Charles Kane Identity

Charles Kane is the prime example of how wealth doesn’t equate to happiness. Material wealth and happiness are not exclusive, but one isn't necessarily the causation of another. Throughout the movie, bits of the vast Xanadu is shown and the majority of the scenes show it as an extremely empty, yet elegant estate. It almost is a metaphor to Kane as he feels empty. The parental bonds he was supposed to cherish early in his life were forcibly severed and since then, he’s been struggling to figure out what he desires. So much research points to a frail or nonexistent parental bond as the cause of any psychological issues later on in adulthood. As alluded to by many others who have come in contact with him, Kane’s life away from work is delicate. Kane has apparently dropped out of
Another explanation for why Kane isn’t comfortable with himself in many aspects is that he hasn’t quite done anything without the aid of anyone else. Even the Inquirer is built upon the capital that he hasn’t earned. That idea seems to create an internal dissonance. Once the Inquirer becomes much larger financially and Kane has the ability to hire more people, Kane feels that he can continue hiding his lack of empathy through his identity. His goal of representing the people is furthered when he marries Emily Norton. With influence and power, Kane’s identity as the voice of the people is almost fully achieved. In the process, he also seems to expect everyone to follow his will. In a sense, he has an affair with Susan thinking he wouldn’t be penalized. He doesn’t stop to even consider how Norton would react to this. Unfortunately, the lack of empathy starts to become even more evident when Kane fires his best friend for finishing a critical review of his wife as a singer. Kane grows more and more confused about what to