narcissism theme

also known as: narcissistic personality disorder, megalomania

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".

13 total · 1 choice · 2 major · 8 minor

StoryLevelMotivation
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.
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.
rd1988e6x06 minor "My knees have turned to jelly," said Cat at the prospect of meeting his future, presumably exalted self.