The Drama of the Gifted Child (The Search for the True Self)

the history of his childhood and thus regained his sense
of being alive—then the goal of the analysis has been
reached. Afterward, it is up to the patient whether he will
take a regular job or not; whether he wants to live alone or
with a partner; whether he wants to join a political party,
and if so, which one—all that is his own decision. His life
story, his experiences, and what he has learned from them
will all play a role in how he will live. It is not the task of
the analyst to "socialize" him, or "to bring him up" (not
even politically, for every form of bringing up denies his
autonomy), nor to make "friendships possible for him"—
all that is his own affair.
When the patient, in the course of his analysis, has consciously
repeatedly experienced (and not only learned from
the analyst's interpretations) how the whole process of his
bringing-up did manipulate him in his childhood, and what
desires for revenge this has left him with, then he will see
through manipulation quicker than before and will himself
have less need to manipulate others. Such a patient will
be able to join groups without again becoming helplessly
dependent or bound, for he has gone through the helplessness
and dependency of his childhood in the transference.
He will be in less danger of idealizing people or
systems if he has realized clearly enough how as a child he
had taken every word uttered by mother or father for the
deepest wisdom. He may experience, however, while listening
to a lecture or reading a book, the same old childish
fascination and admiration—but he will recognize at the
same time the underlying emptiness or human tragedy that
lurks behind these words and shudder at it. Such a person
cannot be tricked with fascinating, incomprehensible
words, since he has matured through his own experience.
Finally, a person who has consciously worked through the
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