A markedly thick accent, a mop of blonde hair, a magical array of unimaginably expensive clothing, and an air of calculated mystery mesh uncomfortably together to invent Anna Delvey, the centre of Netflix’s appropriately named documentary/drama series, “Inventing Anna”. This series tells or rather retells the fascinating story of how one woman deceived the creme de la creme of New York society as well as some prestigious financial institutions under the guise that she was a wealthy heiress from Germany. The series follows a journalist, Vivian Kent, as she tries to uncover the carefully constructed web of lies Anna spun around high society after her arrest, heavily interspersed by flashbacks, present-day court hearings, and interviews with the enigma herself (Shondaland, 2022). Anna as a character, infused with a troubling reality and a dramatised narrative, presents an interesting scope to study the symptomatology of Narcissistic Personality Disorder as presented in her behaviour. Thus, this essay attempts to highlight aspects of Anna’s personality that may resonate with the diagnostic features of NPD according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health (DSM-V-TR)(American Psychiatric Association, 2022).
However, before diving into this exploration, certain disclaimers become important to delimit its scope. Since Anna Delvey (a chosen name, her name at birth was Anna Sorkin) is a real person and at the core of “Inventing Anna” is a true narrative, it is important to state that this article simply draws upon material from Anna as a character in the Netflix series and not as the real-life felon. Thus, implications from this article are supposed to only extend to the character on the screen and not the actual person. Secondly, while her presentation is studied through the lens of the symptomatology of NPD, the person and the character both have not been professionally diagnosed with the disorder. In light of the general ambiguity while diagnosing personality pathology as well as the author’s acknowledged lack of credentials in the field, this article is not meant to diagnose NPD, rather just explore its symptomatology as presented by Anna Delvey (Sarkar & Duggan, 2010).
Anna arrived in New York and wasted no time to make her way into the elite, monied circles lavishing money on long hotel stays, opulent parties, and a largely lavish lifestyle (Shondaland, 2022). She also came up with the idea of setting up the Anna Delvey Foundation, as an exclusive club for art, as part of her overarching goal to solidify her place in New York high society (Shondaland, 2022). However, while she was in the process of getting a large loan from a bank to set up ADF, her unpaid bills and debts caught up with her and her lies about her affluent monetary background came to light leading to her arrest and eventual conviction (Shondaland, 2022).
The series chronicles her behaviour both through her meteoric rise through New York society and her disgraceful downfall and surprisingly, notes that there is no observable change in her attitude towards herself and others despite there being a large alteration in her circumstances (Shondaland, 2022). It is from this point on that one may begin to contextualise her presenting behaviour in the context of Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
The DSM-V-TR characterises NPD as “a pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behaviour), need for admiration, and lack of empathy” along with nine specific diagnostic criteria for the disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2022, p. 760). Literature has presented two sub-types of NPD; grandiose narcissism which is manifested behaviourally as behaviour that is often grandiose, aggressive, and highly self-referential, and vulnerable narcissism which describes narcissists who use arrogance and condescension as a facade for their fragile sense of self esteem and hypersensitivity to rejection (Hooley et al, 2021, p. 364). Anna Delvey meets several of the diagnostic criteria for NPD according to the DSM-V-TR and can be hypothesised to largely be manifesting a kind of grandiose narcissism.
The first criteria that Anna displays in spades is an exaggerated sense of self-importance (American Psychiatric Association, 2022, p.760). At one point in the series, while upset with Vivian Kent about not being able to make it to a jail visit to interview her, Anna goes on a tirade about her endless capabilities, fluencies in several languages, and photographic memory, ending on the note “I’m f***ing gifted. Brilliant” (Shondaland, 2022). While she is shown to have gone on similar rants at several points during her days of faking her affluence, the stark irony of spewing this rant while sitting in a prisoner’s outfit is seemingly lost on her. This behaviour and similar comments show her manifestation of heightened arrogance, also a DSM specified diagnostic criteria for NPD (American Psychiatric Association, 2022, p.761).
Another prominently displayed criteria is over-exaggerated fantasies of success (American Psychiatric Association, 2022, p.760). Anna’s visions for the foundation she wanted to set up ranged from ambitious to almost mythical, at one point describing it as “the pinnacle of the global art world” (Shondaland, 2022). Interestingly, the series makes it a point to show how these projections, which seem to be based on no concrete achievements, as is often the case with people suffering from NPD (American Psychiatric Association, 2022, p. 760), are taken seriously by those around her to the point of even sanctioning a very large loan towards the same (Shondaland, 2022). Thus, she was almost enabled by those around her to try to see these fantasies transform into a reality, and she did at the expense of others.
