title: On fantasies of self-creation.
abstract: The authors present a psychoanalytic study of fantasies of self-creation. These fantasies constitute important mental structures shaping the lives of many individuals. Although hitherto unreported in the clinical literature, artists have made rich use of self-creation fantasies, and we therefore begin our investigation with representative portraits of self-creators by Milton, Goethe, and two modernists, Luigi Pirandello and F. Scott Fitzgerald. We then describe the psychoanalyses of two men whose lives were shaped and organized by self-creation fantasies, showing the clinical value of uncovering and analyzing these fantasies. We offer some preliminary observations on the cultural significance of self-creation fantasies and their impact on the analyst and the analytic enterprise.
authors.affiliation: Treatment Center, New York Psychoanalytic Institute.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rittenberg
authors.forename: L N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Shaw
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005201:Fantasy; D006801:Humans; D007062:Identification, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011574:Psychoanalytic Theory; D012649:Self Concept