The Word Of The Day

The word of the day is stockholm syndrome. Stockholm syndrome is defined as feelings of trust or affection felt by a victim toward a captor often in the instances of a kidnapping or hostage situtation. Victims often take a lack of abuse from their captures as a gesture of kindness. Victims typically go through 4 stages:

The first stage is simply the act of being held hostage. The victim learns that the only way to survive is to be compliant. Stage two is getting to know your captor's moods and behaviors so that you can avoid upsetting him. If you upset your captor, he may harm you. Naturally, you avoid this. The third stage is taking any act of kindness, even if that act is simply not killing you, as a sign that your captor is a good person. The final stage is when you think of the captor as your friend and those who try to rescue you as your enemies.

Patty Hearst is often used as an example of Stockholm syndrome. Patty was a newspaper heiress who became a kidnap victim and eventually a bank robber. After her kidnapping, she ultimately ended up joining her captors and furthuring their cause, a classic example of Stockholm syndrome.

An example of Stockholm syndrome hidden within a childhood classic can be found in Belle in Beauty and the Beast. Belle exhibits all of the signs and goes through all of the stages. Hostages have been known to fall in love with their captors in order to keep from losing their grip on things, and Belle does exactly this. Although it is a love story, she is being held hostage. She traded herself for her father's freedom, and the Beast is her captor. She learns not to anger him, and she takes his 'gift' of the library as the best thing in the world. In reality, the library was always there, and he simply showed her where.

Although Disney had a love story in mind, Stockholm syndrom is not far behind.