The Psychology of Carmen, the Opera
A Tale of Narcissism and Tragedy
Aug 26, 2009 Paula Marie Deubel
"Love is a gypsy's child,
it has never, ever known a law"... *(1)
Carmen stereotypes the romantic appeal of the gypsy, a wild and exotic free-spirit who obeys no laws other than her own. She repeatedly tempts the dignified Spanish soldier, Don Jose, with her allusive dark charm and displays of passion, until he finally falls hopelessly in love with her. This proves to be his ultimate downfall, as well as her own.
Carmen's Appeal
In the end, Jose is purposely abandoned by the charismatic anti-hero, and - in a fit of mad jealousy - kills her. There's an eerie beauty in Carmen's death scene, because she seems totally incapable of fear. She's a brave femme fatale whose endless schemes fail her only in the end. Don Jose, and the audience, both fall in love with her despite her moral flaws.
There's just something about her ... an unexplained allure.
It's crucial to the story that Carmen was a gypsy, which somehow allows her to get away with stealing; she can even ruthlessly steal the soul of a man and, to this very day, be described in glowing terms.
What woman today would not want to be the seductive, daring Carmen? What man would not long to possess her?
Narcissism in Fiction - Who's the Real Carmen?
Utterly self-absorbed and selfish, Carmen is admirably independent. Though manipulative and scheming, she's equally charming. Emotionally empty and without any depth at all, she is nevertheless intense and fully alive. She blazes and burns from an ever brilliant fire without any true warmth.
Loosely based on a true story, Carmen has all the qualities of a Malignant Narcissist. In fact, she fits the textbook description to the extreme.
She loves personal freedom above all else and flaunts it unashamedly. She proclaims to love Don Jose, but then her love disperses like smoke. The audience senses that perhaps Carmen never loved at all, a trait giving her both an unflagging strength and ruthlessness.
Don Jose is to Carmen what psychologists call "Narcissistic food" - Carmen's huge ego swallows him up voraciously, because he's a challenge to her and he idolizes her, but then (when bored) she spits him out like trash. He's soon replaced by a brand new delicacy, another suitor who Carmen claims she loves.
Like the Narcissist, Carmen utterly disdains her own victim, and moves from lover to lover like a carefree butterfly.
The Whole World's the Narcissist's Stage
A brilliant mind player, Carmen uses Don Jose as both her entertainment and enraptured audience. To Carmen, life is only a lighthearted game, since her reckless nature is incapable of emotional attachment or bonds. She soars through men's hearts freely and unpredictably as a bird soars through air. She never shows empathy or regret.
Like a wild and cunning animal, she's looking out for number one. Carmen is not afraid to say or do anything. A beautiful spit-fire, she refuses to be confronted without putting up a vicious fight. She's an appealing predator, a dangerous, yet lovely, tiger out of a cage. All this portrays the worst type of Narcissist, destroying those who love them most.
Success of Opera
Like the novella, Georges Bizet's Opera, Carmen, was at first very unpopular and considered to be lewd (its poor reception hastened the composer's early death), but now is one of the most widely filmed and beloved operas. This may, or may not, reflect an increasing acceptance, even embracement, of Narcissism in modern times. Today the opera is beloved worldwide.
Although Jose seems to figure her out in the end, the audience remains fooled by Carmen. She has the last laugh, even in death.
She remains an immortal mystique, because the audience can never really know her, and has fallen in love with her charm.
After all, who still does not love Carmen?
"Love me not, then I love you;
if I love you, you'd best beware." *(2)
*(1), *(2) Excerpts from the famous aria from the opera, Carmen (adapted from the Habanera El Arreglito, originally composed by the Spanish musician Sebastian Yradier (1809-1865)
A Cold Fire
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