Part of the reason why Anna Delvey was able to access these elite others is informed by another diagnostic criteria of people suffering from NPD; the belief that they are special and an insistence on associating with people whom they view as high status (American Psychiatric Association, 2022, p. 760-761). In a two minute montage, whose insight extends far beyond its short time span, Anna is shown to be interacting with some of the most talented people in the world for her hospitality business to help her set up her arts foundation (Shondaland, 2022). Thus, while her own sense of self-importance has already been instantiated, her insistence to interact and affiliate herself with the people who are top of their fields world over also shows the manifestation of this symptom. It also provides a rationalisation as to her decision to try to set up a business in New York, which another character explicitly mentions as probably the most difficult place to establish oneself in as an outsider (Shondaland, 2022).
Anna’s sense of entitlement, yet another diagnostic feature of NPD (American Psychiatric Association, 2022, p 760) is also made evident through the narrative, especially in her interactions with Alan, the financier who approves her large loan (Shondaland, 2022). Anna is shown to storm into Alan’s office several times when things don’t turn out the way she wants for her business (Shondaland, 2022). She also puts immense pressure on him to approve her loan without having sufficient paperwork and background clearance all because of a particular venue she has her heart set on, which she doesn’t want to let go (Shondaland, 2022). This entitlement, while concerning, actually becomes an essential part of her selling her socialite standing and helps get her loan approved.
Anna is also portrayed to be clearly lacking empathy for the people and institutions she exploited, including Rachel Williams, a socialite friend from her party circles, whom she forces to pay for a fancy stay in Morocco which Anna had planned in the first place. While Rachel makes it clear that this is beyond her means, Anna lies to her about paying her back and shows no remorse for exploiting tens of thousands of dollars from her later on (Shondaland, 2022). She also tells a pregnant Vivian Kent that her baby is no excuse to miss appointments with her and threatens to stop meeting her if she misses any future meetings (Shondaland, 2022). Lastly, through all of her relationships and interactions, Anna’s propensity for being interpersonally exploitative also becomes abundantly clear, as she continually and calculatedly uses Chase, her boyfriend, Nora, her mentor, Rachel and all her other friends as resources to set up a business, live an exorbitant life, and make a place for herself in New York. Her actions also make her need to be excessively admired by those around her, another diagnostic criteria, abundantly clear. Anna is also shown to frequently use social media to show off her measuredly glamorised life and these platforms could serve as further sources of validation for her (Shondaland, 2022). Additionally, studies have also established the link between frequent social media use and elevated narcissistic tendencies (Reed et, al 2018, Brailovskaia et al, 2020). Lastly, Anna states at several points in the series that people are simply jealous of her, her vision, and her success (Shondaland, 2022). This aligns with the last diagnostic criteria for NPD (American Psychiatric Association, 2022, p. 760), therefore, showing how her behaviour actually ends up aligning with all nine diagnostic criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
While the central theme of this article has been viewing Anna Delvey’s behaviour, as portrayed in Inventing Anna through the diagnostic criteria of NPD, it becomes once again important to realise that this is not and cannot be a proper diagnosis, rather an attempt to evidence a hypothesis.
Interestingly, Anna Sorkin, the woman whose actions inspired the series, has been referred to as a narcissist in the media several times before (CBS NEW YORK, 2019). However, there has been little attempt to actually view her behaviour in the context of any kind of pathology, thereby labelling her without any attempt at professional diagnosis or treatment. Thus, the narrative of Inventing Anna, unfortunately, becomes one among many that touches upon narcissism, possibly extending into the boundaries of pathology, yet still never actually visibilising them.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, text revision (DSM-5-TR(TM)) (5th ed.). American Psychiatric Association Publishing.
Brailovskaia, J., Rohmann, E., Bierhoff, H., & Margraf, J. (2020). The anxious addictive narcissist: The relationship between grandiose and vulnerable narcissism, anxiety symptoms and Facebook addiction. PLOS ONE, 15(11), e0241632. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0241632
CBS NEW YORK. (2019, July 24). Anna Sorokin Case: Victim Calls Fake Heiress 'A Sociopath,' 'An Extreme Narcissist'. CBS. https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/anna-sorokin-victim-calls-fake-heiress-a-sociopath-an-extreme-narcissist/
Hooley, J. M., Nock, M. K., & Butcher, J. N. (2021). Abnormal psychology (18th ed.). Pearson.
Reed, P., Bircek, N. I., Osborne, L. A., Viganò, C., & Truzoli, R. (2018). Visual social media use moderates the relationship between initial problematic internet use and later narcissism. The Open Psychology Journal, 11(1), 163-170. https://doi.org/10.2174/1874350101811010163
Sarkar, J., & Duggan, C. (2010). Diagnosis and classification of personality disorder: Difficulties, their resolution and implications for practice. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 16(5), 388-396. https://doi.org/10.1192/apt.bp.108.006015
Shondaland (Producer). (2022). Inventing Anna [TV series]. Netflix.
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