6 Syndromes Named After Literary Characters

Literature is full of the most curious characters. Fictional worlds have a place for all kinds of personalities: children who never grow up, protagonists who allow themselves to be carried away by their passions … This is what is expected of fiction, which gives us dystopian and unconventional worlds. But sometimes fiction also serves as an inspiration for naming aspects of the real world. In this sense, there are syndromes with names of literary characters.

Here we present 6 disorders or syndromes whose name is inspired by well-known literary characters. Some very popular, like Peter Pan syndrome and others that will probably surprise you, like Rapunzel syndrome. Of course, they all arouse curiosity about the mysteries of the human mind.

Peter Pan syndrome

You must have heard of him. Peter Pan is a fictional character from the play with the same name. In it, Peter Pan lives in Neverland, an island where he lives fantasy adventures among fairies, pirates and other children; and where he never stops being a child. For this reason, Peter Pan syndrome is attributed to people who are immature or childish in a psychological and social sense.

They are irresponsible, they do not take charge of their own life or the consequences of their actions. These people do not want to grow up, so they get stuck in childhood or adolescent ways of life. They do not evolve or have goals commensurate with their age. This makes them selfish people and, in extreme cases, can be linked to narcissistic personality disorders.

Othello syndrome

Othello: The Moor of Venice is a play by Shakespeare, which, like almost all of this classic writer, is a tragedy. In the play, the character that gives the syndrome its name, Othello, is led to believe that his wife is betraying him and, in a fit of jealousy, ends up killing his girlfriend.

Those who suffer from pathological jealousy, also called celotypic delirium , are said to suffer from Othello syndrome. This disorder causes the person to have unjustified jealousy about their partner and irrational doubts about their fidelity. These are distrustful, insecure people, with communication problems and emotional immaturity.

Obviously, a relationship with this type of person involves unnecessary suffering for both parties and, as long as these problems are not overcome, it is impossible to establish a healthy emotional bond.

Madame Bovary syndrome

The protagonist who gives its name to this classic French novel lives her entire life tormented by dissatisfaction. Out of a need to escape her marriage and her conventional life to live the great romances and adventures she dreams of, especially after reading her favorite novels.

It is said that people who experience chronic dissatisfaction suffer from this syndrome. These people, whatever their life circumstances, are never happy and permanently feel that they would be better off living somewhere else, with another partner, with another job, etc. This syndrome is related to affective disorders such as depression.

Pollyanna syndrome

Pollyanna is the protagonist of the Eleanor H. Potter novel of the same name. This is an orphan girl who is characterized by constant optimism even in the most catastrophic situations.

Regarding the symptoms of the syndrome, it is characterized by an excessive idealization of reality. These are people who are positive up to pathological levels. They are not capable of accepting reality as it is and their positivity is, in reality, a mechanism to escape from what they do not dare to face.

Although a dose of optimism is good, knowing how to see the negative parts of a situation is also necessary to be able to get out of it successfully.

Alice syndrome

We all remember the atmosphere of Alice in Wonderland. An exotic and delusional place where potions and food changed the size of the environment or Alice herself and where logic did not exist.

With this name, this is another of the syndromes with names of literary characters, defined as a neurological disorder also called micropsy, which, according to studies, is mainly associated with migraines and epilepsy. 

It is characterized by the fact that those who suffer from it have a problem in visual perception that makes them see smaller objects than they are. Consequently, they seem to be further away than they are. It would be something similar to what happens to us when we look through the side mirrors of the car.

It is often associated with delusions caused by fever, epilepsy, migraines, and psychotic breakouts.

Rapunzel syndrome

Rapunzel is the fairytale princess with a characteristic and very long hair. In honor of his hair, this name has been given to a disease in which there is a mass of hair between the stomach and the intestine. Rapunzel syndrome has its origin in trichotillomania which, together with trichophagia, produces hairballs (trichobezoars) over time.

That is, this syndrome occurs in people who have ingested their own hair and this, since it is impossible to digest, remains stagnant in the digestive system, forming the characteristic hairballs.

As we can see, the literature provides us with signs and symptoms that, grouped together, have acquired the name of syndromes. Do you know other syndromes named after literary characters?

Images courtesy of Arthur Rackham