From:  "Toward Self & Sanity: 

On the genetic origins of the human character"

©  2004 A.M. Benis

Narcissistic Type

Phenotype:  N

Inheritance pattern: An N type must have at least one parent who is either an N or NP type.  Parents who are both N types can have only N or NA children.

Rage: Narcissistic rage (mass discharge of parasympathetic nervous system).

Also known as: Narcissist.  Sanguine personality.  Charismatic personality, demagogue.  The non-aggressive non-perfectionist.  The self-anointed glory seeker.

Smile:  Instinctual.  Often radiant "gingival" smile, broadly exposing gums and teeth.

Photograph: Looks at camera.  Broad charismatic gingival smile.  Starry-eyed smile.

Gestures: Deep bow, accompanied by sweeping arm.  "Joan of Arc pose", in which the individual's eyes are directed toward the heavens when accepting recognition in the limelight.  "Narcissistic arms gesture", in which the arms are extended to the front or sides, with the palms up and the fingers somewhat spread apart.  It is a pose often assumed by singers and by religious leaders.  Napoleonic stance.

Handwriting: Very variable.  May be beautifully well formed with flourishes, but non-perfectionistic.  May be illegible scribbling, especially in male.

Sexuality:  Tendency to promiscuity:  high. 

Tendency to ambivalence in sexual orientation:  high.

Population genetics: "The Sublime Habitancy", having a high prevalence of N types, some NP types, and very few types having the trait of aggression.  (Example:  South Sea Islanders, natives of Hawaii)

Susceptibilities: Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), megalomania, messianism.

Unfocused, undisciplined, disorganized personality. 
Pathological liar.  Confidence man/woman.  Vagabond criminal. 

Uncontrollable florid rages. 
Migraine headaches. Congenital or rheumatic heart disease. Tuberculosis.  Stomach cancer.  Leukemia.  ADD/ADHD. 
Bipolar depression. Acute manic psychosis.  Schizophrenia (hebephrenic type).  CVA (stroke).

From Chapter 5:  A model of human behavior

The Narcissistic type (N)

He would convey the impression that "I will be the greatest, the most glorious and the most beautiful, and in fact I think that I already am!"  He is self-admiring.  He has great ambitions with regard to future accomplishments, but does not recognize his limitations.  His eyes are set more toward himself and toward the limelight of recognition to be attained in the future than toward the actual tasks with which he must deal.  His voice is soothing and clear, and may be directed toward the horizon where all can hear it.  His pride is also invested in the beauty of his physical body when in the presence of others.  With his not so subtle body postures, mannerisms, and self-congratulatory laughter, he flaunts himself.

Lacking perfectionist qualities, he may have difficulties in organizing himself.  He lacks persistence or staying power.  Perfectionism by careful repetitive action is alien to him.  He has no aggressive-vindictive qualities, does not "play the game" of dominance and submission and does not become involved in the dependency of subjugation.  He does not split his personality to a subdued state.  He cannot be incited into an aggressive-vindictive rage.

He cannot tolerate any serious criticism of his qualities, or interference in his ambition to attain the limelight.  When frustrated he may, on the one hand, be incited into the narcissistic rage of defense and withdrawal, or on the other hand, he may undergo a depression to an abject state of hopelessness.

Aristotle in his "Nicomachean Ethics" gives us this character sketch of the narcissistic personality: 

<<Conceited people, on the other hand, are fools ignorant of themselves, who make themselves conspicuous by being so; they try for positions of honor under an impression of their own abilities, and then, if they get them, prove failures.  They rig themselves up in fine clothes and pose for effect, and so on; they wish what good fortune they have to be known to the world, and talk about themselves, as if that were the road to honor... -- So boastful people, if their object is reputation, pretend to the qualities that win praise or congratulation, and, if their object is gain, pretend to qualities useful to their neighbors, their own lack of which cannot easily be proved, as, for example, a skill in prophesying or in healing...>>

