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CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1.Review of Related Theories

To appropriately address the research questions, the series must first be

analyzed with suitable theories. The researcher used a theory developed by Caligor,

Levy, and Yeomans that focuses exclusively on the signs of Narcissistic Personality

Disorder (NPD).

2.1.1. Definition of Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Caligor, Levy, & Yeomans (2015:418) proposed that Narcissistic

Personality Disorder is a pattern of grandiosity in either fantasy or behavior. People

who suffer from narcissistic personality disorder often have a strong need for

admiration and praise from others, yet ironically, they tend to lack empathy for

those around them. Criticism may also trigger feelings of discomfort and emotional

pain in people with this disorder.

According to HelpGuide.org (2023)

“People with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) are in love with an

idealized, grandiose image of themselves. And they're in love with this

inflated self-image precisely because it allows them to avoid deep feelings

of insecurity. But propping up their delusions of grandeur takes a lot of

work—and that's where the dysfunctional attitudes and behaviors come

in.”
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Additionally, DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental

Disorders, Fifth Edition) also stated that “The essential feature of narcissistic

personality disorder is a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration,

and lack of empathy that begins by early adulthood and is present in a variety

of contexts”.

2.1.2. Signs of Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Based on Caligor, Levy, & Yeomans (2015) theory, signs of NPD are

as follows:

1. Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates

achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without

commensurate achievements)

2. Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance,

beauty, or ideal love.

3. Believes that he or she is “special” and unique and can only be

understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status

people (or institutions).

4. Requires excessive admiration.

5. Has a sense of entitlement (i.e., the unreasonable expectation of

especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her

expectations).

6. Is interpersonally exploitative (i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve

his or her ends).

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7. Lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings

and needs of others.

8. Is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or

her.

9. Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors and attitudes.

And according to Mayo Clinic (2023) those who suffers from

narcissistic personality disorder usually struggle to deal with any sorts of

remarks/criticism from other people. They tend to:

1. Become impatient or angry when they don't receive special recognition

or treatment.

2. Have major problems interacting with others and easily feel slighted.

3. React with rage or contempt and try to belittle other people to make

therethemselves appear superior.

4. Have difficulty managing their emotions and behavior.

5. Experience major problems dealing with stress and adapting to change.

6. Withdraw from or avoid situations in which they might fail.

7. Feel depressed and moody because they fall short of perfection.

8. Have secret feelings of insecurity, shame, humiliation and fear of being

exposed as a failure.

Also Vaknin (2015) stated that “Narcissism is painfully ridiculous and

embarrassing to behold. Narcissists are pompous, grandiose, repulsive and

contradictory. There is a serious mismatch between who they really are, their

true accomplishments, and how they regard themselves ” (p.108).

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2.2.Previous Studies

There have been numerous studies that have investigated fictional characters'

psychological conditions or mental states of a character within a narrative and many

people have approached this topic in ways that are similar to the current research

being discussed. Their works have provided a solid foundation for this research

which has taken a similar tack and can generally be related to this research.

The first research is by Fierda Aulya Mantika named “Antisocial Personality

Disorder Of The Character Richard Franklin In Nicholas Sparks’ Novel The

Guardian” (2018). Mantika focuses on finding and exploring Richard Franklin’s

antisocial personality disorder symptoms using the antisocial personality disorder

theory developed by J. Reid Meloy and Jessica Yakeley. The result proves that

Richard Franklin's disturbing demeanor is consistent with some antisocial

personality disorder traits. First, Richard Franklin shows anxiety and attachment

traits through his low anxiety and obsession with nonhuman items, namely his

camera. Second, his narcissism is shown by his grandiose fantasies and his

aggressive narcissism. Next, the psychological defenses that are shown by Richard

Franklin are projective identification, devaluation, and denial. Fourth, by

dominating and exploiting other characters, Richard Franklin demonstrates object

relation characteristics. Fifth, Richard Franklin demonstrates affective qualities by

demonstrating that he gets pleasure in the anguish and pain of others and that he

also feels wrath and jealousy for something he should not be furious or envious of.

Finally, Richard Franklin demonstrates superego pathology through his vicious

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actions, as well as a lack of need to defend or rationalize his behavior. These data

point to Richard Franklin having an antisocial personality disorder.

The second research is “The Narcissistic Personality Disorder In Symptoms

Experience Of Amy Dunn In Gone Girl Movie By David Fincher” by Rizqi

Kurniasih (2022). Kurniasih’s goal is to examine the narcissistic forms of Sigmund

Freud and determine the causes of the personality disorder. These research findings

demonstrate that Amy Dunn suffers from a personality disorder by applying the

idea of narcissistic personality disorder to character dialogue, character

monologues, and the author's narrative.

And the last research is “Heathcliff’s Personality Disorder as Reflected in Emily

Bronte’s Wuthering Heights Novel (1847): A Psychoanalytic Approach” by

Gendhis Af Rinna (2018). This study looked at how Emily Bronte's novel

Wuthering Heights (1847) reflected personality disorders. The goals of this research

were to discover Heathcliff’s conditions that became the causes of personality

disorder, and the negative impacts of personality disorder. There are two sorts of

data sources: primary and secondary data. The primary data was the novel, then the

secondary data were gathered from sources linked to the primary data, such as

international journals, papers, websites, and books dealing with this topic. A library

research technique was used to acquire the data. The data analysis technique

employed was descriptive qualitative research. The research took a psychoanalytic

method. Based on the psychoanalytic analysis, a human personality disorder may

be shown from the beginning. Heathcliff has a personality that can be divided into

three personality structures. In Sigmund Freud's theory, personality was divided

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into three parts: Id, Ego, and Superego. Heathcliff demonstrated narcissistic

personality disorder. It would be proven by some data exhibiting the conditions of

narcissistic personality disorder as a sign of symptoms in the American Psychiatric

Association. The last analysis looked at the harmful impacts of narcissistic

personality disorder as depicted in Emily Bronte's novel Wuthering Heights (1847).

There are some similarities and differences between the three studies listed

above. In the first study, while both employed psychoanalytic methods for their

research, Mantika used antisocial personality disorder theory developed by J. Reid

Meloy and Jessica Yakeley while the researcher of this research uses narcissistic

personality disorder developed by Caligor, Levy, & Yeomans.

In the next study, the difference between Kurniasih’s research and this research

is that he employed Sigmund Freud's theory to examine the narcissistic forms and

identify the cause of Amy’s personality disorder.

And in the last study by Rinna, while we have the same focus, which is

narcissistic personality disorder, she uses the Diagnostic and statistical manual of

mental disorders by American Psychiatric Association as her fundamental theory.

She also added Sigmund Freud’s Structures of Personality as her supporting theory.

While this research uses narcissistic personality disorder by Caligor, Levy, &

Yeomans

2.3.Theoretical Framework

The theory used is the signs of narcissistic personality disorder developed by

Caligor, Levy, & Yeomans. This theory is used to specifically analyze the signs of
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narcissistic personality disorder that Homelander has. Then the researcher

determine the effects of NPD on Homelander after analyzing the signs.