El mito de Narciso y Eco: un asunto de vida o muerte / The Narcissus and Echo myth: a life or death issue

A partir de Narciso y Eco, los personajes de la mitología clásica recopilada por Ovidio, se revisan los conceptos de narcisismo en Freud y sus desarrollos en autores contemporáneos, J. Sandler y cols., N. Treurniet y A. Fayek. Enfocando el problema transversalmente desde el desarrollo normal hasta la patología, se considera el narcisismo un elemento central de la vida anímica del ser humano. Se examinan los conceptos de vulnerabilidad esencial como origen de la defensa narcisística, la idea de complemento como modo de relación con el objeto y la idea de muerte en términos de existencia psíquica. Los personajes del mito ilustran estos conceptos y nos entregan una imagen encarnada de los temas tratados.

Starting from the mythological characters Narcissus and Echo, the concept of narcissism in Freud’s writings and its further developments in authors such as J. Sandler, N. Treurniet and A. Fayek are reviewed. Narcissism is described as a central element of the psycho-emotional development of men and women, either normal or pathological. Concepts such as essential vulnerability in the origin of narcissistic defense, the idea of complement as a mode of relationship with the object and death in terms of the end of psychic existence, are examined. Both mythological characters are used as a metaphor to represent more vividly the conflicts and dynamics implied in the concepts above.

Occurrence of Narcissus Smoulder Caused by Botrytis narcissicola in Korea

Leaf blight and bulb rot symptoms were observed on narcissus plants grown in Yongin, Cheongwon and Namhae areas in Korea during disease survey from 1999 to 2002. A total of 15 isolates of Botrytis sp. were obtained from the infected plant parts of narcissus. All the isolates were identified as Botrytis narcissicola based on their morphological and cultural characteristics. Three isolates of B. narcissicola were tested for their pathogenicity to leaves and bulbs of narcissus by artificial inoculation. All the isolates induced leaf blight and bulb rot symptoms on the plants of narcissus by artificial inoculation. The symptoms induced by artificial inoculation were similar to those observed in the fields. This is the first report of narcissus smoulder caused by B. narcissicola in Korea.