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Is Patrick Jane a psychopath?


Under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), Psychopathy was never recognized, until the revised DSM-5 categorized it under Anti-Social Personality Disorder. “He will choose you, disarm you with his words, and control you with his presence” (Hare) 

Psychopaths can replicate the behavior which the person they are interacting with thinks they want from them, without feeling a thing, which contributes greatly to their ability to manipulate. Psychopaths charm and lie their way seamlessly to the top, and while they lack empathy, they are well-liked because they know what to say and when to say it. Psychopaths occupy most of the positions of power in our society and corporations and thus often end up being glorified.

This glorification of psychopaths is most evident in the portrayal of psychopathy in TV shows. Some of the most notable characters which the screen has ever seen, like Marlo Stanfield from ‘The Wire’, James Moriarty from ‘Sherlock’, Hannibal Lecter from ‘Hannibal’ and so many more, have all been psychopaths. However, this post is going to explore the character of Patrick Jane from ‘The Mentalist’ and see whether according to Hare’s checklist, he is a psychopath or not.

In his earlier days, Patrick worked as a psychic and often acted as a police consultant. In pursuit of the series’ main antagonist, Red John, Patrick takes to the press and tries to profile Red John. Red John does not take to this kindly and Patrick returns home to find his daughter and wife brutally murdered, with Red John’s signature smiley face drawn, in their blood. This was the causal factor which resulted in Patrick eventually displaying signs of psychopathy and embarking a quest for revenge.

The very first scene of the show, in which Patrick is the direct cause for a wife shooting her husband (who murdered their daughter) dead, shows his lack of empathy. The more disturbing detail about this incident is the utter lack of remorse from Patrick’s end. He is convinced that he did the right thing and that the husband had it coming. This becomes a trend throughout the show, where we find Patrick lying to his team several times, manipulating them, just so that he can solve the cases.

He is also really good with people when he needs to be, his charm complete with him being able to say exactly what the other person needed to hear and lies very well. He is also shown to be a thrill-seeker and is always trying to solve every case he can, in addition to his main case, the case of Red John. There is also a sense of being the smartest person in the room, which he always has with him, refusing to believe anyone else can be smarter. He flaunts authority and even found himself wound up in prison because of the same. Even in the prison, he won the other inmates over easily, living comfortably and still pulling the strings in the outside world to solve the case he was working on them.

He often relies a lot on his teammates, especially his leader Teresa Lisbon. He has compromised the safety of his team more than a few times. His only aim in life was to catch Red John, and he never thought of life beyond that. He acts on his own whims and fancies when he needs to solve a case, and leaves others out of his loop, displaying juvenile behavior and impulsivity. On several occasions, when it served in his best interests, he has also proven himself adept at breaking into homes and attempting to save criminals, all under the excuse of wanting to catch Red John.

In conclusion, Patrick scores well above 30 in a PCL-R test, also known as the Hare psychopathic test. The only contention, however, is that there are several occasions where one can even say he shows empathy, especially when it comes to dealing with children, as they remind him of the daughter he lost. This show of empathy is not completely abnormal, according to researchers in the Netherlands. When asked to empathize after watching others experience pain, they “appeared to show normal levels of empathy, suggesting the ability to understand another’s feelings and thoughts may be repressed in these individuals rather than missing entirely.”(Lewis) Thus, we can conclude that in all likelihood, Patrick Jane is indeed a psychopath, albeit, a high functioning one.
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Bibliography
Hare, Robert. Without Conscience. New York, Guilford Publications, 2012.
The Mentalist. (2008-2015). [TV Show] Created by B. Heller. CBS: Primrose Hill Productions Warner Bros. Television.
Lewis, Tanya. “Coldhearted Psychopaths Feel Empathy Too.” LiveScience, 2013, https://www.livescience.com/38421-psychopaths-feel-empathy-when-they-try.html.
Edwards, Jim. “’The Hare Psychopathy Checklist’: The test that will tell you if someone is a sociopath.” Business Insider, 2016, https://www.businessinsider.in/science/the-hare-psychopathy-checklist-the-test-that-will-tell-you-if-someone-is-a-sociopath/articleshow/55602459.cms

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