Hmmm... interesting.
I'm actually more interested in figuring Maytag out herself... is she a 'functional' sociopath? 'Functional' meaning she is not inspired to murder people for some nebulous reason that is completely unrealatable to by sane people.
(Never seen Dexter)
She seems sweet enough... but is Maytag... like Dexter.. just Very good at fooling people into not seeing her for what she Really is?
That's scary. People like that you have no idea what would cause them to snap...
Given my research on this subject online (yes, I actually do research the comic content, I'm a geek
) and watching several shows and movies (Heroes, the K-Drama I Remember You, & The Girl Who Sees Smells for shows; Confessions of a Sociopathic Social Climber (comedic, but it provides insight into the mentality of a sociopath) and A Werewolf Boy (
notthe main character, the guy "paying their rent") and
especially The Lovely Bones), I have discovered that there is a difference between an emotionally cold person (which May is), and a sociopath.
There are at least three states that have emotional disconnect that have nothing to do with sociopathy:
- Trauma
- Schizoid personality "disorder"
- Schizophrenia (which has nothing to do with the one above, schizoid is the inability to feel strong emotions, this is hallucinations and delusions. They have in common the detachment, so similar name)
- Depression
http://albertellis.org/personality-disorders/Narcissism, schizoid, and ASPD (psychopath) all have lack of empathy as a symptom, but they are wildly different disorders. Bottom line, there are alot of reasons people "snap" and there are alot of reasons people are emotionally cold. Psychopathy should never be assumed to be at the top of the list, unless you see stuff like tormenting animals.
A person who is a genuine sociopath has several common characteristics, aside from coldness.
- Sociopaths generally don't "snap". If you are capable of snapping, you are something else. Sociopaths grow up learning to enjoy hurting things, and generally are allowed to get away with it. It is also theorized that disciplinarian homes tend to church out this type as the parents are only interested in the letter of the law not in actual human kindness.
- Sociopaths are not overtly cold. There was one article about how everyone on the bus avoids the deadpan person. Along with the guy talking to himself. The guy talking to himself is a schizophrenic, and probably paranoid. As long as you are pleasant to him and not overly creepy, he won't hurt you. The schizoid won't hurt you probably period, except in self-defence or of loved ones (the latter he has difficulty connecting with). The one you actually should be afraid of is the charming handsome guy next to you (think, what does the deadpan guy or the crazy person want from you? Probably nothing, hence you guys are leaving each other alone. Now, what does an uncharacteristically charming person want from you? Well, anything. The might want you to inflate their ego if you're attractive. They might want to abuse you once you are used to them. Or they might want to kill you. Regardless, they are trying to talk you into letting them into your life. Say "not interested" or try to quietly leave without getting killed)
- There is no such thing as a high-functioning sociopath. There are, sure, sociopaths that are skillful at blending in modern society. But re-read what I just said. They are "skillful at blending in modern society". Think about the policemen that pulled you over just to give you a ticket, manhandles you with brutality, and so on. Think about the CEO that runs thousands of employees, and treats them like slaves (I'm looking at you, Jeff Bezos). A sociopath naturally competes with others at all costs, and is as ruthless in the office setting as they are in a direct confrontation. They either kill overtly, or kill by driving other people into poverty and despair. And they are sadists. Maytag only considers sadism as a sexual kink, and not seriously
- Sociopaths fancy themselves as clever. But some of their assumptions about other people are overly simplistic or outright childish.
- Sociopathy tends to go hand in hand with narcissism. Believing you have the right to do anything to another person, is just short of doing it, and many narcissists are indeed killers.
- A study on sociopaths showed that punishment has virtually no impact on them. Rewards, however, well this is pretty much why they live is to get perks. They had sociopaths studied who usually after release who get jailed again for murder. So they tried an experiment where they gave people stuff for controlling the urge to manipulate others. It worked. They were only 60% likely to kill people rather than pretty much 99% of the sociopaths elsewhere.
That said, Maytag has some definite crazy. But it's good crazy. She definitely has the ability to feel remorse, and seems at least annoyed when things go her way. Being scary doesn't mean you necessarily can't be a hero.
Key point. She
worries that she is that type of person. Using simple logic, a person who worries about something like that, usually isn't. Because such a person by their nature doesn't care if they hurt others. If she was trying to convince others, I'd say so. But this is her own internal reasoning. She is
afraid what is behind the mask. This implies that it is something different from what she thinks it is.
I am not a therapist, btw. I have researched this because I have had emotional coldness when I thought I should feel something, and was worried. So I looked it up.
Or to put it more briefly... Ummm, guys look Word of God.
As for Maytag being a psychopath, she is not. She has real feelings for other people, and always has. She is just very different from other people.