Narcissism And Sibling Incest In Moon Tiger

Moon Tiger by the British writer Penelope Lively won the Booker Prize in 1987 and was shortlisted for the Golden Man Booker Prize in 2018.Previous studies on this novel mostly concentrate on the themes of history,the past and memory or adopt perspectives such as feminism,narrative style and postmodernity.Moon Tiger presents a close relationship between narcissism and incest,which has not received particular academic attention yet.Based on a close reading of the novel and an extensive scrutiny of related literature,this thesis probes into the heroine’s narcissism,her incestuous relationship with her brother and the correlations between these two subjects,intending to interpret the character of the heroine from a new perspective.It is first argued that the heroine,Claudia Hampton,is an ambivalent narcissist who has inflated views of herself and an implicit need for tributes from others,which results in her sense of insecurity and vulnerability hidden beneath her grandiosity.The thesis then shifts the focus to Claudia’s incestuous relationship with her brother Gordon,discussing its manifestations,domestic causes and significance.It is believed that Claudia’s incest with Gordon occupies the paramount position among her many relationships with men since it initiated her celebration of self and freedom at a very early stage of her life.Finally,the thesis explores the correlations between narcissism and incest by illustrating the“incestuous narcissism” and the “narcissistic incest”.It proposes that the sibling incest in the novel functions as a narcissistic supply for Claudia and brings her and Gordon into an exclusive and self-sufficient unity,which sustains her narcissistic personality but traps her in the circle of self.The heroine thus becomes both a stronger and weaker narcissist in this incestuous sibling relationship.Meanwhile,the thesis also argues that the narcissism of Claudia is a cause of the sibling incest and also a guise of her feelings of shame brought out by the incest.The interdependent and contradictory relationship between narcissism and sibling incest defines Claudia Hampton as both a grandiose and vulnerable narcissist.