Sociopath: A Memoir

Mrs. Gagne represents security and comfort in the author’s early years. The memoir recalls how Patric’s mother recognizes that her daughter is different, but does her best to act as a supportive guide. Mrs. Gagne tries to explain the nuances of moral codes, from the impact of stealing on the crime’s victims to why she should not enter their neighbor’s home while they are out. Realizing that her daughter does not always understand these boundaries, she urges her to always be honest. However, as her daughter’s antisocial behavior escalates despite her support and guidance, Mrs. Gagne experiences depression and despair. Patric’s row with her mother after Baby’s death convinces her that she can no longer be honest about her sociopathic traits without the fear of judgment. The loss of this reliable source of support has a destabilizing effect on Patric.

The author’s portrayal of her mother in the memoir is notable for its empathy. As a girl, Patric has little understanding of what her mother is going through. However, the memoir compassionately depicts a woman who reaches breaking point when nothing she does seems to help her daughter. As Gagne observes, “[a] person like my mother, a normal person with scruples, would never understand what it was like to be someone like me” (51). The memoir’s depiction of Mrs. Gagne corroborates the author’s claim that, with age and experience, she has, to some extent, learned social emotions.

Mr. Gagne is notable for his absence from the author’s account of her early years. Rarely at home, he subsequently abandons family life altogether. However, he plays an influential role in Patric’s early adulthood as he persuades his daughter to work for him in the music industry. Mr. Gagne is primarily supportive and non-judgmental of his daughter’s sociopathic behaviors. Nevertheless, his own lack of principles makes him an unreliable mentor. He fails to anticipate that the music industry may be an unhealthy environment for his sociopathic daughter. Furthermore, his morally dubious behavior with young women inadvertently leads to Patric’s dangerous fixation on Ginny Krusi. When Mr. Gagne asks his daughter to lie to the police for his benefit, he displays his willingness to exploit her sociopathic traits.

The memoir portrays the author’s younger sister, Harlowe, as her foil. While Patric has “a predilection for mischief,” Harlowe is “gifted with pure lightness” (89). She is kind, generous, and emotionally expressive. Patric sometimes envies Harlowe’s normality, such as her ability to feel and show grief over Baby’s death, but she never resents her. The enduring bond between the sisters demonstrates that, despite her sociopathy, the author has some capacity for love and affection, even as a child.

Harlowe is depicted as delighting in her sister’s opposing traits. Her drawing of Patric as the superhero “Captain Apathy” demonstrates admiration for her emotional detachment. However, the incident makes Patric concerned that she may prove a bad influence on her younger sister.

Gagne’s memoir is dedicated to her husband, David, indicating his consistently positive role in her life. When Patric is 14, David becomes her first boyfriend. More crucially, he is also Patric’s first experience of true friendship and social acceptance.

In addition to being Patric’s love interest in the memoir, David is also her foil. Empathetic, openly affectionate, and intensely emotional, he possesses the highly developed social emotions that Patric lacks. At the same time, he admires her objectiveness and logic, allowing her to see certain sociopathic traits as assets for the first time. Gagne depicts their relationship in terms of yin and yang, each balancing the other’s strengths and weaknesses.

As Patric nears adulthood, David replaces her mother as the moral guide and conscience she lacks. The author foreshadows the moderating role David will play in her life when Patric tells him about the hidden tunnels at summer camp. While sharing her enthusiasm for finding them, David copies the building’s blueprints, pointing out that it would be wrong to damage the originals by writing on them.

The difficulties Patric and David experience in the course of their relationship illustrate the challenges of relationships between sociopaths and non-sociopaths. The memoir shows that this difference in perspectives can be hard to bridge, leading to misunderstandings. For example, David’s attempts to morally guide Patric make her feel that his love is conditional, while David sometimes interprets her limited range of emotion as indifference. After some time apart, they attend couple’s counselling together and rekindle their relationship. They later marry and have two sons. Ultimately, Gagne presents their marriage as “a true partnership” (348). David illustrates the beneficial impact of a stable and supportive relationship on sociopathy.

Max Magus is a foil to David and a potential alternative love interest for Patric in the memoir. The famous singer seems to represent a kindred spirit to Patric, as they possess similarly self-destructive traits. The author suggests that this affinity stems from their attitude toward boundaries, observing that sociopaths “don’t recognize natural boundaries” (251) while the behavior of celebrities is not confined by the same limits as normal people.

Patric enjoys Max’s company because he offers validation of her darker sociopathic traits. The envy he expresses at her lack of regard for ethical boundaries is a refreshing contrast to the moral disapproval Patric has experienced for most of her life. Being with Max also seems to offer an easier path than life with David, who encourages her to believe she can be a “good” sociopath. Gagne’s figurative comparison of Max to “a recreational drug that made [her] feel invincible and strong” (260) highlights his dual characteristics: Like an addictive substance, he provides her with a temporary “high” but is ultimately harmful for her. Patric ultimately realizes that she is a “Rorschach” to Max. Just as psychological inkblot tests reveal subconscious traits and impulses, she represents the dark impulses Max hides but secretly wants to indulge. The relationship is potentially dangerous as he encourages Patric to “embrace” her sociopathic impulses, such as the stalking of Ginny, rather than trying to control them.

Max plays a crucial role in the narrative as Patric begins to identify unhealthy influences in her life. The relationship also leads to personal insight, as Patric eventually apologizes to Max, acknowledging that their dynamic was mutually exploitative.

In early adulthood, Patric becomes unhealthily obsessed with two women: Ginny Krusi and Jennifer. Both are antagonists in the memoir and become the targets of Patric’s stalking and violent fantasies.

Sociopath depicts Ginny and Jennifer as selfish and unlikeable, representing the generally amoral culture of the music industry. Record label executive Jennifer’s corrupt values are demonstrated in her mercenary attitude toward her boyfriend and unethical disposal of her neighbor’s dog. Meanwhile, Ginny is the mother of a well-known singer whose attempts to blackmail Patric reveal her as a ruthless and unstable opportunist. Patric’s hatred of both women is driven by her judgment that their moral corruption surpasses even her own as a sociopath. She is particularly enraged by Jennifer claiming to be a sociopath because it is clear that she suffers from an excess of emotions rather than apathy. Patric’s assertion that Jennifer is “worse” than a sociopath illustrates her development of a personal code of values.

Ultimately, Patric realizes that she uses her fixation on Jennifer and Ginny as monsters as an excuse to vent her sociopathic urges. The author compares prolonging the toxic dynamic with Ginny as “an alcoholic keeping a bottle of liquor in the house ‘just in case’” (274). The analogy acknowledges the unhealthily addictive nature of her behavior. Significantly, Patric’s self-treatment plan involves sitting outside Ginny’s house while resisting the urge to stalk or harm her.

Clinical psychologists Dr. Slack and Dr. Carlin are both instrumental in Patric’s journey toward understanding and reframing sociopathy. Dr. Slack’s psychology classes at UCLA teach Patric the medical facts surrounding sociopathy, as opposed to popular culture’s representation of it. This information confirms Patric’s belief that she is a sociopath and that her behaviors and urges are common symptoms. Furthermore, Patric’s discussions with Dr. Slack about her research encourage her to develop theories about sociopathy, including her perception of the disorder as a spectrum and her belief that symptoms may be treatable.

As her therapist, Dr. Carlin plays a crucial role in Patric’s self-treatment. While no recognized treatment plan exists, they use their combined knowledge to devise measures that eventually help Patric control her antisocial behaviors.