narcissism theme
There is a character that, like Narcisuss in the ancient Greek story, has an excessive, lasting, and obsessive admiration their own self-image and/or other attributes.
Notes
"Pride" themes like "attitude of superiority" involve a character comparing themselves to others. Such themes do not necessarily mean that narcissism is implied. It is possible for a character, rightly or wrongly, to believe themselves superior and take pride in that supposed fact, without them obsessively and lastingly admiring themselves. To judge whether we describe a character as "narcissistic" we inspect the character's self-admiring behavior and gauge whether we think that they, like Narcissus did, could have behaved the same way when alone. If a character admires themselves habitually but in a way that is not describable as "obsessive" then the theme "vanity" is applicable.
Examples
Garth of Izar suffered from delusions of grandeur in tos3x16 "Whom Gods Destroy".
14 total · 1 choice · 3 major · 8 minor
| Story | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| ahp2x05 | choice | Seymour repeatedly lauded his own refinement and looks, and showed disdain for everyone else - ironically it also became his downfall when he willfully overlooked a characteristic birthmark. |
| ic1976e08 | major | Caligula was self-obsessed to the n:th degree. |
| ic1976e09 | major | Caligula was self-obsessed to the n:th degree. |
| movie: Annie Hall (1977) | major | Alvy reveled in analyzing and criticizing his own flaws but never changed and rarely considered what others thought or felt. For example, he insisted that Annie should refrain from smoking weed before sex because it made him feel bad. When they tried and she didn't muster the same enthusiasm, he criticized her for that too. |
| futurama3x17 | minor | Pharaoh Bender had a gigantic monument of himself built. |
| ic1976e06 | minor | Caligula was self-obsessed to the n:th degree. |
| ic1976e07 | minor | Caligula was self-obsessed to the n:th degree. |
| ic1976e12 | minor | Nero was incredibly self-obsessed. When they found Claudius' final piece of writing, his immediate reaction was "what does it say about me!" |
| movie: Donnie Darko (2001) | minor | Jim Cunningham kept a large portrait of himself on display in his home. |
| rd1988e4x01 | minor | It transpires that Cat's ideal partner is, of course, Cat himself. This touches on the Ancient Greek myth of Narcissus. |