Norman approaches the material on Little Hans from the end—who he was, Little Hans, as an adult, opera director Herbert Graf. Anyone who is involved with a child knows how preoccupied one can be with the thought of what the child will be as an adult. There is extraordinary excitement in the question: What will this person be like? Implicit: What form will his talents and assets take in matters of work and love, and what effect will his weak points and fixations have on the final compromise of which adulthood is made up?