Abstract
The decadence called forth a confusion of the specific gender roles; most of the female characters reveal masculine features and the male characters show female weakness. The ego of those female characters develops through ‘will to power’ (if we consider Nietzsche’s theories), through perversity (which is seen as defense mechanism) and through a narcissist reflection (the individual gets a feeling of self confidence due to his recognition in society). If the super ego appears as a moody psychic instance, then the id of the heroes learns how to satisfy its sexual needs. The psyche of the female characters turns out to be the battlefield for the struggle between a paralysed super ego and a greedy id. We focus our analysis on Heinrich Mann’s novels “Îngerul albastru” and “Zeiţele”, on the way he encapsulates this bewilderment of genders, which presents an androgynous figure and which leads to the alienated identity of the modern woman.
Key words: alienation, individuation, the relation master-slave, Übermensch