FULL-LENGTH MIRRORS: NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY DISORDER AS SEEN IN LITERATURE, FILM, AND MODERN LIFE By SUZANNE POPE Integrated Studies Project submitted to Dr. Emma Pivato in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts – Integrated Studies Athabasca, Alberta November, 2011 FULL-LENGTH MIRRORS: NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY DISORDER AS SEEN 2 IN LITERATURE, FILM, AND MODERN LIFE Table of Contents Abstract 3 Introduction 4 The Diagnostic Criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder 5 The Increasing Prevalence of Narcissism in Daily Life 6 What Art Can Tell Us About Narcissistic Personality Disorder 8 Narcissistic Personality Disorder in To Die For 9 Narcissistic Personality Disorder in The Picture of Dorian Gray 12 Narcissistic Personality Disorder in Othello 18 Conclusion 26 References 27 FULL-LENGTH MIRRORS: NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY DISORDER AS SEEN 3 IN LITERATURE, FILM, AND MODERN LIFE Abstract Narcissistic Personality Disorder is more common and observable today than in past generations (Twenge and Campbell). Yet its features – a lack of empathy, a sense of entitlement, profound envy, and the like – have been noted in fictional characters for centuries. By studying certain works of theatre, fiction, and film, we may gain insights into NPD that would not be possible outside a prolonged experience of the disorder in a clinical setting. The fictional works analyzed are Shakespeare's Othello, Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, and the film To Die For by director Gus van Sant. FULL-LENGTH MIRRORS: NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY DISORDER AS SEEN 4 IN LITERATURE, FILM, AND MODERN LIFE Full-Length Mirrors: Narcissistic Personality Disorder as seen in Literature, Film, and Modern Life The self-absorption and sense of entitlement associated with narcissism are easily observed in modern Western society. The Internet in particular supports self-importance and exhibitionism by giving ordinary people the ability to broadcast the most mundane images and announcements through Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites. In addition, reality television programs attract thousands of prospective “performers” who do not seem aware that they are applying for a chance at international humiliation. But the evidence of increased societal narcissism is not just empirical: Twenge and Campbell analyzed the Narcissistic Personality Inventory scores of college students from 1982 to 2006, and found that scores had risen by 30% during that time. Pinsky further held that the narcissistic behaviour of Hollywood celebrities has become normalized and is now being mirrored by a fascinated public. From the example set by celebrities, the public might surmise that narcissistic behaviour goes unpunished, but clinicians know better: Narcissistic behaviours may allow for material success, but they are incompatible with success in human relationships. However, laypeople do in fact have access to the truth about narcissism without engaging in specialized study or in psychotherapeutic treatment. Narcissistic characters abound in works of fiction, and they have been drawn with remarkable insight for centuries. By examining these cautionary tales, clinicians can gain further understanding of narcissistic personality disorder, and laypeople can come to understand that stories of narcissism do not have happy endings. FULL-LENGTH MIRRORS: NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY DISORDER AS SEEN 5 IN LITERATURE, FILM, AND MODERN LIFE The diagnostic criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder To begin, it is important distinguish between the normal levels of narcissism observed in healthy individuals and the levels of narcissism needed to qualify for a diagnosis of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) places personality disorders on Axis II of its five-axis examination system. Personality disorders were placed on their own axis in the DSM to ensure they would receive adequate attention when patients presented with more urgent Axis I disorders (such as depression, et cetera). “Clinical syndromes were generally thought to be characterized by transient symptoms with biological causes and an unstable course; personality disorders were supposed by many to be characterized by long-standing personality traits, whose roots were primarily psychological, and a stable and unremitting course” (Ruocco, 1995). Put another way, personality disorders might render a person more susceptible to Axis I disorders, but they are seldom the reason a person presents for treatment. NPD appears in Cluster B of the DSM’s three-cluster organization of personality disorders. Cluster B includes the disorders that are viewed as dramatic, emotional, or erratic. The disorder is marked by its “pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behaviour), need for admiration, and lack of empathy...” (Livesley, 1995, p. 205). A diagnosis requires that at least five of the following criteria be met: • A grandiose sense of self-importance • Preoccupation with fantasies of beauty, brilliance, ideal love, power, or limitless success FULL-LENGTH MIRRORS: NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY DISORDER AS SEEN 6 IN LITERATURE, FILM, AND MODERN LIFE • A belief in one's uniqueness that renders him or her fit only for persons or institutions of rarefied status • A need for excessive admiration • A sense of entitlement around favourable treatment or the automatic granting of wishes • The exploitation of others to achieve personal goals • A lack of empathy toward others • Frequent envy or the belief that the patient is the subject of envy • Arrogance or haughtiness in attitude or behavior NPD first appeared in the DSM as part of DSM-III in 1980, but it is probable that even the authors of the diagnostic criteria would not have foreseen the rise of narcissistic features in the general public in the decades that followed. The Increasing Prevalence of Narcissism in Daily Life Even a layperson’s understanding of narcissism is sufficient for recognizing how much more socially acceptable narcissism has become in recent years. Reality television, sex tapes, Twitter accounts, and visible tattoos on women are displays of the self that were rare, shocking, or nonexistent twenty years ago. Today, they are so common as to be unremarkable. Twenge and Campbell confirmed that the perceived increase in Western society’s self-absorption could be measured. Analyzing college students’ scores on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, the team determined that scores rose by 30% between 1986 and 2006 – as much, they note, as American rates of obesity. They also FULL-LENGTH MIRRORS: NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY DISORDER AS SEEN 7 IN LITERATURE, FILM, AND MODERN LIFE proposed that the growth in young people’s narcissism is accelerating, given that the sharpest increase in the scores occurred between 2000 and 2006 (p. 30). Twenge and Campbell disputed the common clinical position that narcissists struggle with deep-seated feelings of emptiness and worthlessness: “(T)hey like themselves just fine, and even more than the average person. Adults who score high on narcissism typically score high on self-esteem as well” (p. 26). However, Pinksy’s analysis was more in keeping with the prevailing view of narcissism as a mask for deep distress (p. 88): Narcissism...springs from an opposite relationship with the self: not self- involvement, but a disconnection with oneself. The key to understanding the Narcissus myth is not that he fell in love with himself, but that he failed to recognize himself in his own reflection. In other words, true narcissists are not self-aware. A real narcissist is dissociated from his or her true self; he feels haunted by chronic feelings of loneliness, emptiness and self-loathing and seeks to replace that disconnection with a sense of worth and importance fueled by others. Narcissism is also marked by a profound lack of empathy, a fundamental inability to understand and connect with the feelings of others. Pinsky sought to analyze the particular relationship between narcissism and celebrity in Western culture (specifically, the United States). Pinsky proposed that narcissists are predisposed to seek the limelight as an antidote to their self-loathing (p. 13), and that an increase in societal narcissism has boosted the numbers of people seeking fame in spite of having no discernable talents. But, as Pinsky noted, the general public is FULL-LENGTH MIRRORS: NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY DISORDER AS SEEN 8 IN LITERATURE, FILM, AND MODERN LIFE as pathologically invested in celebrity as are the celebrities themselves. When celebrities flout societal norms (and even laws) with impunity, they effectively model that behaviour to an adoring international audience. The apparent absence of consequences for celebrities encourages ordinary people to mimic the attitudes and behaviours of celebrities in their own lives (p. 7), thus “causing damage to our relationships, our families, and the fabric of society” (p. 15). The public in due course becomes narcissistically envious of the very narcissists it admires, delighting in dethroning its idols, and fuelling the tabloid gossip industry that seeks to destroy reputations and careers. What Art Can Tell Us About Narcissistic Personality Disorder The findings of Twenge and Campbell confirm the gradual normalization of entitlement, exhibitionism, and self-involvement, behaviour that, in decades past, would have been considered inappropriate, and even offensive. Pinsky observed that much of this behaviour is effectively