Posted by Jan den Breejen on December 26, 2000 at 12:05:47:
Comics characters - Ollie B. Bommels' Joost
Dutch cartoon classic created by Marten Toonder about a compensatory-narcissistic bear and his dog-ish servant Joost. Joost is very loyal, sometimes he threatens to go away but he allways returns to the castle where his master Ollie lives. (Just like Robin verbally and sometimes physically fights with his authority: Batman.) There is a schism between the apparently servile and docile behavior of obedient servant Joost ('Only with your permission Sir, I could….', 'By your leave, Sir….', 'May I take the liberty to…', 'May I be so bold as to….', 'If you would be so good to excuse me….') and the underlying more tricky focus on his self-interest. He sometimes uses union rules to get a leave when Ollie does want him to work longer (as any exploitative Self Confident Style 'master' would want of course.) Joost seems content with simple service tasks like cooking simple meals, cleaning the house - tasks which conventionally are seen as feminine pursuits (compare: Devoted Style King Richard II's behavior was described as 'feminine' by Shakespeare, keeping himself busy with handkerchiefs etcetera.) Joost knows his place in the household, is conventionally correctly dressed, but says that under this dress goes a 'sensitive heart'. He seems a bit childish in the way he gets himself into trouble when he tries to do 'complicated' things alone; then he looses his calm facade and panicks or become angry and temporary terminates his employment. Very typical for the Dependent disorder is the comical paradox: they feel helpless and dependent and sometimes over-compensate with a show of 'assertiveness' or frustration of the wishes of the authority they depend on.
Classification: Devoted Style (dependent disorder; enneatype 6)
Jan