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If
you watch The Vampire Diaries—and even if you
don’t—you’ve likely heard about the famous, more-than-a-little-gorgeous
Salvatore brothers, Damon and Stefan. To get you in the mood for Season
4, I thought an analysis of the two TV brothers, based on the
characters in L. J. Smith’s series, would be appropriate.
Since Damon is my favorite,
we’ll start with him.
Damon is the “bad” brother, for
sure. He was born in Mystic Falls in 1840, seven years before his
brother, Stephan. We’ve gotten glimpses of his human life from the
show, and it’s clear that he was impulsive, disrespectful of authority
figures (in particular, his father), rebellious and careless. He craved
the thrill of adventure and danger, and often engaged in high-risk
behavior, like drinking, gambling (at boxing matches, etc.), and
womanizing.
As a vampire, all of those
character traits are magnified. At the beginning of Season 1, he could
be described only as sinister. He was ruthless and unsympathetic, had
little regard for human life, and had no guilt or remorse for killing
anyone. Very selfish, arrogant, proud, and manipulative.
Last season, Damon showed more
of a compassionate side and an ability to feel, especially where Elena
is concerned. He still has a sadistic nature about him, and he’s
willing to go to any extreme to keep Elena safe. But he feels things
for others besides his love interest, like his “friend” Alaric
Salztman, whom he wanted to let “die in dignity” and “killed” him at
least three times prior. Or glamouring Elena’s brother, Jeremy, to
forget the horrors he’s experienced (again, for Elena, but he didn’t
have to do it). He also took a werewolf bite from Tyler instead of
allowing Caroline to get bit.
Still, Damon fits the diagnosis
for antisocial personality disorder (APD). Here’s a breakdown (the
criteria Damon meets are in bold):
A.
He demonstrates a pervasive pattern of disregard for and
violation of the rights of others, occurring since age fifteen,
as indicated by three (or more) of the following:
(1) failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful
behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds
for arrest (What’s Damon’s death toll up to now?)
(2) deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of
aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure
(Gosh, where to start? The moonstone, the white oak stakes, glamouring
his “girlfriends.”)
(3) impulsivity or failure to plan ahead (Killing
Alaric several times because he got mad.)
(4)irritability
and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated
physical fights or assaults (Fights in every episode, I
believe, and exhibits an unlimited amount of brooding.)
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(5)
reckless
disregard for safety of self or others
(Possibly one of the worse/best examples was how he led his anchor
girlfriend to her death at the studio. He often puts himself in
impossible situations to survive.)
(6) consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated
failure to sustain steady work behavior or honor financial obligations
(He clearly did this as a human, carousing instead of being honorable.
He doesn’t have a job in TVD, and he never honors his word unless it’s
to Elena.)
(7) lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or
rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another
(Clearly.)
B. The individual is at least age eighteen years old.
(Damon is over four hundred years old, but he was turned in his early
twenties, so he’s “frozen” there.)
C. Exhibits evidence of conduct disorder with onset before
age fifteen. (Yep, from his human history, this is likely.)
As you can see, one needs only
three traits to be considered APD, and Damon rocks out with all seven
criteria. I think it’s important to note that Damon does not exhibit
these traits all the time. He has taken responsibility for his behavior
before, he has experienced remorse about past actions, and he can be
very honest and reliable (when it suits him and it’s about something or
someone he cares a great deal about).
Stay tuned for next month, when
Damon’s little brother, Stefan, will be on the couch.
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