Part IV, Youth and the Evolution of Identity, Chapter 10, The Legend of Maxim Gorky's Youth Summary and Analysis

According to Erikson, at that time (1963), it was difficult to learn much about Russia. Much of what Erikson knows comes from a vital Russian movie about the Bolshevik legend of Maxim Gorky's childhood. As with Hitler's childhood, Erikson gives a similar analysis of Maxim Gorky. Similar to Hitler, Maxim Gorky has a childhood torched by a father who is a merciless tyrant and a senile failure. Gorky becomes a writer, not a politician, but he remains an idol of the Soviet state. He also belongs to the epoch of Russian realism that made literate Russia miserably self-conscious.

The vast horizons of central Russia reveal the Russian dark emptiness; the balalaika tunes reassure Russians...