Psychoanalytic Perspectives on the Shadow of the Parent: Mythology, History, Politics and Art

What do we mean when we say of others, of family members, and particularly of our elders, that they are “a hard act to follow”? Are we speaking of their achievements, their personality, their talents or perhaps their overall bearing? In other words, what are these ‘acts’ that are so powerfully experienced by us as being hard to follow? What or who has made them appear so difficult to emulate?

After considering shadows cast by parents in myth and in the Bible, we explore the psychological challenges that the shadows of fame or notoriety of parents have presented to their offspring in a variety of fields. The early chapters focus on personalities in psychoanalysis including Alice Miller and son, Martin, and Melanie Klein and daughter, Melitta Schmideberg. The remaining chapters centre on selected personalities in history/politics, music, art and literature, all viewed from an analytic perspective.