ABSTRACT
Count Monaldo Leopardi, father of the great 19th-century poet Giacomo Leopardi, said of his son that his adolescent self-consciousness was so well developed that, “thinking about breathing,” he would have difficulty getting his breath and, “reflecting on the subtleties of urination,” he would be unable to pass water (Parks, 2000). We may be amused by the Count’s observation, but we are certainly not baffled by it. Adolescence is widely regarded as a significant developmental period in the capacity to look inward. Self-reflection, self-consciousness, and the search for self are all considered signposts of the age.
