Syeda Rubab Fatima Zaidi

At our first book club meeting of Fall 2026 held on October 1, 2026 we discussed the timeless psychological thriller: THE TALENTED MR.RIPLEY by Patricia Highsmith. The book club was founded and hosted by Professor Dr. Berk Efe Altinal and psychology major Mrs. Bilgen Karabiber earlier this year to help fellow psychology students to get out of their comfort zones, grow intellectually and put what we learn everyday to use.
 
Here are the key psychological themes that dominated our conversation:

1. Identity Diffusion and "Taking on" another Self

One of the most fascinating aspects of Tom Ripley is his fragile, underdeveloped sense of self. For Tom, adopting Dickie’s clothes, signature, habits, and speech pattern isn't just a clever con; it's a profound psychological defense mechanism. When Tom steps into Dickie’s shoes, he escapes his own shame-ridden identity. As our members noted, Ripley illustrates the extreme endpoint of vicarious living: If I cannot be worthy as myself, I must become someone who is.

2. Pathological Envy vs. Jealousy

In clinical terms, jealousy is the fear of losing something you have, while envy is the painful awareness that someone else possesses desirable traits, status, or resources that you lack.
Highsmith brilliantly portrays Ripley’s envy not as a fleeting emotion, but as a corrosive force. Psychoanalyst Melanie Klein argued that severe envy seeks to destroy the desirable object because its existence serves as a constant reminder of one's own perceived inadequacy. Ripley’s transition from admiration to destruction mirrors this theoretical progression: when he realizes he cannot fully possess Dickie’s affection or world, destruction becomes the only path to fusion.
An hour-long meeting of intense discussions about abnormal behaviors, bouncing theories off of each other to explain Tom’s distorted sense of self was just the thing we needed to dive back into student mode. If you are a psychology student at IGU looking for an intellectual but fun book club, we welcome you to our next meeting!
Next Month's Book: Man Searching For Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Date & Time: November 12, 2026
Until next time,
Syeda Rubab Fatima Zaidi