Sociopathic Characteristics of Henry Winter in Donna Tartt’s The Secret History: A Psychological Reading

Denisa Budi Sulistianingtyas, Muh Arif Rokhman, M.Hum. Ph.D.

2025 | Skripsi | SASTRA INGGRIS

Dalam novel The Secret History, tokoh Henry Winter sering kali diinterpretasikan oleh pembaca sebagai seorang sosiopat. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk membuktikan hipotesis tersebut dengan menyajikan hasil analisis terhadap karakteristik sosiopat yang dimiliki Henry serta bagaimana ia memanipulasi tokoh-tokoh lain sepanjang novel. Peneliti kemudian menerapkan karakteristik sosiopati dari Cleckley untuk menganalisis Henry Winter. Mengingat novel ini menggunakan sudut pandang orang pertama, analisis juga menggambungkan teori fokalisasi dari Genette (1972) dan teori penokohan dari Minderop (2005). Temuan penelitian menunjukkan bahwa Henry Winter menunjukkan tujuh karakteristik sosiopat yang saling terkait; superficial charm and 'good' intelligence, absence of delusions or irrationality, absence of nervousness, untruthfulness, lack of remorse, unreliability, dan suicide rarely carried out. Hasil penelitian juga menunjukkan bahwa manipulasi Henry Winter bersifat berlapis. Dengan demikian, penelitian ini memberikan kontribusi signifikan terhadap kritik sastra psikoanalitik dan memperluas wacana akademik tentang The Secret History.

In The Secret History, the character of Henry Winter is often interpreted by readers as a sociopath. This research aims to prove the hypothesis by presenting the result of analyzing Henry's sociopathic characteristics and how he manipulates other characters throughout the novel. The researcher proceeds to apply Cleckley's characteristics of sociopathy to analyze Henry Winter. To account for the novel's first-person narration. the anlaysis also incorperates Genette's focalization theory (1972) and Minderop's theory of characterization (2005). The findings reveal that Henry Winter exhibits seven interrelated sociopathic characteristics: superficial charm and 'good' intelligence, absence of delusions or irrationality, absence of nervousness, untruthfulness, lack of remorse, unreliability, and suicide rarely carried out. The finding also shows that Henry's manipulations are layered through the characteristics. This research then has a significant contribution to psychoanalytic literary criticism and broadens academic discourse on The Secret History.

Kata Kunci : sociopathic characteristics, Hervey Cleckley’s characteristics of sociopathy, Henry Winter, The Secret History