Narcissistic Personality Disorders In Mayo Clinic's Speak

Have you ever met someone who seems to think that they are better than everyone else, or seems to lack empathy for others? Well, they could have had a narcissistic personality disorder. The Mayo Clinic defines narcissistic personality disorder as “a mental health condition in which people have an unreasonably high sense of their own importance”. They need and seek too much attention and want people to admire them” (Mayo Clinic). People that usually have very glaring flaws that everyone but themselves can see could very well have this condition and many of these ‘flaws’ could be symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder. Duke Health uses the acronym “SPECIAL ME” to identify the signs of narcissistic personality disorder; “Sense of self importance[,] Preoccupation with power, beauty, or success[,] Entitled[,] Can only be around people who are important or special[,] Interpersonally exploitative for their own gain[,] Arrogant[,] Lack empathy[,] Must be admired[,] Envious of others or believe that others are envious of them” (Biggers).

In the play The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet and in the novel Speak, readers can identify many of these symptoms in the parents of the main characters; more specifically, the mothers. While comparing and contrasting the characters Lady Capulet, Juliet’s mother, from William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, and Joyce Sordino, the main character, Melinda’s, mother, from Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, through the lens of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) reveals just how similar and different these characters are. Both of these characters exhibit many symptoms of NPD that show the reader just how similarly their minds work. Lady Capulet exhibits many symptoms of NPD throughout the play; however, there are a few specific instances that stick out the