The mythic function of narcissism.

The paper makes some critical comments on the use Freud makes of myth and examines some of the inconsistencies and contradictions in his conceptualization of narcissism. Using some of the ideas of Bachelard and Hillman on the role of the imaginary, the authors theorize a function of myth that is independent of and not subordinated to the reality function. They suggest that narcissism must be seen not only in terms of individual history but that it has a mythic function; narcissism facilitates the creation of a relationship between the ego and the Self through the mediation of the imaginal world and through the prospective value of images.