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The Cat Who Would be Emperor

When our family left Chicago, in 1969, Jerry asked if we could take their cats, Pooka and Narcissus, since they were moving to a place that did not allow cats.  "Pooka" was the Americanized version of Swedish for boy: pojka.  Narcissus was Greek for abnormal human behavior, characterized by grossly exaggerated feelings of self-importance, a monstrous need for admiration, a near-absence of understanding the feelings of other people, and an occasional desire to become Emperor of the Universe.

The ancient Greeks also had a cat like that.  His name, as you might have guessed was not Pooka:  it was Narcissus.

As the ancient Greeks tell it, Narcissus was a hunter who fell in love with his own reflection.  He disdained those who loved him, of course:  they were not worthy of admiring him.  As the myth goes, he saw his reflection in the water of a pool, fell in love with it and, not realizing it was just a reflection, not a real person, refused to leave and starved to death.  There are alternative versions of the story that say he merely lost an election, but no one would believe that.  It is more believable that he preened himself to death.

I have been thinking about Narcissus. I looked up "narcissism" on Wikipedia: It is "characterized by . . . persistent grandiosity, excessive need for admiration, and a disdain and lack of empathy for others. These individuals often display arrogance, a sense of superiority, and power-seeking behaviors. Narcissistic personality disorder is different from having a strong sense of self-confidence. This is because people with NPD typically value themselves over others to the extent that they disregard the feelings and wishes of others and expect to be treated as superior regardless of their actual status or achievements. In addition, people with NPD may exhibit fragile egos, an inability to tolerate criticism, and a tendency to belittle others in an attempt to validate their own superiority."

In other words, a preening cat that thinks it is a lion.


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