Is James Bond a sociopath?
mrbain007
Posts: 393MI6 Agent
I came across this list regarding the characteristics of a sociopath:
http://www.sociopathicstyle.com/traits/classic.htm
It made me wonder whether Bond himself could be classed as one. This has been a topic discussed at length on other forums and it would be interesting to know what other people on here think.
Personally, despite showing some sociopathic tendencies (promiscuious sexual behaviour being an obvious one) , I would not call 007 a "sociopath". Here's why:
-Despite his cold exterior he DOES occasionally feel remorse or guilt (death of Tracy in YOLT)
-His sense of duty and devotion to his country is what keeps him going.
-Yes, the character can be cold but he can also be immensely sympathetic - particularly to those who he sees as vulnerable (e.g. Honeychille Rider in Dr No)
-He does accept responsibility (a classic example is in YOLT when he offers to resign following his on-duty screw-ups).
http://www.sociopathicstyle.com/traits/classic.htm
It made me wonder whether Bond himself could be classed as one. This has been a topic discussed at length on other forums and it would be interesting to know what other people on here think.
Personally, despite showing some sociopathic tendencies (promiscuious sexual behaviour being an obvious one) , I would not call 007 a "sociopath". Here's why:
-Despite his cold exterior he DOES occasionally feel remorse or guilt (death of Tracy in YOLT)
-His sense of duty and devotion to his country is what keeps him going.
-Yes, the character can be cold but he can also be immensely sympathetic - particularly to those who he sees as vulnerable (e.g. Honeychille Rider in Dr No)
-He does accept responsibility (a classic example is in YOLT when he offers to resign following his on-duty screw-ups).
Comments
However, I agree with others that Bond in the books was different and was often remorseful with killing and the loss of his lady loves, though for the most part he wasn't capable of enduring relationships. Was Fleming himself a mild sociopath according to the symptoms in the above posted link? I'm currently enjoying Andrew Lycett's Fleming bio and he seems to be hitting on the main symptoms.
A sociopath would not be caring, chivalrous, and want to help others for their sake, which he has done as well. Admittedly, Craig's Bond has gone off the rails in QOS to a degree. Irronically, you can see what the writers were thinking if you read the short story. A wrong turn, big time, but hopefully they won't repeat it!
Then again, sociopaths and pathological narcissists become experts in mimicking likeable behavior so they can attract the attention they crave! The OSS 117 movies did a great job in sending up and exagerating these obnoxious personality traits of Bond. The book Bond has the advantage of demonstrating otherwise through his thought life.
I wouldn't rule out a mild borderline personality disorder completely. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borderline_personality_disorder :
Now, that ABSOLUTELY sounds like it could be applied to the literary Bond to me, at least under stress. During his recuperation in Casino Royale; his year-long bout of moping and self-abuse in YOLT after Tracy's death, etc.
Yup, sounds like our boy!
It also seems to be closely tied to post-traumatic stress disorder, which would certainly fall in line with the events in Bond's life (the aforementioned 'triggers').
That's an excellent assessment CmdrAtticus and one that I agree completely with. Bond was always a trustworthy character with a strong sense of discipline and loyalty. He was only tough when the job required him to be and - more often than not - operated firmly within the line of duty. He disliked having to kill people but accepted it as the ugly side of his job. This is really the fundimental issue I have with the current incarnation of Bond, particularly with people claiming it to be "the closest to the character Fleming created". If anything, Craig's Bond verges on the sociopathic at times. His superior has often indicated that she has difficulty trusting him and he has occasionally jepordised the reputation of the service without any apparent remorse afterwards (shooting dead the bomb maker at the start of CR is an obvious example).
In TMWTGG ... Scaramanga obviously sees himself as the darker side of Bond and Scaramanga Enjoys Killing he admits it, and thinks Bond does too, But Bond does explain that 'Those I kill, are themselves Killers'' and when he kills its under his Governments orders.
But I agree Bond kills to Get the Job Done, or if his lifes in Danger he has to act back, its kill or be killed situations
There is the odd moment you See Bond enjoing Killing But this is in Revenge Situations, Again Moores Bond shows it in FYEO when he kicks the car over the edge of the cliff. Daltons Bond in LTK Going after Sanchez and Co .. for what they Did to Felix and Della
For me The Bond of the novels, He dosent enjoy killing but maybe takes a certain degree of joy from certain killings,
But I agree for The character to be of a ''OO'' number, he would have to display some self control and rational, inteligent thought, and not be an all out cold blooded killer, unless pushed to do so on occasion maybe
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As far as Bond killing in revenge situations...I don't find that out of character for someone in this profession. Lets face it, the men he kills as was stated are murderers or other government sanctioned killers like himself. I don't have a problem with that. Does he enjoy it? All solders will tell you they may get satisfaction from killing the enemy when the enemy has killed their comrades - at that time. Most vets will tell you they had no regret doing it. However, the normal man will tell you that the more you kill, as Tom Hanks said in Saving Private Ryan...the further it takes you from home (or..your original identity).
As far as Craig's manner of playing Bond....I think it's all relative. In CR the script had him just starting out and not having enough objective thinking when getting into a hot situation - "shoot first" and ask questions later. Don't forget, though, that it wasn't Bond that screwed up the surveillance..it was his partner that fell into the snake pit. He was left with no choice but to chase after the bomber. His instinct was still to catch the man alive. As far as him not showing remorse...I got the impression from the films that Craig only tells M he hasn't any because he is trying to show her he can remain cold and professional, but also because inside he really does have some remorse but is just saying this to make himself think he doen't. As far as killing the bomb maker...that was a tough decision. Not having any chance of getting the man into custody, he wasn't really left with any choice. Sure, it was not a good decision to have chased him into the embassy, but once he made that mistake, the only way he could survive with any intel information (the cell phone) was to take out his target and escape.
In other words, Bond represents a remarkably small group of humans who might be called upon to do extraordinary things whose physical and psychological toll would not be easy to calculate as, say, the accountant down the way or the bus driver picking people up. Even what we might consider to be abnormal or unusual experiences, such as being abused as a child, wouldn't necessarily bear the same examination as someone who has to execute someone or withstand hours of torture.
So, then it becomes an issue of causation versus correlation. Is Bond a borderline personality, for instance, to begin with, or do the traumas of his experiences cause him to exhibit some of the symptoms, even if he is not actually a borderline personality? To me, the only way to read Fleming's books properly is to assume that Bond is a "normal" man psychologically but whose job requires such degrees of suffering that he often walks a very tenuous line.