"He Wanted the Pearls"

Last time, we discussed Batman and Bruce Wayne as if they were two different people, due to the mental psychosis of Dissociative Identity Disorder. As a short review, patients of D.I.D. exhibit many of the things Batman seems to do, which includes depression and ritualistic activities. Further, we established that the alternate identities of a split personality patient could also be that of an animal.

But how does one get this way? How does one literally break into two (or more) pieces of an entire persona? Doctors are still out on that subject but they do have a good idea: traumatic events at a young age.

And of course, our very own Bruce Wayne had the biggest traumatic event of any boy's young life - the murder of his two parents. RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM. Stuff couldn't be harder to process than that.

But to keep this blog from exploring too many topics, I'd like to focus on a symbol that's been running through several Batman comics - Mrs. Wayne's pearls. See, D.I.D. usually comes about when there are repeated instances of abuse or trauma to a child. But I would argue that if the patient has experienced an extremely traumatizing event, then D.I.D. could take place. Further, to add to this theory, I would say Bruce has experienced what psychologists are calling Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. And often, a co-occurence of PTSD is guilt. It is Mrs. Wayne's pearls that I would say is the symbol of guilt.

The Long Halloween, written by Jeph Loeb and penciled by Tim Sale, takes place a year after the birth of Batman. Many of the villains have been introduced including the Scarecrow. Eventually Batman and the Scarecrow meet, Scarecrow sprays his really ****ed up mindshattering spray on Bats, and soon, Batman is walking down memory lane. Except he's going psychotic. Delusional, Bruce Wayne is chased by Jim Gordon but thanks to the funny gas, Bruce thinks he's his parents killer.

I would argue that in this delusional, drugged-out state, we are seeing the child that never grew up. Bruce utters "He wants the pearls." Previously on page 220, Bruce reveals that it was he who urged his mother to wear the pearls for a "special night." In the Dark Knight Returns, often we see the death of his mother symbolized by her pearl necklace being ripped from her neck. Basically, in every origin page that tells the story of the birth of Batman, you can guess that there will be pearls in them.

So why all the pearls? Is it just a poetic symbol of Bruce's parents's death? I'd take it a step further. Bruce often said he was the one who forced his parents to go down the alley that eventually claimed Mr. and Mrs. Wayne. Bruce, in the Long Halloween, continues to bring up the pearls and how he wanted his mother to wear them. On page 222 of the Long Halloween, Bruce falls to his knees and cries at the foot of his mother's grave. If this isn't someone apologizing then I don't know what is.

Ok so I have to at least introduce some scholarly subject material right? So what is the relationship between guilt and post-traumatic stress disorder?

The correct term is trauma-related guilt and it is a common co-occurence. Basically, the PTSD patient will feel he or she should have done something different at the time a traumatic event occurred. Matthew Tull, PhD, writes in his article on PTSD and Guilt that there is such a thing as SURVIVOR GUILT (okay, wow. Seriously. Batman, your psychotic nature surprises me everyday). Essentially, a surviving member of some traumatic event will blame himself for doing something wrong. This extreme sense of guilt and shame leads to depression, social anxiety, and even the development of PTSD.

So there you have it; if Bruce Wayne laid down on a psychologist's chair and told her what had happened to him, the doctor would probably diagnose him with this: D.I.D. or maybe PTSD coupled with extreme guilt due to a traumatic event in the early stages of development.

Now, Bruce has chosen to fight crime, to rid the city of the evil that took his parents, to right the wrongs of the people...to try and right his own wrong. Wow. That's some heavy stuff right there. But why the Bat?

Next time we'll explore the mythos of the Bat. Or maybe not. I don't know.

Bibliography:

All information on PTSD and Guilt:

http://ptsd.about.com/od/relatedconditions/a/guilt.htm