The Psychology of Dexter - Bella DePaulo [70]
It seems that Dexter’s choice to abandon suicide is clear, but that path has not really left his mind. In season four, Dexter became obsessed with catching Trinity. He actually found Trinity about to jump off a building to end everything, and he stopped this from happening. However, Dexter briefly wondered if Trinity was making the right decision: if suicide was the only way to end the cycle of violence and deal with his never-ending remorse. Dexter also wonders if this will eventually be his own decision.
What would Freud think about Dexter and his defense mechanisms? It could be argued that Freud would be proud of how well Dexter and his colleagues exemplify the various mechanisms Freud suggested. Some of them help, and some of them backfire, which Freud also suggested would happen. Freud would most certainly not agree with Dexter’s justification for serial killings. But what about the big decision Dexter must eventually face: how to end everything? As audience members, most of us will recoil at the idea of Dexter ending his successful career as a vigilante. But why do we feel this way? It’s likely that we loyal viewers are actually experiencing defense mechanisms ourselves. We are rooting for him, hoping he doesn’t get caught, reveling in his joy when he chops up a bad guy. We’re on Dexter’s side. We must, therefore, be experiencing denial, identification, or, more likely, rationalization, right along with the characters of the show. We don’t want Dexter to end, either through Dexter getting caught or through him ending his own life. In some ways, we want to be Dexter.
So, what would Freud say? Although suicide is not a socially acceptable choice, many people would be surprised to learn that Freud actually made this choice for himself. After years of living in fear from the Nazis (Freud was a Jew who lived in Austria almost his entire life) and living in pain from cancer of the mouth (all those cigars were needed to help cure his phallic fixations), Freud (with the help of his friend) took three doses of morphine to end it all. So when Dexter considers suicide, Freud would probably tell him that this choice is a noble one. At least, that’s what Freud and Dexter can tell themselves, if their unconscious minds are creative.
Wind Goodfriend is an associate professor of psychology at Buena Vista University. She earned her PhD in social psychology in 2004 from Purdue University. In her final year of graduate school, Dr. Goodfriend received both the “Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award” and the “Outstanding Graduate Student of the Year Award” for her research. Since then, she has been nominated for and won several more research and teaching awards.
Chase Barrick is a student at Buena Vista University. He will graduate from Buena Vista University in 2010 with a bachelor of arts degree in psychology. He hopes to continue his education in the field of psychology as he attends graduate school.
Adult children from narcissistic families, Marisa Mauro tells us, fit a certain profile. They try too hard to please other people, they struggle with strong feelings of anger simmering just beneath the surface, they amass a collection of failed romances, they trust too little or disclose too much, and no level of success is ever enough. Deb? Sure. But Dexter? Dr. Mauro thinks so. She also believes that Harry was a narcissistic parent to both of his children. How could that be, when he devoted so much time to Dexter? Read on, and see what you think.
IT’S ALL ABOUT HARRY
MARISA MAURO
Is the Morgan Family a Narcissistic Family?
A basic goal for most families is to raise healthy children who will one day become independent adults. In a healthy family, parents work to accomplish this task by assuming responsibility for their children