Jung's Lost Contribution to the Dilemma of Narcissism

This paper proposes a partial answer to the hypothetical question, "What might Jung's contribution to a theory of narcissism have been had he remained a psychoanalytic writer? An attempt is made to demonstrate that, long before it became the vogue, Jung began to explore narcissistic terrain. In the course of this exploration, he formulated many insights, in idiosyncratic language, some of which have since been reformulated in psychoanalytic terms. It is posited that, in addition to anticipating current developments in our understanding of narcissism, Jung formulated some ideas that go beyond it. Whether or not they prove accurate, these ideas are an untapped psychoanalytic resource.