Shared life narratives in the work of Lou Andreas-Salome

The author presents a re-reading of the works of Lou Andreas-Salome (1861-1 937), one of the key figures in the early history of psychoanalysis. He foc usses in particular on her biographical and autobiographical works, as well as her correspondences with Freud, Rilke and other influential people of h er time, arguing that Andreas-Salome disappears from her own works as an au tonomous speaking subject, while reappearing in the works of others as a si lent, tacit influence. On closer examination, a specific genre emerges from her works that has so far gone unnoticed: the shared life narrative, The a uthor claims that Andreas-Salome developed this genre of shared life narrat ives in an attempt to match her theoretical notions of narcissism to a prac tical communicative position that is neither subjectivistic nor objectivist ic. Relating the notion of shared life narratives to the psychoanalytic dis course, new possibilities may be opened up for expanding and enlarging our knowledge of human interaction.