Batman and Masked Grief

Abstract

Bereavement typically begins with acute grief, a period immediately after a loss, in which the bereaved person experiences feelings, thoughts, or behaviors that are painful and uncomfortable. As early as 1944, Lindeman wrote about the type of grief that does not follow a natural or typical trajectory. He used terms such as pathological grief, morbid grief reactions, delayed grief, and chronic grief. Worden utilized similar terms, specifically: chronic grief reactions, delayed grief reactions, exaggerated grief reactions, and masked grief reactions. Worden describes masked grief reactions as experiencing symptoms or behaviors that can be maladaptive, impairing, or causing difficulty but not identified by the griever as related to their loss. The story of Bruce Wayne, from Batman Begins, takes place in the fictional Gotham City, where Bruce was born into a family of extreme wealth. Bruce’s approach to coping fits well into the paradigm identified by Dr. William Worden as one style of abnormal grief reactions – specifically masked grief.