, 1650–1850
Subjects: Literary Criticism / European / German
Alexander Mathäs is professor of German at the University of Oregon and author of Narcissism and Paranoia in the Age of Goethe and Der Kalte Krieg in der deutschen Literaturkritik: Der Fall Martin Walser.
1 Acknowledgments
2 Narcissism and the Self: An Introduction
3 Part I: Narcissism and the Senses
4 Narcissism and the Sublime
5 Narcissism, the Self, and Empathy: The Paradox that Created Modern Literature
6 Part II: Narcissism and Morality
7 Self-Reflection and Knowledge in a Hamann's Early Philosophical and Aesthetic Writings
8 Narcissistic Investments and Transformations in Theodor Gottlieb von Hippel's Lebensläufe nach aufsteigender Linie and Über die Ehe
9 "Some Day My Prince Will Come": Fürstenspiegel and the Bourgeos Writer
10 Part III: Over and Against Freud
11 Werther's Sentimental Narcissism: Consciousness, Communication, and the Origin of the Modern Psyche
12 "I suffered and I loved": Narcissism and Abject Desire in Goethe's "Confessions of a Beautiful Soul"
13 Part IV: Reading and Writing Narcissism
14 Textual Narcissism in Kleist's "Über das Marionettentheater"
15 That Specter in My Name: Writing and Its Mirror Effects in Hoffmann and Poe
16 Notes on Contributors
This volume treats the unprecedented interest in notions of the self in German literature from 1750 to 1830. The legitimacy of the use of the term "narcissism" in connection with texts of this period is put into question by the fact that authors were ignorant of the meaning of the word as used today. Mathäs (Univ. of Oregon) seeks to avoid this dilemma by using the term as preoccupation with the self in the broadest sense. The editor divides the book's nine essays into four parts: "Narcissism and the Senses," "Narcissism and Morality," "Over and against Freud" (which focuses on the narcissistic structure of the modern psyche), and "Reading and Writing Narcissism." The contributors discuss works and theories of authors both well known and less familiar--Goethe's Werther, Theodor Gottlieb von Hippel's Lebensläufe, Kant, Schiller, Herder, Lessing, Hamann, von Kleist, Hoffmann, Poe. Each of the essays has its own footnotes and bibliography, and a general index serves the entire volume. This is a handsome, well-edited volume that will undoubtedly provoke further discussion of the main topic.
— Choice Reviews


The nine essays in this focused and consistently fruitful collection explore the extensive interest in the self and self-examination in late eighteenth- and early nineteenth century German culture. Alexander Mathäs, has already established his credentials as a scholar of literary narcissism.

It is a strength of the volume that so many of its essays directly support the central theses put forth in the introduction

A good deal of scholarly work has already been devoted to the invention of selfhood and modern individuality in the late- eighteenth century, but there remains an open spot on that shelf for this thoughtful collection to fill. By focusing on narcissism’s productive potential, within both German art and letters and the rise of modern subjectivity, the books’ contributors produce a valuable set of insights.

