Psychology of Morticia Addams

This post originally appeared in The Mary Sue

It’s October, the month of Halloween and a celebration of everything spooky, and it is my distinct pleasure to write about my favorite inspirational woman: Morticia Addams.

Morticia Addams is the matriarch of the Addams Family. The Addams Family was created by cartoonist Charles Addams, who based Morticia on his first wife, Barbara. After appearing in the New Yorker, the Addams Family series later became a TV series, starring Carolyn Jones as Morticia.

Several films and animated series followed as well, and perhaps the most well known is the portrayal of Morticia by Anjelica Huston.

Addams Family tells the tale of an unusual family, who enjoy blowing things up and trying to poison one another. Their mansion is full of spooky and scary artifacts, many of which are not distinctly living, though not completely dead. The Addams are fans of everything dark and macabre and it is said that the way that Morticia’s husband, Gomez became rich was because he was told that he could “make a killing on a stock market.”

Morticia is the family matriarch, making most of the important decisions. She is also fiercely protective of her family. For example, when Fester Addams, Gomez’s long lost brother shows up, Gomez initially suspects him to be an impostor. Morticia not only affectionately supports her husband, but she also makes a point of threatening Fester when she reminds him of what the Addams do to those who hurt them.

When Fester attempts to throw the family out of their home, Morticia fights for her family with little regard for personal safety. And whether it’s the dawn of day or the epicenter of danger, she is completely open about her sexuality.

Clinical diagnosis

Nothing. In my clinical opinion, there is absolutely no mental health disorder that Morticia is suffering from. She is authentic, uninhibited, stays true to her biggest core values, and she spends her time with the people she loves the most. She does not appear to show any abnormal levels of distress or impairment in any of her social areas and appears to be perfectly (albeit “cookily”) functional.
In short, Morticia Addams rocks and appears to live a meaningful life because she is unafraid to be true to herself.

Do you have a favorite female role model that you would like to read about in this column? Leave a comment and let me know.

Cheers and Happy Halloween!

Janina Scarlet, PhD, is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist, a scientist, and a full time geek. She uses Superhero Therapy to help patients with anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and PTSD at the Center for Stress and Anxiety Management and Sharp Memorial Hospital and is also a professor at Alliant International University, San Diego. Dr. Scarlet is the author of “Superhero Therapy” and has authored chapters in the Sterling Publishing works “The Walking Dead Psychology,” “Star Wars Psychology,” “Star Trek Psychology,” and “Game of Thrones Psychology.” She can be reached via her website at www.superhero-therapy.com or on Twitter: @shadowquill.