ADOLESCENCE AND CHRONIC SUICIDAL TENDENCI ES - THE BIOGRAPHY OF THE ITALIAN AUTHOR PAVESE,CESARE (1908 - 1950)

Suicide is widely understood as a failed solution of a crisis triggere d by actual stress in a psychologically predisposed person. This descr iption of the biography of the Italian author Cesare Pavese (1908 -195 0), who committed suicide at the peak of his career, emphasizes that c hronic suicidal tendencies may be a feature of certain life-styles. A diary published posthumously shows that he had been reflecting on suic ide for many years. A psychodynamic interpretation of his chronic suic idal tendencies stresses the importance of developmental goals in adol escence and early adulthood. Pavese did not establish a firm ego-ident ity. He remained through-out his life in a state of ambivalence betwee n intimacy and autonomy, typical of adolescence. He increasingly exper ienced his writing as a surrogate for real life. His suicide was the p aradoxical attempt to experience himself as a person acting in reality .