In Sigmund Freud’s “Family Romances,” he discussed a child’s development. In the first sentence he mentions that to gain individuality, a child must gain freedom from his parents, which can be one of the most painful events in his life. To differ yourself from everyone else, to show that you are in individual you must overcome some conflicts in your life. Everyone who is said to be in a “normal state” has gone through conflicts that leads to their individuality.

When you are a child, your only source of belief and authority comes from your parents. Therefore, “the child’s most intense and most momentous wish during these early years is to be like his parents,” stated Freud. Since the only knowledge you have as a child is from your parents, it makes the most sense that you think like them and that is not individuality. However, as you grow up, you meet other parents and you start to compare them to yours whether it be good comparisons or bad. This is where conflict starts to come in, more specifically internal. You start to imagine your life with different parents whether they are wealthier or more powerful. However, Freud said that this does not mean that you are replacing your parents, but rethinking about the days when your parents seems to be the best out of all those other parents, “these new and aristocratic parents are quipped with attributes that are derived entirely from real recollections of the actual and humbles ones…” For me I feel like Freud is saying that even though when you grow up and can think on your own and you no longer want to be exactly like your parents, you still hold them very high in your mind. Everyone who experiences individuality has had these conflicting thoughts that got them there.