It is postulated that Tausk resolved an early crisis in his life with the aid of a play he wrote, “Twilight”. Tausk’s repetitive creative & self-destructive personality trends, both before & after he became an analyst, are traced. They apparently contributed to his insight into motives & mechanisms in other people but also brought in their wake reactions that led to increasing narcissism with strong paranoid features. The symbolic aspects of Tausk’s suicide are discussed. (19 refs.)