Note that we have discovered the personality type of the "proselytizing evangelist" or the "self-anointed prophet".  The important qualities of such a personality are as follows.  First, he does not recognize his limitations, and his glorious goals become frank delusions of grandeur.  Second, lacking perfectionist qualities, he does not occupy himself with the fine details of the means by which his goals are to be attained.  For this he requires followers or disciples to rally around him for the Cause.  Third, he is self-anointed, thus in glorifying his Cause, he is in inverted terms glorifying himself.  Finally, lacking aggressive qualities, he is not only sexually unaggressive but also essentially defenseless against attack.  If brought before a tribunal he can only repeat in direct or inverted terms that he is the anointed one.  And if maltreated and physically abused, he can but turn the other cheek.  If led to the gibbet or burned at stake, the anointed one will die the death of a passive martyr, all the while hearing inner voices reassuring him that in the glory of his death lies the glory of his purpose in life.

From Chapter 6:  Character caricatures

He is the epitome of unbridled narcissism.  Hence, his complexion is often sanguine and his smile sublime.  If he is at all handsome or beautiful, or even if he is not, he will adorn himself in finery.  The female, especially, will not be able to resist wearing colorful clothes or painting her face in a manner that may startle onlookers.  If the opportunity arises to flaunt his body in the nude, or semi-nude, he will not be able to resist it.  Thus, he displays immense vanity with regard to personal appearance, for example in matters of cleanliness and hair style, but there his punctiliousness stops.  In other matters, we shall see, he is flamboyant and extravagant, but as he rides his tiger through life he never seems to achieve any true sense of order or stability.

In placid circumstances this individual is a friendly, unaggressive, perennially optimistic, often charming individual who becomes radiant like a sunflower when flattered.  Rather than be embarrassed by adulation, he will revel in it.  Whatever his station in life, he will not be able to resist the temptation to mount the podium if the opportunity presents itself.  If he has even mediocre talent, he will be a compulsive jokester, mimic, an amateur singer, or will play some kind of musical instrument.  If he has real talent or physical beauty, he will be inexorably drawn to a career in the field of fashion modeling, in the performing arts or in show business.  Alternatively he may be drawn to one of the professions where public oratory is possible.  He may thus be a politician, a social activist or an evangelist.  As an engineer, a businessman or a physician his genuinely friendly manner may mystify those with whom he comes in contact.  They may think his extroverted affectations to be somewhat strange, and may consider him to be either incredibly naive, incredibly conceited or simply groutheaded.

If he inverts his manners of self-importance, he shows no trace of conceit.  He presents himself as a dedicated individual with a soothing, self-assured manner.  The male may have a starry-eyed appearance and may be accused of being elfish, effeminate or "flaky".  The female may be described as "angelic" or "dreamy".  If his voice is loud, which it often is in the male, it is a voice of hollowness rather than forcefulness, as if it were a clarion call being delivered into the void around him.

Although he is not predatory in a sexual manner, he is extremely vulnerable to flattery and may seek adulation.  Hence, he is extremely vulnerable to attracting sycophantic parasites and may even develop intimate physical relations with adulators of the same sex.  He may present himself as a sexually promiscuous person but in a naive and ingenuous manner.  More than sexual pleasure, he needs the constant reassurance of the opposite sex that he is indeed the wonderful person of his dreams.  To others, therefore, he appears to have the amorality of innocence, rather than of vice.

As an unaggressive individual, the N type may, at first blush, be confused with the NP type.  However, the NP type tends to be poker-faced or melancholic, and tends to work by himself in a perfectionistic manner.  The N individual, on the contrary, tends to be buoyant, self-assured, jocular, expansive or even charismatic, and tends to seek out people in order to enlist their aid in his projects.  Thus, the NP individual will work quietly to solve a particular problem, while the N individual will organize a conference so that he may lead a discussion on how his ideas may be implemented.

