A Pop Literature Theory of Mind of the Romantic Century's Dark Triad Seducers

A common stance is that only reading literary fiction improves theory of mind (ToM). Characters in popular fiction are said to be so predictable that they merely reaffirm readers' expectations. Emilie Flygare-Carlen was Sweden's bestselling 19th-century novelist, but literary historians have disregarded her works for being too commercial and her insights into mating for being too conservative. This article analyzes her novel The Magic Goblet (1840-1841) to propose a more complex understanding of the relationship between fiction and ToM. Flygare-Carlen dissects the mating regime of the Romantic Century (1750-1850) with exceptional psychological depth, yet conveys her insights through widely compelling genres. In this Gothic romance, she dramatizes how the transition from parental to individual choice-in combination with a new mating morality-made women more vulnerable to predatorial seducers. The late-Romantic sanctification of erotic and romantic attraction compelled women to obsess with the small number of men who are able immediately to trigger the strongest emotions. The Magic Goblet's hero-villain, whose personality is marked by Dark Triad traits, successfully stages himself as the ideal man, but his antisocial mating strategies have detrimental consequences for the women who pursue him and for himself. Flygare-Carlen offers readers insights into not only Dark Triad minds, but into weaknesses of their own thinking, and into the impact ideology can have on our minds. Her doing so in a popular genre does not detract from The Magic Goblet's potential for improving readers' ToM. Public Significance Statement Engagement with works of art is thought to have the potential for improving our understanding of human thought, feeling, and behavior. With regard to fiction, this article argues that whether stories can enhance theory of mind is not a question that can be resolved by pitting literary fiction against popular genres. Flygare-Carlen's Gothic romance exemplifies how psychological insights can be made more accessible through competent use of commercial formats.