ABSTRACT
S. Levin and Princess Kitty Shcherbatsky are characters whose integration of narcissism develops in a manner that enables them to love each other and create a happy family. They are individuals ultimately able to respond to the exigencies of life with progressive growth. In addition to a satisfying first two years of life, he had a warm, consistent mother surrogate whose presence reduced the traumatic impact of his early loss. In addition there was a family legacy; generations of Levins who had lived on and managed the land were idealized and employed as identifications for his ego ideal. Levin’s development was characterized by a struggle between defensive narcissistic investments and a hunger for related involvement. Levin has struggled to find an illusionary narcissistic perfection in his work and his wife that would protect him against a recapitulation of his formative disorganizing disappointments.
