8. Peter Pan - Narcissistic Personality Disorder
As much as Peter Pan appears to be every inch the charmed child, his playful demeanour hides a dysfunctional personality. Narcissistic Personality Disorder is characterised by extreme selfishness. Narcissists might be arrogant and have unrealistic ideas of their own abilities. They require the admiration of others, such as when Peter congratulates his own cleverness when Wendy fixes his shadow ("Oh, the cleverness of me"), or when he returns to the lost boys ("I am back," he said hotly, "why do you not cheer?" ). They might also be anxious and jealous, insisting that people prioritise their needs above their own (Wendy, when you are sleeping in your silly bed you might be flying about with me.). He brings Wendy in to care for himself and the other boys and persistently tries to discourage her from going home and living her life, become anxious and angry when she suggests leaving. There is even a suggestion in the books that Peter gets rid of lost boys when they grow up. The quote is that he "thins them out" when they get too old and therefore no longer fit in with his plans, displaying a severe lack of empathy. Of course, it is also possible that Peter Pan is actually suffering from, er,
Peter Pan Syndrome - a pathological aversion to growing up - but it is currently not recognised as a fully fledged psychiatric disorder. Don't even get us started on Tinkerbell.