Lady Faceless Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Today my dad and I got in an argument about Jaime Lannister. I believe that Jaime is no more mentally ill than any other character in the series. He tries to be good and honorable, but is driven to do horrifying things out of his unhealthy love for Cersei. My dad, on the other hand, believes that Jaime developed Schizoid Personality Disorder. I can see why he would think that on some levels, but I'm not convinced. Some symptoms of SPD: cynical inauthenticdepersonalizedalternately feeling empty, robot-like, and full of omnipotent, vengeful fantasieshidden grandiosityexquisitely sensitivedeeply curious about othershungry for loveenvious of others' spontaneityintensely needy of involvement with otherscapable of excitement with carefully selected intimateslack clarity of goalsweak ethnic affiliationusually capable of steady workquite creative and may make unique and original contributionscapable of passionate endurance in certain spheres of interestmoral unevennessoccasionally strikingly amoral and vulnerable to odd crimes, at other times altruistically self-sacrificing (this is the only one that really sticks out for me)autistic thinkingfluctuations between sharp contact with external reality and hyperreflectiveness about the selfautocentric use of language I highlighted the traits that I believe could be applied to Jaime. Any thoughts? I mostly just want something to throw in my dad's face. :cool4: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormland's Fury Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Today my dad and I got in an argument about Jaime Lannister. I believe that Jaime is no more mentally ill than any other character in the series. He tries to be good and honorable, but is driven to do horrifying things out of his unhealthy love for Cersei. My dad, on the other hand, believes that Jaime developed Schizoid Personality Disorder. I can see why he would think that on some levels, but I'm not convinced. Some symptoms of SPD: cynical inauthentic depersonalized alternately feeling empty, robot-like, and full of omnipotent, vengeful fantasies hidden grandiosity exquisitely sensitive deeply curious about others hungry for love envious of others' spontaneity intensely needy of involvement with others capable of excitement with carefully selected intimates lack clarity of goals weak ethnic affiliation usually capable of steady work quite creative and may make unique and original contributions capable of passionate endurance in certain spheres of interest moral unevenness occasionally strikingly amoral and vulnerable to odd crimes, at other times altruistically self-sacrificing (this is the only one that really sticks out for me) autistic thinking fluctuations between sharp contact with external reality and hyperreflectiveness about the self autocentric use of language I highlighted the traits that I believe could be applied to Jaime. Any thoughts? I mostly just want something to throw in my dad's face. :cool4: I fulfill about half of these requirements and i don't have SPD. Jaimie's fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
averde Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 No, it's a bad idea to try to officially diagnose any character in a fantasy novel. Unless the book was written by a psychologist, often it's just a writer including elements to make a character larger then life and more interesting. As for this specific example, Jaime clearly has elements of this disorder but I don't think there's enough to diagnose him with it or even say he might have it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Eunuch Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Jaimie's fine. He fucks his sister (even in front of a dead body) and kills children "for love". Is it considered being "fine" for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formerly Tetrarch42 Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 He fucks his sister (even in front of a dead body) and kills children "for love". Is it considered being "fine" for you?Yes?Wait!I mean "no". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormland's Fury Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 He fucks his sister (even in front of a dead body) and kills children "for love". Is it considered being "fine" for you? Fucking his sister and killing kids doesn't mean he's shizoid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Eunuch Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Fucking his sister and killing kids doesn't mean he's shizoid. I didn't say he's shizoid. I said he's not "fine"... His relationship with his sister and his behaviour in life (the love for danger, for war and killings, plus his scornful tone) are clearly not normal. Yes he saves Brienne and begins to hate his sister, but that doesn't make him a "fine" man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormland's Fury Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 I didn't say he's shizoid. I said he's not "fine"... His relationship with his sister and his behaviour in life (the love for danger, for war and killings, plus his scornful tone) are clearly not normal. Yes he saves Brienne and begins to hate his sister, but that doesn't make him a "fine" man. Well I was replying to the OP's question. Not debating what is right and wrong. Sometimes it helps to read the question before criticizing the answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Eunuch Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Sometimes it helps to read the question before criticizing the answer. You did not simply answer the question, you said "Jamie's fine". I'm not a psychologist (nor is George Martin - on that I agree with averde) so I can't say if Jaime is a schizoid, but I can say he is not fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormland's Fury Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 You did not simply answer the question, you said "Jamie's fine". I'm not a psychologist (nor is George Martin - on that I agree with averde) so I can't say if Jaime is a schizoid, but I can say he is not fine. As in "fine in that regard" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bael's Bastard Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Jaime clearly has issues, but that sounds like an amateur WebMD diagnosis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonCon's Red Beard Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 What Jaime is, is what the Argentinians call, a POLLERUDO. Here in Perú, we call them SACOLARGO. Cersei manipulates him and now he's trapped. He can't do better than keep their relationship in secret, otherwise, he's as screwed up as she is. Everything he has done is to keep the incest quiet because that's the life he has gotten himself into. But, if we see Jaime beyond his relationship with Cersei, he was pretty much a normal kid: when he was ten years old or something, Cersei recalls he liked to play with swords and it was all he did. There is anything to imply he had the same cruel vibe Cersei and Joffrey had. Also, Tyrion says that his brother was nice to him and bought him his first pony and toys, and even during the Tysha incident, he chased the men who were trying to hurt him away: he had some sense of decency. And after he was knighted, he wanted to be like Arthur Dayne, who was a man considered as quite honourable. I think his moral compass was fine. The incest for Jaime is like having an addiction. When you're so much deep into it, you end up doing fucked up things because of it, either to hide it or to keep it going. That's Jaime's case, and that's why he wanted to come out into the light. When he got himself away from Cersei's grip, he started to change and see things differently. Of course, he didn't turn into an angel suddenly, but he did changed and saw Brienne in a different light, for instance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
To catch a Lannister Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Fucking his sister and killing kids doesn't mean he's shizoid. Still, it's kinda gross. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormland's Fury Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Still, it's kinda gross. Yeah, I agree on that. Can't be healthy either way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
To catch a Lannister Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Yeah, I agree on that. Can't be healthy either way. They're also lucky they got three relatively normal children and not http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lk7rnmFgCa1qh59n0o1_500.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormland's Fury Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 They're also lucky they got three relatively normal children and not http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lk7rnmFgCa1qh59n0o1_500.gif Ha! They got off easy in a lot of ways actually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Abominable SnowOther Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Does your father watch the show and not read the books? If so, give up, he's been deemed "unworthy" and therefore is "insane in the membrane" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mad Wolf Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Yes?Wait!I mean "no".Hahahaha 😂😂😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady of Dragonstone Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I have to agree with you, OP. I do not think Jaime has a personality disorder.Jaime is bitter for a reason: his life has not turned out as planned, and the things he does with good intentions have always come to bite him in the butt. I think Jaime comes across as inauthentic because he does always play a role: Jaime Lannister, Tywin Lannister's son, the Kingslayer. He has owned that persona, because he knows, like Tyrion, that he cannot escape it.I do see that he is deeply curious about others (many long talks with Brienne about her feelings!), we see his moral unevenness, and even hyperreflectiveness about himself. I don't think these warrant a disorder, though... He does messed up stuff, because he feels like he has to. Of course, he doesn't.... there's no excuse for some of his actions. I am a big fan of Jaime, I think he will redeem himself partially in the end, and no it doesn't make up for it, but still. So yeah he's "fine" bahahaha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waylin Stark Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Jaime is really disturbed, troubled and conflicted. But I don't think he's mentally damaged or has a personality disorder. The closest to actual mentally disturbed people would be Ramsay, Roose and Arya, who are sociopaths, and Dany who maybe has some form of madness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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