Blogger's Blag: 60 years of the Talented Mr Ripley; The psychopathy of Ripley

60 years since Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr Ripley was first published and it remains, to this day, a reference for crime writers and readers the world over and it is as widely read now as it ever was, even after six decades.  So what is it about The Talented Mr Ripley  that makes it so enduring? What aspects of Ripley's character  hold us in such thrall?  And which fictional characters give him a run for his money? 
To celebrate the phenomenon that is Tom Ripley and his 60 years of existence, Virago Classics are releasing on 4th June a beautiful commemorative cloth bound copy of The Talented Mr Ripley.
Cloth Bound copy available on amazon for £12.99

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Talented-Mr-Ripley-Designer-Collection/dp/0349006962/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1431107574&sr=1-4&keywords=the+talented+mr+ripley




The Endurance of Ripley
Mesmerising and sinister in equal measure, Tom Ripley is a character we as reader's are intrigued by.  From scene one we know he's not what he seems. His strange moods hinting at underlying anger, his peculiar humour and his many and frequent deceits hook us in from the get go, but more than that is the fact that Patricia Highsmith has created a

character far beyond her time (Not to say Tom Ripley's didn't exist 60 years ago, but they were rarely written about and never so extensively by a woman).  Ripley is a complex puzzle of sociopathic traits that intrigue and appall us in equal measure.  He is relevant today because those traits are as dominant in fictional

characters today as they are in The Talented Mr Ripley and in many ways Ripley is the precurser to Hannibal Lector, Dexter and The Joker. The storyline is so compelling; what's not to love about a gay man, murdering and taking on another man's identity so callousl.  Then of course there are the numerous twists whenre Ripley comes so close to being caught only to deviously manipulate his way out of it and finally a tour through Europe by American characters is always a hit.Ripley's character
Some fictional 'psychopaths' for example Norman Bates(1960's) whose underlying schizophrenia made his psychopathy present in a much more extreme and obvious way than Ripley's.  Bate's demonstrated notable anti-social behaviour whereas Ripley blends in. Ripley cleverly disguises his true character and so easily 'cons'  and manipulates his acquaintances.  This makes him a delicious character to read about.  His unpredictability combined with his versatility and understated charisma engage us.  We root

for his deceits to pay off because we're can't wait to see what his subsequent actions will be.  We revel in those edge of the seat moments, like his unexpected meeting with Marge at the opera when he is in Dickie's character and when he compounds this by arrogantly setting up a meeting between Marge and his current amour we are amazed, but by this point, unsurprised by his audacity.  The fact that Ripley feels entitled to things; Dickie's wealth, his aunts money etc demonstrates the remorseless frigidity of his personality that so entices the reader.Fictional Character's to match Tom Ripley
I'm sure we all have our own ideas of which fictional psychopath's chill us to the bone.  Maybe Hopkin's Hannibal Lecter, or Heath Ledger's portrayal of The Joker? 
Well, I was surprised to discover that the FBI Behaviour Analyst unit at Quantico uses fictional characters to help train their agents to identify Psychopaths. Can you guess where Tom Ripley sits on this top 10 list?  

I was even more surprised to see that some 'Good guys' made it onto the list, to find out which other fictional characters are on the list click on the link below. (shown on Channel 4 2014)