Let's discuss Cersei Lannister from "Game of Thrones." You either love her for being a ruthless, badass queen who wants to burn it all down, or you hate her for being, well, a ruthless, borderline evil queen who wants to burn it all down.
But love her or hate her, you have to wonder what’s going on inside that woman’s head.
Reddit user Rain12913, who claims to be a clinical psychologist, offered some insight in a recent Reddit post devoted to the inner workings of Cersei’s mind. The diagnosis? Classic narcissist.
Of course, the user includes a major disclaimer about “diagnosing” fictional characters:
Psychiatric disorders are complex and mysterious classifications of human minds, and the minds of fictional characters are not real. Therefore, what I'm doing here is just loosely applying these terms to a character who simply displays the behaviors and characteristics of a particular diagnostic label that we use for real people.
According to Rain12913, the biggest mistake people make about Cersei is that they believe she’s motivated by genuine love for her brother/lover and her children. But really, at least based on this analysis, Cersei only cares about her family members because she sees them as extensions of herself.
“They are her blood, and they share a part of her,” the post states. “As such, they must be perfect, like she is. In fact, Cersei isn't even capable of loving someone who isn't herself. Her one true love in life is her twin, who looks just like her.”
Based on HuffPost’s own guide for spotting a narcissist, we’d say this interpretation may be pretty spot-on. After all, just take a look at some of these narcissist-detecting tips:
"They’re likable -- at least, at first glance.”
"They always manage to make the conversation about themselves."
"Not every story a narcissist tells is one of victory. But even in the stories of tragedy or failure, there’s an air of entitlement and victimization.”
"Everything is personal."
And of course...
“They leave a trail of wreckage behind them.”
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