In competitive society it may be difficult to avoid him, for although he is not aggressive, he is obtrusive.  He may precede his visit with a letter, definitely written in the first person, describing his extraordinary talents, the fine things that he has done in the past, despite the odds against him, and the grand things that he hopes to accomplish, nay will accomplish.  He stands proud, tends to flaunt his body, and projects his resonant voice not only to his partner in conversation, but to anyone within earshot, or even beyond.  His objectives may be grandiose and far beyond the limits of reasonableness in relation to his present status in life.

Any new activity or new person arriving on the scene arouses his great interest, and he will not be able to resist imposing himself on others, ostensibly to see if he can help.  And he wishes to help because he believes that he has the qualities and talents to help.  On close examination, though, it is he who desires assistance, and his favors done to others reflect this ulterior motive, especially with regard to long-range assistance in his career.  And in the background, deep in his unconscious mind, there lives a pervasive suspicion that perhaps all those glorious deeds will never come to fruition.  Hence, he requires the constant reassurance from others of his worth to them.

What emerges in this character type is an individual who has everything invested in the attainment of the fruits of his ambition, namely in the attainment of the limelight.  However, lacking perfectionistic qualities, he lacks the ability to apply himself to the finer details of the tasks to be done.  This may not be obvious to others at first because he does indeed have boundless energy, and he may seem to have endless "persistence" when it comes to adorning himself or his abode to "perfection", often to the point of garishness.  And, it is true, he may be an enthusiastic author when it comes to writing his autobiography or other epic, soaring literary efforts that glorify himself in direct or barely camouflaged inverted terms.  Nevertheless, despite such occasional activities of self-glorification where he appears to be motivated, dynamic and goal oriented, on closer examination he lacks the persistence to create a meaningful synthesis of the mass of interrelated details that surround him.  He is vague.  He may be grossly, illogically imprudent.  He has infinite pride in being recognized for his nebulous "creativity".  But his is like a Don Quixote who leaps onto his horse and tries to gallop off in four directions at once.

For the narcissistic type the ends justify the means, and in fact, he would rather not have to bother with the means at all!  We see, then, that he judges people not even so much for their potential for future accomplishments as for their already proven abilities to deliver the goods to him.  And, of course, his estimation of others varies in direct proportion to the reassurance, deference and outright flattery that they give him.

Having so much invested in the attainment of the limelight, once he arrives there it may be difficult to ease him out.  His showmanship may take precedence over virtually all other aspects of his character.  He may, then, neglect the accepted modalities of human decorum, as he talks endlessly in the first person, and in so doing he inevitably begins to neglect the truth.

Finally, he is vulnerable in the limelight and may be self-destructive there. If he is a sports figure, he may risk his life in attempting a dazzling but dangerous play.  And it is he, of course, who will perform the most courageous of courageous acts if they are done in the presence of others, but will be strangely immobile if his noble deed would remain unknown to them.

At work he flaunts himself with his unctuous manner, his ostentatious handwriting and his mellifluous voice.  In meetings he arouses resentment in others when he speaks of himself in overt or inverted terms.  If others protest, he will not know what they are talking about, for he ~is~ the anointed one.  And if he is seriously criticized or otherwise frustrated, he will explode into the red-faced narcissistic rage of defense, "I, in fact am the only one who does anything worthwhile around here!" and of withdrawal, "If you people don't appreciate me, I'm leaving!"

He does not "play the game" of dominance and submission and is not overtly vindictive.  If he does raise his voice in frustration to reprimand someone, his bark is but a hollow bellow, and everyone knows it.  He is basically a person who would not hurt a fly.  His love relations are not based on subjugation but on his conviction of his own beauty, his sexual wiles, and his irresistibility.  And in his self-glorification he shows his Achilles heel, for he may become less able to interact meaningfully with those around him, and more and more a prisoner of his own inflated image of himself.

Nevertheless, an individual of the N type may, despite the constraints of his character structure, achieve great success in life.  Although lacking the behavioral complex of perfectionism, his narcissistic drive for achievement may allow him to arrive at real accomplishments, especially if his perennial optimism can attract others to help him bring to fruition those dazzling visions of future triumphs.          

