earticle

영어

The popular image of Scarlett O'Hara's character easily polarizes readers into extreme and equally superficial opposites. Her existence in readers' minds as feisty American heroine or self-centered princess neglects the nuanced depiction of her complex and destructive personality. The author's achievement lies in providing a morally superficial and simplistic character with a complex subtext of motivations. In conjunction with a clinical understanding of narcissism, it can be shown that she ought neither to be admired as icon nor scorned as psychotic, but seen as the profoundly flawed character the text carefully conveys. The clinical understanding of narcissistic personality disorder is currently under debate again. It stands to be eliminated from the next edition of The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) due to renewed uncertainty whether narcissism should be seen as a clinical disease or just a collection of signs and symptoms better understood in terms of other disorders. In Scarlett's actions and motivations it is possible to see such a collection of signs that invite the broader label of narcissistic personality traits. Specifically, Scarlett's narcissistic complex stems from the insufficient mirroring supplied by her distant mother Ellen and the resultant overidealization of Ellen's womanhood. The aim of this essay is to show that Scarlett's enchantment with the image of her mother and consequently her own ego-ideal, has consequences for relating adequately to others and being able to mature. Since her lack of self-analysis cannot aid her in detecting these flaws, she is also unable to avert a regression to girlhood strategies and fantasies. This dynamic can best be constructed as a narcissistic entrapment.