From fandom to fiction
After my recent posts on narcissism in fandom, it was great to come across this List of fictional narcissists at Wikipedia.org. While I'd quibble with some of the characters listed (Peggy Hill from King of the Hill? Uhh... no.) it's mostly an insightful collection. And also indicative of the overall geekiness of wikipedia contributors, as the first two characters are from Star Wars, the third is from a video game, and the list is heavy with references to fantasy and science fiction works. I'm rather surprised that Voldemort, Saruman and Spike from BtVS aren't on the list, though.
Hehe, that last one may get me in hot water. But I definitely see the classic signs of a narcissistic personality in Spike, at least up to season 7. The boastfulness, the very limited empathy (not absent entirely, but limited), the self-centered thinking, all very present. One of the things that makes his story so compelling, I think, is that he has the opportunity to move beyond narcissism, and takes it. This rarely happens in real life, I fear. Well, that's one of the things that fantasy is good for.
Saruman the White from LOTR? A brilliant portrait of the arrogance that power can bring. He believes that Sauron is going to win the war of the ring, and besides, he can increase his own power if he joins the side of Evil, so to him the choice is obvious. And when, to his shock, he turns out to be on the losing side, he tries to talk his way out of it. A slick modern politician in wizard's robes, is Saruman.
To me, though, one of the best portrayals of narcissism in fiction is in a fairly obscure novel from the 1970's called Grand Obese, by Cesar J. Rotondi. Sylvie, the protagonist, is a woman of insatiable appetite, mainly for food, but also for validation. She sees the entire world, especially the people in it, either as opportunities for feeding or obstacles to it. Even her own children barely exist as people to her; the facts of their miserably lonely, circumscribed lives make no impression upon her.
Sylvie's physical size serves as a metaphor for her ego... both increase to ridiculous, life-threatening size as the novel progresses, and it's only when her family reaches a point of profound crisis that she begins to realize that something is wrong. And by then, the reader suspects, it is too late.
But I won't give away the ending. You really need to read it for yourself (the book is out of print, sadly, but used copies are around).
Hmm. Guess I should go read about why the Rude Pundit believes that Michelle Malkin should be caged like a rabid shih-tzu...
Hehe, that last one may get me in hot water. But I definitely see the classic signs of a narcissistic personality in Spike, at least up to season 7. The boastfulness, the very limited empathy (not absent entirely, but limited), the self-centered thinking, all very present. One of the things that makes his story so compelling, I think, is that he has the opportunity to move beyond narcissism, and takes it. This rarely happens in real life, I fear. Well, that's one of the things that fantasy is good for.
Saruman the White from LOTR? A brilliant portrait of the arrogance that power can bring. He believes that Sauron is going to win the war of the ring, and besides, he can increase his own power if he joins the side of Evil, so to him the choice is obvious. And when, to his shock, he turns out to be on the losing side, he tries to talk his way out of it. A slick modern politician in wizard's robes, is Saruman.
To me, though, one of the best portrayals of narcissism in fiction is in a fairly obscure novel from the 1970's called Grand Obese, by Cesar J. Rotondi. Sylvie, the protagonist, is a woman of insatiable appetite, mainly for food, but also for validation. She sees the entire world, especially the people in it, either as opportunities for feeding or obstacles to it. Even her own children barely exist as people to her; the facts of their miserably lonely, circumscribed lives make no impression upon her.
Sylvie's physical size serves as a metaphor for her ego... both increase to ridiculous, life-threatening size as the novel progresses, and it's only when her family reaches a point of profound crisis that she begins to realize that something is wrong. And by then, the reader suspects, it is too late.
But I won't give away the ending. You really need to read it for yourself (the book is out of print, sadly, but used copies are around).
Hmm. Guess I should go read about why the Rude Pundit believes that Michelle Malkin should be caged like a rabid shih-tzu...