          

Those of his acquaintances who do not know him well will be among those who like him the least.  They will titter behind his back for his unctuous manner, his conceit, his extravagance and his frivolousness.  They may ridicule him for his affected charisma, his perpetual smile, his weakness for empty-headed adulators of either sex, or for his outlandish cosmetics and dress.  But those who come to know him more than casually may come to be enchanted by his kindness, his accessibility, his ingenuousness and his impeccable manners.

Individuals of the N type are fairly common in Western society.  Illustrious examples may be found in the personages of Lorenzo the Magnificent of the Medici, Marie-Antoinette, Catherine the Great, Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Marc Chagall.  Interesting matings in which both individuals are N types include King John of England and Isabelle, Henry of Navarre and Marguerite, George IV and Caroline of Brunswick, and John F. and Jacqueline Kennedy. 

In the works of Somerset Maugham we find examples of females of  the N type in the characters of Louise in "The Narrow Corner", and of Maugham's beloved Rosie in his later novel, "Cakes and Ale".

We close this section with a selection from Castelot's biography, "Josephine":

<<...It is true -- and it had often embarrassed him -- that Josephine, with a Creole's naive and unthinking immorality, often talked shamelessly of her former lovers.... Only the pleasure of adorning herself, ordering a dress, matching a ribbon for her hair could arouse her from indolence.... To be convinced that he was right to make his wife an empress, Bonaparte only had to recall with what grace, charm and distinction she received people... Above all, he loved that gentle, silvery, caressing voice, whose tones  were so enchanting that "one stood still simply for the pleasure of hearing it"....>>

Narcissistic-aggressive type

Phenotype:  NA

Animal model: Some chimpanzees

Inheritance pattern: An NA type can have parents of any combination of the other character types.  Two NA types can have children of only NA types.

Rage:  Narcissistic rage (mass discharge of parasympathetic nervous system), or aggressive-vindictive rage (mass discharge of sympathetic nervous system), or combined NA rage.

Also known as: Cyclothymic, histrionic, hysterical or hypomanic-depressive personality.  "The ambitious predator"..

Smile:  Flashy, glamorous, gingival smile of movie star.

Photograph:  Looks at camera.  Extroverted, flashy smile.

Gestures: Active or hyperactive gestures.  Often seductive body contact in casual social situations.

Handwriting: Variable, non-perfectionistic.  Often rounded, elegant letters in female.

Sexuality: 
Tendency to promiscuity:  extremely high. 
Tendency to ambivalence in sexual orientation:  low.

Susceptibilities: Hysteria, hypochondria, fugues.  Hypomanic personality.  Histrionic personality disorder.  Manic-depressive disorder.

From Chapter 5:  A model of human behavior

Narcissistic-aggressive type (NA)

He would synergistically combine the mottos, "I am the most glorious" and "I am the most powerful".  Thus, lacking the behavioral complex of perfectionism, his life is ruled by the unbridled ambition of the behavioral complexes of narcissism and aggression.  We surmise that these two traits, as expressed separately in the N and A personages, would be found together in this individual.

The synergistic drives for both power and glory must produce an extroverted, hyperactive individual.  Given the pride invested in "I am beautiful" and "I am powerful," one would expect this individual to be domineering, sometimes with an almost megalomanic drive for ambition, in power, glory and sexual domination.  This individual lacks concerted perfectionist qualities, hence his search for power and glory is likely to be superficial, spasmodic and lacking in direction.

When reduced to the subdued state NA- this individual strongly resembles the self-flaunting unaggressive narcissistic personage N.  Of course, he "plays the game", and with his hyperactivity and tendency toward "hypersexuality" he would involve himself in many compulsive dependencies, usually as the subjugator but sometimes as the subjugated individual.  As is often the case in the dependency of subjugation, he may become overtly sadistic, especially in frustrating and in playing on the emotions of his subjugated companions, of which there may be several at one time.  And he too, if opposed, seeks retribution in the self-justified vindictive triumph.

