This study reconsidered Erikson’s concept of identity from the subjective perspective to enhance self-understanding. Those experiences Erikson labeled as “identity crisis” elicited self-questioning in two instances: at times of memory loss and adolescence. Self-questioning in memory loss was comparable to the loss of personal identity, according to Erikson. Self-questioning during adolescence was comparable to the loss of ego identity. The concept of identity is regarded as “sameness and continuity,” given Erikson’s description of personal identity and ego identity. In this paper, Tatara’s view of “sameness and continuity” was reconsidered from the subjective perspective; leading to the idea that identity is “I am Me as an individual living in society, from birth to death.” Recognizing oneself according to the above definition due to the loss of personal identity proved impossible. Moreover, accepting oneself due to the loss of ego identity also proved to be impossible. This study’s notion of identity could provide ground for Erikson’s concept of identity from the subjective perspective. Further studies could address issues, including the theoretical clarification of existential considerations arising from identity crisis, the theoretical clarification of identity crisis that may shake the grounds of identity through various changes, and developing a theoretical methodology on phenomenological grounds examining the first two endeavors. Key words: identity, sameness, continuity, self-understanding

The life of the American novelist Margaret Mitchell was examined as a case study of an unhealthy “foreclosure status” that transformed into a state of “diffusion”. The relationship between Mitchell and her mother indicated the following: (1) Mitchell had become subordinate to her mother through the pressure from her mother and her sense of inferiority towards her mother (Subordination with Conflict). Consequently, Mitchell studied to become a doctor to conform to her motherʼs wish, although it was opposed to her desire. (2) This caused her to enter an unhealthy “closed foreclosure”, which is characterized by the fear that her mother might deny or leave her. (3) She persisted in the goal of becoming a doctor while her mother was alive and consequently experienced a high degree of stress. She abandoned this goal after her motherʼs death and reached a state of diffusion. (4) She could not independently explore her identity even after her mother died, because she had suppressed herself. A new hypothesis concerning mother-daughter relationships resulting in unhealthy foreclosure is developed by analyzing Margaret Mitchellʼs life. Key words: mother-daughter relation, identity formation, foreclosure