Narcissistic Personality Disorder: An Application of the Psychoanalytic Theory to Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre

Abstract

This paper addresses a serious psychological mental state, namely Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) which has spread all over the globe, leaving its evil effects on the individuals and the societies. Firstly, I argue that Rochester in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre (1848) embodies a number of narcissistic traits and suffers from NPD according to The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), Fourth Edition in 1994. Moreover, I highlight the causes for his suffering from this disorder according to psychoanalysis and how Jane herself was a possible candidate to become a narcissist, but she managed to evade this psychological disorder at an early stage. Finally, I argue that Charlotte Bronte’s nineteenth century novel, Jane Eyre, offers a proactive measurement to prevent NPD in individuals prone to suffer from this disorder, and the novel also presents an application of a psychological treatment plan that has been articulated by Psychoanalysts, particularly Otto Kernberg and Heinz Kohut: Jane successfully plays the role of an expert psychoanalyst who manages to offer treatment to a character suffering from NPD; this inspires readers with a possible treatment of NPD or at least provides insight into human nature.