Wednesday, September 12, 2012

See any Ressentiment characters yet?

Since we've spent a couple days during the first week of the course talking about ressentiment, there should be some connection with that and the films/books we read for the course. While reading and watching the films, I've been noticing some things that can relate with Scheler's take on the ressentiment character. I'll mention a few things that I think could show some type of these characteristics in the characters we've come across so far, although they don't necessarily have to possess all of the qualities that Scheler lists.

I'll start off with Double Indemnity-

Some points that Scheler makes about ressentiment are:

  • "Ressentiment can only arise if thhese emotions are particularly powerful and yet must be suppressed because they are coupled with the feeling that one is unable to act them out - either because of weakness, physical or mental, or because of fear" (26-7). 
  •  Ressentiment is caused by "systematic repression of certain human emotions" (25).
  • Revenge is "preceded by an attack or an injury" (25).

This aspect about being stifled, or repressed some way sticks out the most to me that I could see in some characters.
Early in the film, Phyllis said that her husband keeps her on a leash. That feeling of being under the control of someone else, and lacking your own control, is a repression of personal freedom. This injures her sense of self. So, she seeks revenge on her husband for keeping her on a leash. She has to stay in the house, and has noone to express herself to. Her revenge is expressed through killing him.


  • Scheler also makes the point of saying that desire and unfulfillment lead to envy, and existential envy which is directed against the persons nature is the strongest form of ressentiment (29-30)


I'm sure Phyllis envied her husband's greater sense of freedom than her, and that he was the one in control.
This also reminds me of Phyllis (as a nurse) killing the first wife of her husband. She probably envied her just because she wanted to be with him.

This is only one character that I've looked into so far, but I will share some more thoughts. (Running out of time now)

Does anyone else see connections with ressentiment and any of the characters we've come across so far?

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