THE AVATAR IN PANAMA - Theses - Flinders University

1.1 Double, Double, Toil and Trouble The Avatar in PanamaGray plunges a dagger into his self-portrait; Amado Nervo’s protagonistGabriel shoots his own reflection. Invariably, these actions bring aboutthe unexpected demise of the central character. In a variation on thistheme, instances abound where the long-suffering leading characterattempts to rid himself of his torturous double by actively bringing aboutits death. While the protagonist murders his double, he simultaneouslysuicides: Edgar Allan Poe’s William Wilson gores his double with asword, Mário de Sá-Carneiro and Guy de Maupassant have theircharacters take their lives (as they themselves did in real life) to put anend to their torment; and Robert Louis Stevenson has Henry Jekyllingest a toxic concoction to liberate himself of his pursuing double andto destroy his own self.Self Love or Self Loathing?Legend and myth are at the foundation of the theory ofnarcissism which is in part responsible for the mirror image or exactduplicate. 12 In Ancient Greece, gazing at one-self’s image or evendreaming of it reflected in water was regarded as an omen of death.The fear was that water spirits would drag under the reflection and, byassociation, the soul, leaving the victim to perish soulless. 13 The termnarcissism derives from the Greek mythological character Narcissusand is popularly defined as extreme, literal self-love during the earlystages of psychosexual development. During this period the individualis exceedingly preoccupied with their own concerns. 14Psychoanalytically, the manifestation of narcissistic behaviour is due tothe redirection of the sexual instinct toward the ego or self rather thantoward an external object. This trait can be carried into adulthood,exhibited as an indication of narcissistic personality disorder and, as willbe seen, also has implications for the confrontation of the double.Together with projection and denial, another of the narcissistic defencesis that of distortion which immediately affects the subject’s perceived12 Narcissism plays a significant role in the myths and beliefs of primitive people whoattribute the occurrence of external events to the magical omnipotence of their ownthought processes. Harold I. Kaplan, Alfred M. Freedman, and Benjamin J. Sadock,eds., Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry / III, 3rd ed. vol. 1 (Baltimore: Williams,1980) 671.13 Frazer 253.14 Narcissus was a youth who was so vain that he rejected the beautiful nymph Echoin favour of his own reflection. Aphrodite was enraged by this and rooted him to theriver bank by turning him into a flower, where he sat admiring his face in the water.There are various versions of this myth including one that has Narcissus drowning ashe tries to embrace his own reflection unaware that it is his own. Bernard Evslin,Gods, DemiGods & Demons: An Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology (New York:Scholastic, 1975) 144.16