Current mood:	busy
Entry tags:	eights, smallville

Lionel Luthor, Smallville
A short accompaniment to the entry on Lex Luthor.

Lionel Luthor, Self-Preservation Eight

A few years ago, I attended a workshop given by Thomas Condon on enneagram subtypes. Digging out my notes from the workshop recently, I found the description of the self-preservation subtype of Eights to be enlightening for a Smallville fan. Condon concentrated on the self-preservation Eight’s role as a parent, and the unhealthy side of it could shed some light on Lionel Luthor’s behavior as a father. Here are some of the notes I took from Condon’s comments:

Survival is at stake. A view of the world as fighting for everything you have. Unusually materialistic: Objects symbolize the way you’ve made it, a bulwark against the world. Possessions are especially important to you.

This can bring up conflict with a family, especially with children: The very people you are pledged to protect are the people who endanger your possessions. They have a paradoxical parenting style — both protective and hostile toward the child. The child is a beloved treasure; the child is an enemy endangering you.

An ethic of selfishness — pass this on to their kids: I’m just toughening you up. They will cheat a child at a game and tell them, ‘That’s what the world is like.’

Children remind them of their own vulnerabilities. The most important thing is to suppress your own weakness. Try to kill your own weakness — once it’s murdered, you’ll be safe. This leads to a vaguely homicidal impulse towards the child. When the child does something to remind you of yourself, you get mad at the child.

In Tempest, Lionel tells Lex, “You’re not my enemy, you’re my son!” To which Lex replies, “I never saw the distinction.” Lex seems to have a better grasp of the psychology of the situation than his father.