Narcissism i Dorian Grays porträtt, Dvärgen och Drömmar vid havet

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this paper is to explore the narcissistic traits in three fictional characters: Dorian Gray in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890), the dwarf in Pär Lagerkvist’s The Dwarf (1944), and Marcel in Björn Larsson’s Dreams by the Sea (1997). Narcissism is defined as a personality trait characterized by grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy, stemming from an inner feeling of shame. Psychological research and psychoanalysts’ descriptions of narcissists are applied in an analysis of each of the three characters. Dorian does literally what the narcissist does figuratively: he protects the picture of himself in order to hide his shame. The dwarf meets many of the criteria used to diagnose narcissistic personality disorder. Marcel is portrayed as perfect and admirable, just the way a narcissist would like to be seen, but his fear of becoming dependent on others has negative consequences for those surrounding him. In this paper, literature is used to highlight certain aspects of the narcissistic personality, but the psychological perspective also deepens the understanding of the fictional characters.