This individual when frustrated can be incited to a narcissistic rage, an aggressive-vindictive rage, or a combined narcissistic-aggressive rage (NA rage).  In the latter, the aggressive-vindictive component usually appears first, followed by the narcissistic rage of withdrawal as the individual leaves, slamming the door behind him.

Finally, as in all character types, he is liable, when frustrated to a point of relative hopelessness, to enter an abject state of depression.  In such a hyperactive individual, with ambition unchecked by the lack of perfectionism, we are drawn to propose that he is in some cases the histrionic, cyclothymic, or hypomanic-depressive personality of the psychiatric literature.

From Chapter 6:  Character caricatures

This individual is driven by the instincts of narcissism and aggression, without mediation of these traits by that of perfectionism.  Thus, the behavioral qualities found in the N and A personages may also appear in essentially unaltered form in the NA individual. Those qualities will not be repeated in detail here.

This individual is an extrovert, there is no question about that.  He usually has a moderately loud voice, but more than loud he is talkative, or outright loquacious.  His loquacity is characterized by bursts of rapid speech and has a gossipy quality to it, often with the use of slang expressions, sexual innuendo, and many references to current fads.  He is vivacious, flamboyant, flashy, theatrical and somewhat agitated.  He may have a hyperactive, labile, mercurial quality and may employ openly seductive body language, accompanied by agitated gestures.  He may be in a state of perpetual motion, literally being unable to sit still.  Others may comment that "He runs around like a chicken with his head cut off".  We might say that he has flounce and he has bounce.

He may be described as charming, but his charm seems to lack any real depth, as if it were a highly-polished artificial veneer.  He seems in posture and in manner to be self-assured, but his self-assurance, like his other qualities, seems to be superficial, as if it could be popped like a balloon.  In the same way, he may be described as attractive, but more in the literal sense of being capable of attracting the opposite sex, rather than having the attributes of profound beauty.  He does not hesitate to talk about any subject, in public or in private, with little regard as to whether it might cause embarrassment to his companion in conversation.  In fact, he is practically unembarrassable.  He may be "nosey".  To use American parlance, "he has a lot of verve and a lot of nerve".

With his agitation and vibrancy, his eye contact with others is often not good, and this is, once more, true to the extent that he feels himself to be above others.  His laugh may be loud, penetrating and in the female shrill, but may seem to be forced.  He smiles easily.  The female can, with especial ease, flash a charming smile at will and hold it indefinitely, as if for a photograph.

As was true for the A type, he is basically aggressive and must dominate over all others, in little matters and in big, in every way and throughout every day.  If challenged, or even if not challenged, he may be arrogant, brash and belligerent.  If a stressed relationship is to be terminated, whether with a friend, a colleague, an acquaintance or a mate, it must be terminated in the context of a vindictive triumph.  And the snarling, vicious, directed vindictive rage is certainly in his repertoire but may rarely be seen.

In his perpetual motion he fills up his time with trips, visits, classes and activities but is not really a "workaholic" in the sense of devoting himself to any real work.  He is a dilettante.  He is at his best in task-oriented activities.  He tends to lack any deep sense of duty.  Lacking in perfectionist qualities, he has little staying power.  His most reliable attributes are his impulsiveness and his inconstancy.

He is, if you listen to him, intensely ambitious and he may say so in those words, but there is a great discrepancy between his ambitions and his real accomplishments.  Sometimes he seems propelled by the jetstream of his own self-generated hot air.  He is extravagant.  There is a definite proclivity to travel, preferably by airplane, and it seems as if someone else is always paying for his trip.  He is an intensely social person, a partygoer, and indeed the classic "life of the party".  And as he becomes older, lacking the staying power for satisfying his deep needs for accomplishment and affection, he senses that something is wrong, that perhaps he is not "normal".  But more often than not he will acknowledge that of course he is not normal -- he is exceptional!

