Hyacinth
Bucket (Bouquet) Plays “The Social Climber”.
*Legal
Disclaimer; Any similarities to actual persons, living or dead, are purely
coincidental and any resemblance to real people is unintentional.
The sitcom
follows Hyacinth in her attempts to prove her social superiority and to gain
standing with those she considers upper class. In the series the character’s
efforts are repeatedly hampered by her true, very modest social standing, one
she conceals with her created persona. “Much of the humour comes from the
conflict between Hyacinth's vision of herself and the reality of her underclass
background. In each episode, she lands in a farcical situation as she battles
to protect her social credibility.” (Wikipedia)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keeping_Up_Appearances_(Friday_Night_Lights)
From alchemists to false
princesses, sorcerers to political imposters, tricksters have played their role
in history small or large, legacies left by charlatans, con artists, and a
collection of tricksters, sowing mischief, deception, and to those who expose
them, besides perhaps incurring losses, leaving a sense of amusement at their
skilled and not so skilled efforts.
Some documented infamous female social climbers who were criminals:
*Mary Carleton; Born, circa 1635, an adept trickster, posing as a German
princess, charming and seducing men for their wealth. Her modus operandi
involved cultivated mannerisms at all levels including appearance gained
from careful observations and mimicry of the upper crust and powerful,
eventually believing her own creation of persona but eventually brought down,
not by her schemes, but by returning home where everyone knew her.
*Amy Bock; A New Zealander born in Tasmania in 1859, gaining notoriety, even
making the history books, as a highly successful con-artist, masquerader and
scammer. She fabricated a personal history to allay any concerns about her
authenticity. The court classified her as a “habitual criminal”.
*Anna Delvey (Anna Sokorin); Born in 1991, from a working-class suburb near
Moscow, daughter of a truck driver, moving in her late teens to Germany. She
spectacularly created an identity enabling significant social climbing with all
its trimmings, introducing herself first as a German born socialite. She told
The New York Times that she came to New York City for Fashion Week in 2013 and
decided to move there permanently because she had found more friends there than
in Paris. Briefly working for Purple magazine's New York office, establishing
her identity as Anna Delvey, she began claiming to be a German heiress with
€60,000,000 of overseas wealth. *Delvey’s secret to success as a good con
artist was possessing a highly developed sense and aura of confidence,
believing her own stories, no matter how outrageous they were. Much has
been written and studied about her. https://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/inventing-anna/
*Big Bertha Heyman; The ‘confidence queen’ during the late 19th century, a
Prussian migrant targeting wealthy men, posing as a rich European widow but
unable to access her fortune, equally attracting males, wanting to rescue her
hoping to get hold of her “missing money”. She admitted; "… The
moment I discover a man's a fool, I let him drop. But I delight in getting into
the confidence and pockets of men who think they can't be 'skinned'; It
ministers to my intellectual pride."
Ref: Buffalo Evening News, "Queen of Swindlers", November 7, 1881, p.
11.
*Barbara Erni; from the 18th century, travelled Liechtenstein donned in the
attire and image of a woman of wealth and privilege, traveling with a large,
ornate trunk, insisting it be stored in the most secure room in the building.
Late at night her accomplice would climb out of the trunk, steal everything of
value from the secure room, climb back into the trunk and off she’d go with her
loot.
*Elizabeth Bigley; a Canadian known as Cassie Chadwick, claiming to be the
illegitimate daughter of the billionaire industrialist, Andrew Carnegie,
eventually establishing herself as Carnegie’s heir.
*Thérèse Humbert; claimed to be heir to a great fortune of an imaginary
American millionaire Robert Crawford, with a narrative to fit the claim.
*Mary Baker; became famous for being a princess of a non-existing country,
profiteering on the naïve with her outlandish claims.
Pure social climbers
Not every social climber employs
the same modus operandi.
*Social climbers are mostly driven by status ambitions. Firstly, they ensure the creation and promotion of a false (desired) perception about themselves. In this crafting of identity, they;
*carefully
attend to their appearance, attire, intensely observe every detail of those of
the desired social status, adding to their repertoire for constructing their
image and false persona and, interestingly, mimicry of body language, speech
and other behaviours to complete their false persona; *see 10:35 of video
“Strange Walking Styles of a Narcissist”;
https://youtu.be/R2Bss9wU8uY?si=d6aoSuIkpxJWqQnD
*notice the body language (mainly about eyebrows) that show contempt and a sense of superiority in the video below titled “3 facial clues that expose a narcissist” the part about eyebrows at 6:00 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R6LPmxPqc8 ;
*utilise
friendships for making powerful connections;
*labour
24/7 on the treadmill, networking, identifying high status people, and making a
bee-line for them;
*’mine’
privileged information, sharing where strategic, to appear as being ‘in the
know’;
*’name
drop’, hint at privileged access to information entrusted to them, even when
optimal, turning on the speaker phone in the presence of others during a
private conversation or showing private communications with the coveted VIP
connection;
*hijack, or 'cancel' other’s information, accomplishments and connections to bolster their false social status;
*tend to move around exuding charm, concealing their guile,
gathering countless 'important' connections, referring to them as friends who consult and confide in them;
*tend to operate in a Machiavellian style, lacking genuine care and empathy, although feigning it when useful;
*ruthlessly dump or turn vindictive (often covertly) toward 'friends’ when their ego is bruised or are called out on something. They might hide their 'injury’ and engage in sabotage or a series of misdemeanors at every level if in a position to do so;
Once outed, to the “outer”, everything about the social climber becomes transparent, laughable and sad.
