Showing posts with label Erich Fromm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Erich Fromm. Show all posts

March 21, 2023

Two decades before John Gartner, writing about Trump, made us aware of what a malignant narcissist was the term was used on the TV show Luther

 By Hal Brown

Above: Episode One

I was a psychotherapist for 40 years but hadn't learned what a malignant narcissist was until John D. Gartner came along.

Click above to read USA Today article


I've been rewatching the TV series "Luther" and I was surprised that the term was used both in episode one and in episode two. This was aired in 2010, well before so many people learned what malignant narcissism was. Thanks to John Gartner, the founder of Duty to Warn, I learned about how Trump epitomized the syndrome. 

Alice Morgan is the genius killer who has become Luther's nemesis. Their relationship reminds me of the complex love/hate relationship between Eve and Villanelle in Killing Eve.

There's a new Luther movie out but I thought I'd watch the series again before watching it. I decided to look up "Luther Alice Malignant Narcissist" and came up with these:

Click above to enlarge
This is from Wikipedia (emphasis added):

Alice Morgan, played by Ruth Wilson,is a research scientist with a genius-level IQ. When we first meet her, Alice has murdered her parents – and their dog – in such a calculated fashion, that not even Luther is able to prove her guilt, of which he is absolutely certain. Alice's core belief, that nothing in life ultimately matters, comes into direct conflict with Luther's own beliefs. She frequently insinuates herself into Luther's professional and personal life, both as an enemy and ally, with behaviours ranging from stalking him and those close to him, to helping him avoid criminal prosecution. She also provides Luther with a unique insight into the criminal mind. Luther describes Alice as a malignant narcissist.

This is from the FanDom website:


Note the sentence I have highlighted:

Alice is equal parts genius, psychopath, and malignant narcissist.

Remove the word genius and it would apply to Donald Trump.

In fact the definition of malignant narcissism is that it combines psychopathy with extreme narcissism. I think Fromm should have called it psychopathic narcissism for clarity but this is just a quibble.

If you look up my name and malignant narcissism on DuckDuckGo this is the article on the top of the search page. 

This is just one of the many articles I wrote about Trump being a malignant narcissist and his other psychopathologies.

The word was never in common usage even though prominent social psychologist Erich Fromm coined it in 1964. Then Trump came along. John Gartner first, and then other mental health professionals writing about Trump, used it as did others describing Donald Trump's personality. George Conway is one example of someone who wasn't a psychotherapist who helped make the public aware of how Trump was the epitome of the syndrome:

Click above to read article


Alice Gordon, and Villanelle are malignant narcissists but they are charming and fascinating. If they were real people I can see being friends with them assuming I wasn't on their hit list. 

I'd sooner be friends with Beezlebub than with Donald Trump. At least Beelzebub might be able to teach me to fly and might be able to cook me a gourmet meal.

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