A Steppenwolf called Brian: Reflections on childhood suffering and creativity

Through the life of the writer Brian Aldiss, this paper explores the idea that if parents are unable to give a child a solid sense of self, the child may grow up with a burning need to find that self through artistic creation. One not uncommon reason for this failure is if the child is a replacement for another child who has died and the parents have not been able to do the grief work required in mourning. This task is often more problematic in the case of a stillbirth. Examples are given of other creative people, such as Freud and Dali, where a previous death in the family may have been the spur to their finding a special identity through their creativity.