The tragic actor: forms and transformations of narcissism in the life and work of Edouard Manet (1832-1883).

This paper has explored some of the developmental factors and psychological conflicts that may have played a central role in the life of the French artistic revolutionary, Edouard Manet. A case is made that Manet suffered from a narcissistic personality disturbance based on considerable, albeit spurious, individuation in the face of failed separation. Preoedipal and oedipal conflicts are traced from the available biographical data. They suggest that Manet's lifelong yearning for approbation and inability to sustain mature object relationships derived from his quest for a loving, admiring father and a struggle against an enveloping, rejecting mother. Failed paternal identifications, persistent primal maternal identifications, excessive needs for selfobject affirmation, superficial but compulsive heterosexuality, and rejection of his own paternity appear to have been powerful forces within Manet that found expression in his life and creative products. Although painting enabled Manet to transcend some of his own characterological vulnerabilities, he remained a tormented personality quite destructive towards others and to himself. Understanding more fully the developmental impingements and facilitators of this "tragic actor" helps his audience gain a greater appreciation of his artistic contribution.