Revealing the Real Character of Mr. Abney in “Lost Hearts”
Keywords:
psychopath, character, characteristics, Lost Hearts, M. R. James
Abstract
“Lost Hearts” was one of his best-known works by M. R. James. It was initially published in 1895 and featured in a short stories collection book entitled Ghost Stories of an Antiquary in 1904. This study aims to discover the natural character of Mr. Abney, who played as a side character in the short story. Besides that, this study also seeks to discover the characteristics of him. This study found that the real character of Mr. Abney, the side character in the story, is a psychopath. The bad characteristics of Mr. Abney are compatible with the psychopathic traits. Furthermore, his two good characteristics, which are generosity and kindness, are just manipulative tricks or traps to lure the children into his acts.
