ABSTRACT
Freud chose the term narcissism to characterize a condition in which, as he had observed, libido is channelled not only to the love object but also to the ego. Heinz Hartmann understands narcissism as the ‘libidinal cathexis of the self’ (Hartmann, 1964: 127). In any case, all phenomena termed narcissistic involve emotional interest in one’s own person, whether the term used is ‘ego’ (Freud) or ‘self’ (Hartmann). As we have noted previously, in his major document on narcissism Freud used the term ego for what he really meant as the representation of one’s own person, which in present-day psychoanalysis is generally subsumed under the heading of ‘self’.
