# Ever diagnose a character with a mental illness? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 11, 2005, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-diagnose-a-character-with-a-mental-illness/316618 "2005-08-11T17:46:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-diagnose-a-character-with-a-mental-illness/316618/21 "2005-08-11T21:47:06Z")
Bill Flannigan of _Spy_ Magazine once contended that Steve Douglas (Fred MacMurray, “My Three Sons”) was a pathological mass murderer based upon the continued string of mysterious disappearances from the show. I’ve theorized that The Professor on “Gilligan’s Island” kept setting Gilligan up to fail. I always assumed it was due to some covert plan (that, perhaps he was on the run from HUAC or some college dean for impregnating is daughter) but it could be that he had some variation on Munchausen-by-Proxy. Major Nelson and Jeannie clearly had a sadomasochistic realationship in “I Dream of Jeannie”, albeit it with some interesting roll reversals. One barely even knows where to start with Sherlock Holmes or James Bond. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-diagnose-a-character-with-a-mental-illness/316618/22 "2005-08-11T21:58:54Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > Batman suffers from heightened paranoia, extreme obsessive-compulsive disorder (perhaps mild but functional autism?), hypervigilance, martyrdom syndrome, violent and psychopathic tendencies, and a lot more. But at least he’s prepared. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-diagnose-a-character-with-a-mental-illness/316618/23 "2005-08-11T22:12:46Z")
Madama Bovary: Histrionic Personality Disorder. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-diagnose-a-character-with-a-mental-illness/316618/24 "2005-08-11T22:16:15Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Does _The Bible_ count? Well, that one guy had a definite messianic complex going… ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-diagnose-a-character-with-a-mental-illness/316618/25 "2005-08-11T23:41:06Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > Well, that one guy had a definite messianic complex going… King James? Then there was Balaam, who said he heard the voice of God but was so clearly delusional that the doctor said “He’s talking out of his ass.” ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-diagnose-a-character-with-a-mental-illness/316618/26 "2005-08-11T23:57:17Z")
\*\*Hawkeye Pierce \*\* is obviously bipolar. He had one episode where he didn’t sleep for days and became psychotic so that he had to be tranquilized. He had another psychotic break in the last episode where he was hospitalized. So that’s at least two fullblown manic episodes. He had a depressive episode where he became so despondent he decided he was really dead, lay down in a bus carrying corpses and refused to leave. There’s probably a few dozen other clearly manic or depressive episodes. **Charles Winchester** fulfills all the criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder. **Frank Burns** has a bad case of Paranoid Personality Disorder ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-diagnose-a-character-with-a-mental-illness/316618/27 "2005-08-11T23:58:27Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Scarlett thought such things, but never would have acted on those thoughts if Rhett hadn’t told her to. That makes it sound like Scarlett is a needy, weak-willed idiot. Not all of that matches my impression of her from the film. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-diagnose-a-character-with-a-mental-illness/316618/28 "2005-08-12T00:56:27Z")
> [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > One barely even knows where to start with Sherlock Holmes Obsessive-compulsive disorder, Asperger’s Syndrome, cocaine dependency. For starters. As for Batman, I’d diagnose PTSD, since he was pretty much fine before his parents got killed. ---
**Author:** ![dotchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-diagnose-a-character-with-a-mental-illness/316618/29 "2005-08-12T00:59:57Z")
I don’t think we’d ever get done if we had to diagnose modern fictional characters. Everybody’s loaded down with a ton and a half of angst. …or maybe I’ve just been watching too much anime. [Strongbad] Japanese cartoons are _weird_ [/Strongbad] ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-diagnose-a-character-with-a-mental-illness/316618/30 "2005-08-12T01:01:34Z")
I’m not sure this qualifies as “mental illness,” but think it’s pretty certain that Captain Ahab is a stalker. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-diagnose-a-character-with-a-mental-illness/316618/31 "2005-08-12T01:15:33Z")
> [@pinkfreud](#): > > I’m not sure this qualifies as “mental illness,” but think it’s pretty certain that Captain Ahab is a stalker. He sure is one paranoid bastard, that’s for sure. George Costanza has all the hallmarks of a sociopath. Actually, you could say that all the Seinfeld characters do since they all lack empathy and sometimes maliciously set out to hurt others, but I think he’s the worst. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-diagnose-a-character-with-a-mental-illness/316618/32 "2005-08-12T01:16:59Z")
