Girls’ diaries extend narcissistic self-cult to the entire inner self

Evidence

This cult of the self is not only expressed by the girl as the adoration of her physical person; she wishes to possess and praise her entire self. This is the purpose of these diaries into which she freely pours her whole soul: Marie Bashkirtseff’s is famous, and it is a model of the genre. The girl speaks to her notebook the way she used to speak to her dolls, as a friend, a confidante, and addresses it as if it were a person. Recorded in its pages is a truth hidden from parents, friends, and teachers, and which enraptures the author when she is all alone. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 858

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to theories of the diary as technology of self-formation (Foucault’s technologies of the self), and to adolescent confessional writing practices. — connects to: Female narcissism invents a hidden self because action in the world is denied — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1808; The narcissist stages her entire life as sacred drama under destiny — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1809
• DEFINE: Extends the definition of narcissism beyond bodily self-adoration to a total self-cult practiced in private diaries.

Broader Connections

• Female narcissism invents a hidden self because action in the world is denied #expands (0.85) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1808