[Function and importance of self-concept ideals in adolescence--illustrated with Anton Reiser]

Adolescents have ideals and idealize. Typical adolescent idealizations are described by Karl Philipp Mortiz in his autobiographical novel "Anton Reiser". Even though the subject matter of the ideals are influenced by the contemporary history of the author, that is the second half of the 18th century, adolescent wishful thoughts and idealizations are described in great detail and commented upon in this "self analysis", so that the phenomena are sighted and can be compared with psychoanalytic constructions of psychic structures such as ideal self, wished-for self and ego ideal. In this context the following questions are also of interest: which functions adolescent idealizations have in the psychic household, how the ego is affected and in which direction the development of the adolescent to a grown-up is influenced.