On a psychological level, for the social climber, it’s generally about bolstering self-esteem and a lack of security in their identity or lifestyle. They fall into a fantasy world, believing it as real and in one swoop can contradict, lie, deceive, and engage in habitual or compulsive lying.
How many of these social
climbers have narcissistic personality disorders (NPD)?
The matter of Lying.
It’s a complex subject.
Narcissists may frequently lie, often out of self-preservation of their constructed and internalised persona and grandiose self-image.
For those who might display what looks like narcissistic personality disorders, lying may be a reflexive behaviour, over time becoming normalised behaviour. They may lie to protect and maintain their constructed false-self their entire identity is tied to, feeling they are nothing without it. Paramount is keeping everything and everyone under control, avoiding taking responsibility so as to keep up appearances that gain them admiration and for their inflated self-image, something they feel entitled to lie for.
Instead of answering a serious question that may implicate them negatively, perhaps when 'caught red-handed', they may just stare blankly, almost looking through you as if nothing was said, perhaps with a frustrated, panic-ridden partner wondering how this infringement will pan out and, when it’s been handled, become cocky with the victim.
When the time comes where too many 'infringements' have accumulated and no longer can be explained away or forgiven by the victim, in no time the litany of bad-deeds may be mirrored back and the victim accused.
Forcing the person who answers with lie after lie to provide specifics, showing one is playing close attention to details, should make it harder to maintain a lie, right?
No! Not with someone with NPD, if NPD is the case.
Indeed, the opposite may occur;
the victim could find themselves at the end of outlandish public accusations
which reflect the ‘misdemeanors’ of the other, with their name, credibility and
good-standing targeted for dismantling; The perpetrator undertakes this with
an air of conviction and confidence in the manner carefully cultivated over
time.
Why would it be doubted?
Would the 'believers' stop to apply reason and logic in regards to the accusations and allow room for doubt?
No! not with a character like that as described.
Remember, congruence is key. When words and actions don't match, trust the actions. They're the true indicator of a narcissist's inner reality.
What does a narcissist do when they’re caught lying?
Attorney Rebecca Zung writes
about what happens when you catch a narcissist in a lie. They will either deny,
deflect, devalue, and/or dismiss you. “It wasn't me.” “I didn't do that.”
AI Overview; “Five key habits often associated with narcissism include a grandiose sense of self-importance, a preoccupation with fantasies of success and power, a need for excessive admiration, a sense of entitlement, and a tendency to exploit others. These behaviours are often rooted in a deep-seated lack of empathy and a fragile ego that requires constant validation.”
Here's a more detailed look at these habits:
1. Grandiose Sense of Self-Importance: Narcissists often believe they are special, unique, deserving of special treatment and admiration.
2. Fantasies of Success and Power: They frequently indulge in fantasies about unlimited success, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love, often feeling entitled to these things without necessarily working for them.
3. Need for Admiration: Narcissists have an excessive need for admiration and attention from others, constantly seeking validation and praise.
4. Sense of Entitlement: They believe they're entitled to special treatment and expect others to comply with their wishes without question.
5. Exploitative Behaviour: Narcissists tend to take advantage of others to achieve their own goals, often lacking empathy and failing to recognize the needs and feelings of those around them.
Key Points 
*Narcissists can have cognitive distortions that skew their reality and allow them to “rewrite history” in their own minds.
*Narcissists can twist reality in their minds, confusing everyone.
*Ways to identify potential lies from a narcissist include; an intense and immediate reflexive reaction of denial and ending the discussion. After repeatedly denying any culpability, even in the face of data that says otherwise, the narcissist quickly moves to projection. They deflect and refuse to take responsibility, then switch gears and try to place the blame on you. Learn the difference between narcissist's behaviour and how emotionally healthy people react when confronted. A person who is accountable tends to endeavour to repair any rupture they may have caused in the relationship.
Conclusion
If individuals displaying behaviour as described above do not have Narcissistic Personality Disorder or some kind of identified disorder, then one could question whether habitual behaviour developed due to early childhood or later in life intense, powerful trauma, perhaps an early teenage long-standing situation involving deception and manipulation by an adult, or a situation later in life where, for example, an intense fear of public shaming was avoided by proceeding to commit a grave injustice against a young victim by putting life savings up to defend an adult perpetrator criminal and have him walk away free. A combination of many of the above features would however, likely indicate a pathological condition.
