Booth's Mental health

[L Verge]

I agree with every one of the points made above - especially the narcissistic personality disorder. And I wonder if some of that was not a learned behavior rather than a genetic one. Every source tells you that he was his mother's favorite child; he was idolized by his sisters (especially Asia). Despite learning difficulties in school, he became somewhat of a leader. Women fell over each other to attract his attention, and men considered him a good friend in most cases. With so much attention being thrown at him, I would think that he was at the very ripe age when the Civil War began to think that he could literally walk on water.

Couple that with the flamboyant and overly artistic talents of his father and the constant devotion to the republican ideals of his father and grandfather, and you have created a very unique individual, imo. As far as his thoughts on slavery, I think he focused more on the issue of whether or not a government had the right to take slavery away from the owners. His political thoughts and actions outweighed his support of slavery. That's why he was somewhat in awe of John Brown. They both had a fanatical view on their "causes." He could admire someone who was as fanatical as he - even if in the opposite direction.

Put those character traits inside a person who may already have inherited a tendency towards mental illness, and you get a ticking time bomb.