It seems like you view the Joker as being a narcissist, and being in love with himself, yet in the movie, he seems to have a bit of a death wish which doesn't seem complimentary to someone who was in love with themselves I was wondering what your interpretation of this is? Also, what would Harley's reaction be if she viewed his semi-suicidal ways? And your interaction with your readers is really admirable. Thank you x
Oh, shit, am I veering into “diagnosing the Joker” territory? I don’t want to do that! I’m all about that ‘Joker defies categorization, diagnosis, or labels’ life, at least as far as it goes beyond what the Nolan team has said about him.
That said, I don’t think narcissistic tendencies and suicidal tendencies necessarily exclude each other, at least not the way he seems to have them. It’s all in the apparent motivation of those suicidal tendencies. See, the way I read it— for instance, when the Joker’s facing Batman, muttering, “I want you to do it, hit me,” he’s not saying that because he wants to be put down. Rather, he knows that if Batman really does follow through, he’ll be breaking a very distinct and important rule, the only rule he HAS, and the Joker would love that. He does not want to die, but he does want Batman to kill him, and I think that’s an important distinction.
Because, of course, if Batman kills him, the Joker’s a fucking legend. He’s the one man who managed to push Batman over the edge. Presentation and self-mythologization is obviously very important to the Joker; he’s obsessed with crafting that image down to the very last detail. How he dies is a very important detail, because it’s inevitable, and I think he is determined that it’s going to be by Batman’s hand, because when that happens, his influence is locked in and eternal, which is really the goal to which all that self-obsessive energy is being channeled. (it also explains why despite EVERYTHING Batman doesn’t ever just go ‘fuck it’ and kill him; he knows that would be handing the ultimate victory over to the Joker.)
I think he knows that his death at Batman’s hands would have major short- and long-term effects and I think he’s so into that idea that he’ll willingly abandon his current, smaller goals in favor of that huge ending one. At its core, the motivator is still vanity, that desire to be legend. It’s not self-loathing— honestly, the way I read it, it’s the ultimate narcissistic act, choosing and controlling how one dies and ensuring that that death will make people think and talk about you for the rest of humanity’s existence. That’s some self-absorbed realness, right there.
…hopefully I explained my thought process clearly there and didn’t muddle it all up; the Joker’s a difficult guy to talk about with any real clarity. :) And as far as interacting with you guys— come on, you ask me interesting questions about the details of one of my favorite fictional universes and characters and then set me free to answer in depth; how could I not love talking to you? Seriously. Y’all are the best. I’m just shit at staying caught up!
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