> [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > One barely even knows where to start with Sherlock Holmes or James Bond. James Bond is a sociopath. He sees people as objects to be used to advance his goals. The ease with which he kills people suggests that he does not empathize with others, or see other people as being equal to himself. He’s had dozens of sex partners (that we know of) but it never seems like he actually loves any of them. Even calling them “girlfriends” is a stretch. They are nothing more than an outlet for his sexual desires, to be used and disposed of as easily as the condoms which we hope he’s using. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-diagnose-a-character-with-a-mental-illness/316618/33 "2005-08-12T01:17:52Z")
> [@continuity eror](#): > > George Costanza has all the hallmarks of a sociopath. Actually, you could say that all the Seinfeld characters do since they all lack empathy and sometimes maliciously set out to hurt others, but I think he’s the worst. And Jerry’s neatness might be obsessive-compulsive. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-diagnose-a-character-with-a-mental-illness/316618/34 "2005-08-12T01:41:31Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > And Jerry’s neatness might be obsessive-compulsive. “Oh, my shoelace came undone and sort of dragged on the floor of the bathroom.” (throws it away) “That’s the end of that.” Could Charlie from Charlie’s Angels be agoraphobic? We never see him, and there’s no sign he ever leaves the headquarters from whence he issues the Angels their orders. And there were no cell phones back then, so he’d have to call from the same place every time. Then again I have only seen like five episodes of that show so maybe we do see him eventually. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-diagnose-a-character-with-a-mental-illness/316618/35 "2005-08-12T02:38:21Z")
> [@continuity eror](#): > > > [@by Stranger On A Train](#): > > > > One barely even knows where to start with Sherlock Holmes > > Obsessive-compulsive disorder, Asperger’s Syndrome, cocaine dependency. For starters. Hmmm…Well, except for the noncanonical _Seven-Percent Solution_ I don’t think Holmes could really said to be dependent on cocaine. His usage of it seems to be infrequent and voluntary, more as a means to self-medicate the lethargy that strikes him inbetween cases. Nor do even his worst traits seem to be obsessive/compulsive; his indoor marksmanship, for instance, seems to be more a product of bordom and a desire to stimulate than any compulsive behavior. As for an Autistic Spectrum Disorder, I find that unlikely; auties and Aspies, while sometimes capable of great intellectual feats, tend to lack the ability to develop the sort of integrating “common” sense and ability to tease out explanations from seeminly unconnected facts that Holmes so aptly executes. In general, he’s quite rational, if moody and excitable. He could be Bipolar Type II (as his excitable episodes don’t appear to extend into mania), but I’m guessing he had more of an extreme case of ADD combined with dysthymia and some amount of social anxiety, as well as a fairly moderate Antisocial Personality Disorder. (He seems to ignore social conventions but doesn’t actively make people uncomfortable.) Now, what is the deal with Watson? He seems a little too…admiring, and for a worldly man of medical training, surprisingly credulous. :dubious: Stranger ---
**Author:** ![whistlepig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/73ab20/32.png) [@whistlepig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whistlepig)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-diagnose-a-character-with-a-mental-illness/316618/36 "2005-08-12T04:40:13Z")
Google “Pathology in the hundred-acre wood”. It’s a great neurodevelopmental assessment of all the characters in the the Winnie the Pooh story. Do not share this with pre-school teachers. They do not find it funny. whistlepig ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-diagnose-a-character-with-a-mental-illness/316618/37 "2005-08-12T04:59:50Z")
[Pathology in the Hundred-Acre Wood](http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/163/12/1557?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=1&title=hundred+acre&andorexacttitle=and&andorexacttitleabs=and&andorexactfulltext=and&searchid=1123823003287_4725&stored_search=&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=relevance&journalcode=cmaj) ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-diagnose-a-character-with-a-mental-illness/316618/38 "2005-08-12T05:02:14Z")
I’m pretty sure that “Howling Mad” Murdock is, well, freakin’ nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-diagnose-a-character-with-a-mental-illness/316618/39 "2005-08-12T05:35:01Z")
Felix Unger was obsessive-compulsive and anal-retentive. I was never sure what Boo Radley’s problem was, but I would guess a dual diagnosis of mild mental retardation coupled with an anxiety disorder. ---
**Author:** ![stringy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@stringy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stringy)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-diagnose-a-character-with-a-mental-illness/316618/40 "2005-08-12T05:44:11Z")
> [@Art Vandelay](#): > > **Wuthering Heights** : I have always thought that this ‘classic tale of undying love’ was really a story of two co-dependent narcissists. So true! I always worry about people who rate this as a romantic story. Emma Woodhouse in Jane Austen’s _Emma_ would have to be a narcissist. Her dad is a hypochondriac. And _Mansfield Park_ would be a therapist’s dream… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-diagnose-a-character-with-a-mental-illness/316618.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-diagnose-a-character-with-a-mental-illness/316618.md?page=3)