Wednesday: A Study in Eccentricity
You’re probably familiar with at least one of the Addams Family movies and have enjoyed watching the antics of characters like Gomez, Morticia, and Uncle Fester. In this article, we’re going to talk about Wednesday, Gomez and Morticia’s daughter.
In the original movies, Wednesday was around five years old and was often seen to be smiling in a macabre and sinister way. She was always accompanied by a doll with a missing head, Marie Antoinette. In fact, Wednesday exhibited a series of behaviors that could be considered aggressive, sadistic, and eccentric. For example, do you remember how Wednesday enjoyed torturing her little brother Pugsley? In this article, we’re going to discuss her behavior.
In the new Netflix series, Wednesday is something of an outcast and has little luck in interacting with others in her environment. As a matter of fact, it’s been said on social media that she might be autistic.
Personality cluster A: weird and eccentric
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) states that personalities grouped under the umbrella of cluster A have the following characteristics:
- Strange or extravagant conduct.
- Interpersonal difficulties when it comes to relating.
- Introverted, emotionally cold, and with low sociability.
- An insecure or avoidant attachment style.
These characteristics fit perfectly with the character of Wednesday, whose behavior is rather strange. Just take a look at the dance scene below. It’s clear that she struggles in relating to others.
Personalities like Wednesday’s are linked to creativity.
Wednesday: an eccentric personality
For Wednesday, personal intimacy causes her problems, and she often feels uncomfortable with others. However, although she often shows discontent about her lack of relationships, she sometimes behaves as if she doesn’t really desire any intimate contact at all.
Wednesday’s language is extravagant but coherent and she uses words correctly. But, due to her difficulties in relating to others, she may well experience emotions such as loneliness and social anxiety, as well as peculiar ways of thinking and speaking. So, what exactly kind of personality does she have?
Schizotypal personality disorder
The American Psychiatric Association states that schizotypal personality disorder consists of a dominant pattern of both social and interpersonal deficits manifested in close relationships.
Sufferers may exhibit eccentric behaviors and experience cognitive and perceptual distortions. According to the DSM-5, among the characteristics of this disorder are:
- Ideas of reference. For example, believing that events have special meanings.
- Odd beliefs or magical thinking, like believing in clairvoyance or telepathy.
- Unusual perceptual experiences. For example, hearing voices.
- Odd thought and speech.
- Suspicions or paranoid thoughts.
- Incongruous or limited emotion.
- Odd eccentric, or peculiar behavior and/or appearance.
- Lack of close friends or confidants except for first-degree relatives.
- Excessive social anxiety. The kind that doesn’t reduce with familiarity and is related mainly to paranoid fears.
The schizotypal personality has been linked to strangeness and uniqueness with regard to thinking, perceiving the world, and behaving. In addition, people with a schizotypal personality disorder like Wednesday, struggle with empathy. In fact, they have accentuated difficulties when it comes to recognizing the impact of their behavior on others. Consequently, they often misinterpret the motivations of others.
Schizotypal personality disorder manifests itself in a multitude of contexts. It usually begins in early adult life. Sufferers feel distanced from the rest and often experience emotions of distrust. Unfortunately, when it comes to treatment, there’s currently insufficient research regarding effective therapies for the kinds of conditions experienced by Wednesday.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- American Psychiatric Association’s (2013) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5).
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Olivencia, J. J., & Cangas, A. J. (2005). Tratamiento psicológico del trastorno esquizotípico de la personalidad. Un estudio de caso. Psicothema, 412-417.
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Elejalde, J. G., Arroyo, M. B., & Bennasar, M. R. I. (2002). Trastorno esquizotípico de personalidad: Perspectivas actuales. Archivos de Psiquiatría.