— Monatshefte


The Self as Muse

Narcissism and Creativity in the German Imagination 1750-1830

Cover Image
Hardback
Summary
Summary
  • While there are countless philosophical and psychological studies that focus on sources of the self, narcissism has found relatively little attention in a pre-Freudian context. The Self as Muse fills this gap by examining various aspects of narcissism and their significance for the outpouring of creativity in late eighteenth and nineteenth-century German literature.
    In many Eighteenth-century works of the period narcissism refers to the creation of an idealized image of the self and the desire to merge with this image. It provided an impetus for poetic production as writers resorted to the Greek myth of Narcissus to express what they perceived as the inner workings of their soul. Yet they were also acutely aware of the vain, and therefore narcissistic, motivations for their explorations of the self. While those influenced by the Pietist tradition attempted to distinguish between an "unselfish" self-scrutiny and self-indulging vanity, others like Goethe took advantage of narcissism's creative potential and integrated it into their aesthetic endeavors. The abundance of confessional and autobiographical accounts, the burgeoning of poetry drawing on personal experience, the emergence of a type of drama that is based on empathy, and the concern with an individual's ability to control one's senses and emotions in general testify to an unprecedented interest in notions of the self in German literature.
    Mathäs explains the emergence of narcissism in the literature of the period as a sense-inspired concept that aims to bring about a better comprehension of both the self and other human beings, and how writers used narcissism to improve the moral behavior of their readers. It examines eighteenth-century representations of narcissism against the background of Freudian and post-Freudian notions of the concept, and explores narcissism as a creative process that engages both reader and writer in the production of meaning. By showing narcissism's pervasive allure for a broad array of literary productions, the vol
Details
Details
  • University Press Copublishing Division / Bucknell University Press
    Pages: 232 • Trim: 6½ x 9⅜
    978-1-61148-032-0 • Hardback • April 2011 • $113.00 • (£87.00)
    Series: Transits: Literature, Thought & Culture, 1650–1850
    Subjects: Literary Criticism / European / German
Author
Author
  • Alexander Mathäs is professor of German at the University of Oregon and author of Narcissism and Paranoia in the Age of Goethe and Der Kalte Krieg in der deutschen Literaturkritik: Der Fall Martin Walser.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
  • 1 Acknowledgments
    2 Narcissism and the Self: An Introduction
    3 Part I: Narcissism and the Senses
    4 Narcissism and the Sublime
    5 Narcissism, the Self, and Empathy: The Paradox that Created Modern Literature
    6 Part II: Narcissism and Morality
    7 Self-Reflection and Knowledge in a Hamann's Early Philosophical and Aesthetic Writings
    8 Narcissistic Investments and Transformations in Theodor Gottlieb von Hippel's Lebensläufe nach aufsteigender Linie and Über die Ehe
    9 "Some Day My Prince Will Come": Fürstenspiegel and the Bourgeos Writer
    10 Part III: Over and Against Freud
    11 Werther's Sentimental Narcissism: Consciousness, Communication, and the Origin of the Modern Psyche
    12 "I suffered and I loved": Narcissism and Abject Desire in Goethe's "Confessions of a Beautiful Soul"
    13 Part IV: Reading and Writing Narcissism
    14 Textual Narcissism in Kleist's "Über das Marionettentheater"
    15 That Specter in My Name: Writing and Its Mirror Effects in Hoffmann and Poe
    16 Notes on Contributors
Reviews
Reviews
  • This volume treats the unprecedented interest in notions of the self in German literature from 1750 to 1830. The legitimacy of the use of the term "narcissism" in connection with texts of this period is put into question by the fact that authors were ignorant of the meaning of the word as used today. Mathäs (Univ. of Oregon) seeks to avoid this dilemma by using the term as preoccupation with the self in the broadest sense. The editor divides the book's nine essays into four parts: "Narcissism and the Senses," "Narcissism and Morality," "Over and against Freud" (which focuses on the narcissistic structure of the modern psyche), and "Reading and Writing Narcissism." The contributors discuss works and theories of authors both well known and less familiar--Goethe's Werther, Theodor Gottlieb von Hippel's Lebensläufe, Kant, Schiller, Herder, Lessing, Hamann, von Kleist, Hoffmann, Poe. Each of the essays has its own footnotes and bibliography, and a general index serves the entire volume. This is a handsome, well-edited volume that will undoubtedly provoke further discussion of the main topic.
    — Choice Reviews


    The nine essays in this focused and consistently fruitful collection explore the extensive interest in the self and self-examination in late eighteenth- and early nineteenth century German culture. Alexander Mathäs, has already established his credentials as a scholar of literary narcissism.

    It is a strength of the volume that so many of its essays directly support the central theses put forth in the introduction

    A good deal of scholarly work has already been devoted to the invention of selfhood and modern individuality in the late- eighteenth century, but there remains an open spot on that shelf for this thoughtful collection to fill. By focusing on narcissism’s productive potential, within both German art and letters and the rise of modern subjectivity, the books’ contributors produce a valuable set of insights.

    — Monatshefte


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