Children love and want to be loved and they very much prefer the joy of accomplishment to the triumph of hateful failure. Do not mistake a child for his symptom.
Erik EriksonRead
Nobody likes to be found out, not even one who has made ruthless confession a part of his profession. Any autobiographer, therefore, at least between the lines, spars with his reader and potential judge.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the inherent struggle between self-disclosure and vulnerability, especially in autobiographical writing.
Erik Erikson highlights the complex interplay between honesty and judgment in autobiographical writing. Even those who profess to reveal their innermost truths may engage in a subtle form of evasion, as they navigate the delicate balance between exposing their true selves and fearing the reactions of their readers. This tension underscores a fundamental aspect of human nature, where the desire for authenticity often clashes with the instinct to protect oneself from scrutiny.
Themes
AutobiographyConfessionHonestyVulnerabilitySelf-Disclosure
In practice
Example use cases
In a writing workshop discussing the ethics of autobiographical storytelling.
More from Erik Erikson
All quotes →Men have always shown a dim knowledge of their better potentialities by paying homage to those purest leaders who taught the simplest and most inclusive rules for an undivided mankind.
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You've got to learn to accept the law of life, and face the fact that we disintegrate slowly.
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You see a child play, and it is so close to seeing an artist paint, for in play a child says things without uttering a word. You can see how he solves his problems. You can also see what's wrong. Young children, especially, have enormous creativity, and whatever's in them rises to the surface in free play.
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In the social jungle of human existence, there is no feeling of being alive without a sense of identity.
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Parents must not only have certain ways of guiding by prohibition and permission, they must also be able to represent to the child a deep, almost somatic conviction that there is meaning in what they are doing.
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