His relations with the opposite sex may be characterized as troublesome, turbulent and tormenting.  Although the range of variability in human behavior in the realm of sexuality is enormously wide, there is no question that many of these individuals place a premium on sexuality in their lives. Some of them could well be placed into the categories of satyriasis and nymphomania.  He is a coquette, a tease, a bird of prey, a vampire.  There may be a continual, compulsive search for sexual partners, ostensibly to satisfy a conscious desire for a stable relationship.  Instead, there occurs only one turbulent, tormenting relationship after another, and he views the past in perplexed amazement as he recounts how many partners fell in love with him, how many wanted to marry him, and how many he crushed by leaving them abruptly.  Why, oh why, he wonders, cannot he really fall in love?  Why, oh why, does he end by treating his partners so scornfully, so sadistically?

The answers to these questions are not difficult to find and lie, of course, in the narcissistic-aggressive character structure itself.  His narcissistic self tells him that he is a grand person, thereby laying a framework of conceit.  His aggressive, hedonistic instinct tells him that he must dominate his partner and get his pleasure while he can.  And in dominating his partner, he cannot give of himself to him.   He, thus, cannot provide his partner with the one thing that his partner craves for the most -- his tenderness.  And as his partner clings to him more and more, all the more there is established a master-slave relationship.  The master becomes alienated.  His eyes become averted from the slave.  And he begins to treat the slave with all of the tormenting, sadistic means that are available to him in the repertoire of muted, and not so muted, aggressive human behavior.

The slave for his part is usually a weaker dominant type having an aggressive component, or a submissive type who becomes literally enslaved in a chronic state of subjugation.  Here, it is truly fitting to call the relationship a "morbid dependency", the slave usually being totally incapable of extricating himself, however illogical the situation.  The affair ends when the NA master moves on, sometimes sadistically playing off a former partner against his new interest, setting the stage for a new turbulent relationship.  And this may be repeated again, again and again.

If he marries and assumes the dominant role, then the marriage does not portend well.  Unless the real life circumstances provide an enormous amount of compensatory cement to the marriage, the master will torment the slave subtly or overtly and finally leave him.  If he assumes the subjugated role, then for much of the time lie will resemble the narcissistic N type, and his aggressive component will be strongly muted.

The female of this character type, in modern Western society, may lead a particularly turbulent life.  And given her total confusion with regard to the instinctual demons that are propelling her through life like a speedboat out of control, one cannot help but be sympathetic toward her.  She feels that she is destined to do great things, but somehow feels that she is not "normal".  She wants to work with others, but bitterly resents being asked to do anything for anyone.

She has pride in her beauty, but somehow feels that she is physically flawed.  It is perplexing to others how this individual, often frankly attractive, has almost invariably a negative body image of herself, a flaw, whether it be an imperfect complexion, an imperfect nose, this feature or that.  Somehow her narcissistic voice demands physical "perfection" of herself.  And in response to the disparate feelings of ugliness on the one hand, and the need to be a ravishing beauty on the other, she places an enormous investment in efforts to enhance her physical appearance.  There is an emphasis on fashionable, perfectly-matching clothes, with price being no object, on accessories of dress, on her hair style, on nail polish, cosmetics and perfumes, and the like.  In some cases this emphasis superficial qualities of personal adornment is so striking that one has the impression that she is gaudily attempting to gild a lily.

With regard to her sexuality, in which there is so much pride invested, total confusion reigns.  Being an aggressive type she instinctively scorns weakness, but all the while dreaming of a superman who will overpower her and possess her, she paradoxically seeks men whom she can dominate and subjugate.  And in doing so, she almost invariably chooses among those who long for submission. And in dominating she wonders why she cannot submit to true love, why she cannot be tender, and why she is, despite all of her investment in sexuality, often sexually unresponsive.  And it is in her unresponsiveness and in her need to dominate all aspects of a sexual relationship -- sometimes to the fringes of normality -- that one senses her desperation.  It the desperation of a person who, despite the whirlwind of activity surrounding her, is essentially alone and forlorn in her life.  It is the desperation of a voice crying in the wilderness.

