Erik Erickson Child Of An Extramarital Affair - 2795 Words

Erik Erickson was born on June 15, 1902 in Frankfurt, Germany to a Jewish mother named, Karla. His journey of life began with misperception as to who his real father was; this is something that he died not knowing the actual facts. He was rumored to be the illegitimate child of an extramarital affair. Although he searched until the day of his death he never identified or met his biological father. â€Å"At this point I realized that his lifelong quest to find his father would remain unfilled (Friedman, 2000). He was given his mother’s first husband name, Salomonsen, however this was only a brief marriage and ended long before Erikson was conceived. After his birth, Erickson and his mother lived in Europe his first 3 years of life. During that time Erikson and his mother formed a bond that lasted him a lifetime. When Erikson was the age of 3 his mother remarried. His mother married Erikson’s pediatrician Dr. Theodore Homburger. Dr. Homburger did eventually adopt Eriks on and he was given the last name, Homburger. Once they were married they continued to build a family welcoming three daughter’s: Elna, Ruth, and Ellen. Growing up in a home with his family proved to be a challenge for Erikson because he never felt as though he was really part of this family. Erikson was raised Jewish, but due to the fact that he had blonde hair and blue eyes he was constantly picked on growing up. He felt very uncomfortable growing up and never liked traditional schooling, he was interested in