Character and creativity

In his essay on Edgar Allan Poe, the poet Charles Baudelaire offered a general reflection on the importance of adolescence in the development of character, genius, and style: All those who have reflected upon their own lives, who have often looked back to compare their past with their present, all those who have acquired the habit of self-analysis know what an immense part adolescence plays in the ultimate nature of a man. Theories of creativity generated by people of the creative characterological type take two general forms according to whether the emphasis is on production or reproduction. If the emphasis is on production, the theories of creativity present images of the self splitting and then reuniting through a moulding or sculpting process. The phrase "strength of character" is well known and so well used that it is cliched, but the author is suggesting that there are ways to explore and develop strength of character that serve creativity.