There is little doubt that an individual of the NA type (or N type) has a predilection for an older mate, as has been noted by literary figures of the past.  For example, the playwright Henryk Ibsen, at the age of 61, became involved in an affair with a young predatory female, Emilie Bardach, who was to become the character Hilda Wangel in two of his plays.  We can see, in fact, in Ibsen's play "The Master Builder" the broad outlines of what must have been basic dynamics of Ibsen's relationship with Emilie.  The character Solness is clearly Ibsen himself, and although he is the object of Hilda's sexually predatory nature, this aspect is secondary.  Solness is, to be sure, a sexual being, and even a father figure, but he is above all Hilda's ideal image of her unbridled ambition.  We realize, now, why the NA female is drawn to an older man.  It is the ulterior motive of the narcissistic behavioral complex that is telling her subliminally:  "He is your ideal image. He is your promise of glory.  You and he are one and the same.  Lose yourself completely in him.  Merge with him"  Unfortunately, her aggressive nature is telling her, "Dominate him every day and in every way", hence her sadistic trends may ultimately doom any hopes for a stable relationship.

In competitive society, if a female of this character type attempts to achieve success in a career, and at the same time dominate her erotic sphere, conflicts are bound to arise, as in the following example of a recent letter to newspaper columnist Ann Landers:

Dear Ann Landers:

I'm a 26-year-old career woman, and lately I've been experiencing severe anxiety attacks -- shortness of breath, pounding heart, sweaty palms, feelings of weakness and dizziness.  Sometimes my hands shake so I can't hold anything.

I can't understand what is causing these symptoms.  I'm doing well in my career and enjoy my work.  My social life isn't great, but this doesn't bother me.  I'd rather stay home than go with some of the creeps I see around town.  Can you help me find some answers?

-- Wassau, Wis.

But such a conflict is, of course, not one limited intrinsically to the female.  As with other character types, we must ask ourselves whether any individual is, by his basic nature, suitable for a given life situation.

Finally, we reiterate the wide range of emotional behavior of the NA type: his hypomanic highs and his abject depressive lows.  He may be prone to obesity as he alternately overeats in splurges and then abstains from food entirely.  He is particularly prone to psychosomatic illness, for example to headaches, intestinal problems, palpitations, or attacks of "nervousness".  When intimidated he may split his personality abruptly to the NA- subdued state, where he becomes a narcissistic type with not a trace of aggression to be seen!  This dramatic personality split, when it occurs, is truly remarkable.

As an example of the emotional lability of the NA type, we consider Somerset Maugham's short story "Rain", where we find a young lady of the NA type, Sadie Thompson, abruptly change from a hypomanic state to one of abject depression:

"The door was not opened. She got up and opened it. They saw Miss Thompson standing at the threshold.  But the change in her appearance was extraordinary. This was no longer the flaunting hussy who had jeered at them in the road, but a broken, frightened woman.  Her hair, as a rule so elaborately arranged, was tumbling untidily over her neck.  She wore bedroom slippers and a skirt and blouse.  They were unfresh and bedraggled.  She stood at the door with the tears streaming down her face and did not dare to enter"

Later, after she achieves a vindictive triumph, we read:

"They walked up the steps and entered the hall.  Miss Thompson was standing at her door, chatting with a sailor.  A sudden change had taken place in her.  She was no longer the cowed drudge of the last days.  She was dressed in all her finery, in her white dress, with the high shiny boots over which her fat legs bulged in their cotton stockings; her hair was elaborately arranged; and she wore that enormous hat covered with gaudy flowers.  Her face was painted, her eyebrows were boldly black, and her lips were scarlet.  She held herself erect.  She was the flaunting queen that they had known at first.  As they came in she broke into a loud, jeering laugh..."

Finally, if we add to the NA individual's behavioral repertoire the occurrence of the narcissistic-aggressive rage, we see the extent to which this individual is a captive of his emotions.