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.
(Word Count-745)
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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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