再次转自Tumblr,貌似是篇挺有意思的文
Why Elmer is evil: Rewritten
地址:
http://wrenchdolt.tumblr.com/post/49682036130/why-elmer-is-evil-rewritten
I was never entirely happy with my first written analysis of Elmer, and I’ve wanted to rewrite it when I have more knowledge on anti-social personality disorders and about Elmer himself. Since it seems there’s going to be quite a while until next time I get to read Baccano translations focusing much on him I’m going to go ahead and do this now.
Before we begin, have the usual disclaimer; these are my personal views on the character, and you’re allowed to disagree with me. The only person who knows the truth about Elmer is Narita, and I can’t speak on his behalf. I can only speak about what I think he wants us to read between the lines.
So, first of all I still firmly believe that Elmer is a sociopath. Certain characters that are close to him, like Huey, know this and that’s why they call him evil. What makes a sociopath different from a psychopath is hugely debated, some believe there is no difference and stick to just one term, but in other cases it’s widely believed they’re fundamentally different; with the most acknowledged difference being that psychopaths are born that way, while sociopaths are created by their environment. I refer to Elmer as the latter, and I’m going to start with how the experiences he suffered as a child turned him into one.
I think it started very early in his development. If you want to know more of my basis for my upcoming theory I highly recommend reading “The boy who was raised as a dog” by Bruce D. Perry.
It seems like already as babies we start to build the foundation we need to develop empathy. When we cry we are soothed, fed, pampered and given affection, and so we confirm that when we cry someone will come to our aid, and we learn that being touched and held are things to enjoy.
Elmer however was born into a cult which believes in abuse and neglect of children, and as he happened to be their chosen one, the “Child of Calamity and Light,” he was also born to become a sacrifice. When baby Elmer cried it’s likely nobody did anything to soothe him. He would only be harmed or left alone. What might happen to a baby under these circumstances is that at one point or another; it stops crying. Even while experiencing pain it might remain silent. Elmer probably gave up on crying as well, and this was the beginning of him learning that he could not rely on his parents to help him. Since this development was not reversed he was not able to become a child which sees other people as people. Of course Elmer uses the word, and he’s going to refer to humans as human, but in reality the way he sees them is more like objects. This is why he can’t put himself in their place. If he sees someone hurting, he can’t feel their pain, because nobody looks at a broken object and feels empathy with it. There’s a chance that if Elmer had been rescued very early it would have been possible to turn things around a little. He’d still never become a completely normal man, but he might not have become a complete sociopath. But the abuse went on until he was 10 years of age, and by this time I think his anti-social disorder was already set in stone. It probably did not help that he then had to see his family be taken out by witch hunters and was proclaimed the child who had been saved by God.
I don’t know much more about Elmer’s past up until the 15 year old Elmer we meet in The Ironic Light Orchestra, so I’m going to move on to making it a bit more clear how someone like Elmer can be diagnosed as a sociopath even though he’s obsessed with other people’s happiness. First, let’s look at the personality traits Elmer shares with the typical sociopath and/or psychopath.