I WILL IGNORE YOU": NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY DISORDER IN THE CHARACTERIZATION OF WEDNESDAY ADDAMS IN NETFLIX’S WEDNESDAY (2022)

Abstract

All the literary or screen characters, to a greater or less extent, are a reflection of familiar human psychology, and a personality disorder is often the driving force behind a fictional character without the author or screenwriter ever labeling it as such. Patterns of behaviors—like narcissism—are easily overlooked and can be subtler and more insidious than disorders like panic disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The present study explores the narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) in the depiction of Wednesday Addams, a protagonist of the Netflix series, Wednesday (2022) by Alfred Gough & Miles Millar. Based on the theory of narcissism outlined by Sigmund Freud in On Narcissism: An Introduction (1914) and other elements from his later writing, Civilization and Its Discontents (1930), and on contemporary clinical descriptions of NPD, the research reveals four patterns that appear regularly in Wednesday's characterization: grandiose self-importance, empathy deficit, ego inflation with an inability to accept responsibility, and interpersonal exploitation. The study also explores the implications of this patterning for Wednesday herself, as well as the people with whom she interacts. Wednesday has many virtues, courage, loyalty, intellectual curiosity to name a few, the scope of this research is limited to only the narcissistic aspect of her characterization, as it progresses through episodes six to eight of the first season. The study applies the model of textual analysis of Catherine Belsey as developed by Gabriele Griffin in Research Methods for English Studies, in order to bring meaning out of the selection of dialogue, the narrative context and characteristics. The results indicate that Wednesday's narcissistic characteristics do not simply represent a moral failing, but a coping mechanism linked to a complex dynamic of chronic underestimation and self-isolation, which provides a more psychological interpretation of a character that has been much discussed in contemporary culture.