What Is The Common Trait Of The Cruel Characters In The Story?

There are many cruel characters in history who have become models of evil. Most of us feel more comfortable when we classify them as “sick” people, who have acted as they have, due to their mental or emotional pathology. Reality tells us otherwise.

Much higher is the number of people who are not afflicted by any particular disorder and yet have committed acts that most of us would reject as cruel. Thus, what defines some of the most cruel characters in history is not a pathology, but a trait that is present in many people: narcissism and its correlate, vanity.

Without going too far, a study  on feminicides and rapists of women was recently published. Its conclusions indicate that only 4% of these individuals present some type of pathology. Others act cruelly simply inspired by the conviction that they are superior to women.

Something similar is what has happened to the most cruel characters in history. If you examine them, the trait they really share is precisely that of feeling superior, better, chosen or whatever. Deep down it’s the same: they are simply narcissistic, invaded with vanity. The following are some of those abominable characters.

Caligula, one of the cruel characters in history

We can see Caligula as a seriously deranged man, when in fact this hypothesis has been questioned. It is an extreme example of what a “spoiled child” with absolute power can become. What defined his life and his rule was not really a calculated plan of damage and extermination, but a set of childish whims carried to its most obscene expression.

He was a young man, raised to feel like the master of the world. For this reason, he himself came to consider himself a god. He described his own behavior, of which he was evidently aware, with the word “adriatepsia” which he defined in the following terms: “the impudence that allows us to impose by force even the wildest of our desires “. That says everything.

Nero and his pretenses

There are many Roman characters who exemplify narcissism at its finest and the cruelty that derives from it. Nero is one of them. He was like Caligula, a childish and vain individual who felt above any other human being and, consequently, legitimized his own desires and whims  by the mere fact that they were born from him, a supreme being.

Nero had one of the traits that is present in most narcissists: paranoia. He believed that everyone wanted to hurt him, precisely because he was superior. He loved showing off and putting on little shows to be applauded. He hired 5,000 clappers to worship him. Like Caligula and so many other cruel characters in history, he eliminated anyone who stood in his way. Before dying he exclaimed: “What artist dies with me!” .

Leopold II of Belgium

The list of cruel characters in history is very extensive. The truth is that it is short or long, it cannot miss the name of Leopold II of Belgium, one of those characters who are a faithful embodiment of narcissism and vanity. In 1885 he set his eyes on the Congo, in Africa, and unleashed a chain of murders, mutilations and rapes that is unparalleled in history.

He knew very well what he was doing and that is why he covered up his massacre with a series of justifications, beginning with his desire to evangelize that African region. What he actually did was apply a systematic looting of a highly prized commodity: ivory. He had no problem practicing massive torture to achieve it. In his mind, his superiority was license.

Leopold II was a man of impeccable manners who slept in full dress. He considered himself someone with exquisite tastes. He had figurines made from the ivory that killed thousands of people in Africa. The Congo was in his name.

The point is that all these cruel characters in history could not have done such atrocities without the help of thousands of men and women of their time. All together, and supported by typically megalomaniacal ideas, made evil a banality. They were all also, from a certain point of view, charming and charismatic. This is narcissism: deceptive and cruel.