Biography

The sciences of psychology and sociology were ascendant at the turn of the 20th century and would heavily influence the new century’s biographies.^[6] The demise of the "great man" theory of history was indicative of the emerging mindset. Human behavior would be explained through Darwinian theories. "Sociological" biographies conceived of their subjects' actions as the result of the environment, and tended to downplay individuality. The development of psychoanalysis led to a more penetrating and comprehensive understanding of the biographical subject, and induced biographers to give more emphasis to childhood and adolescence. Clearly these psychological ideas were changing the way biographies were written, as a culture of autobiography developed, in which the telling of one's own story became a form of therapy.^[5] The conventional concept of heroes and narratives of success disappeared in the obsession with psychological explorations of personality.