Patty Hearst: Stockholm Syndrome
Casey McKenzie
Mrs. Pona
Sophomore Seminar
30 April 2014
Patty Hearst: Mastermind or Victim?
“I mean, they call it Stockholm syndrome and posttraumatic stress disorder. And, you know, I had no free will. I had virtually no free will until I was separated from them for about two weeks” (Patty Hearst). In 1974, Patty Hearst developed Stockholm syndrome after being kidnapped by an American communist group. She was dependent on her kidnappers and felt secure with them. Because of this, she followed the beliefs of the group and performed terrible tasks with her kidnappers. By definition, “Stockholm syndrome is a condition that occurs in certain hostage situations, whereby a captive bonds with his or her captor(s) and becomes sympathetic to the cause behind the kidnapping” (“Stockholm Syndrome”). A model of Stockholm syndrome, Patty Hearst became reliant on her kidnappers, resulting in her being the victim rather than the criminal in the bank robbery.
The syndrome is named after a situation that occurred in Stockholm, Sweden in 1973. Two men held four bank employees in a bank vault for six days. One of the employees not only bonded with her captors but became the lover of one of them and continued to consider herself his girlfriend even after he was sent to prison. According to Patricia D. Netzley of the Greenhaven Press, “since this time, there have been several documented cases of terrorists ' hostages coming to sympathize with their captors, and some psychologists have noted that the same type of syndrome occurs among victims whose lives are threatened in similar closed environments, such as prison camps, cult compounds, and homes with battering spouses” (Netzley). Psychologists have also theorized that fear of death often leads to the development of Stockholm syndrome, perhaps because the victims find themselves grateful to their captors for deciding not to kill them after all (Netzley.) Against all evidence, many actually believe that the idea of Stockholm
Mrs. Pona
Sophomore Seminar
30 April 2014
Patty Hearst: Mastermind or Victim?
“I mean, they call it Stockholm syndrome and posttraumatic stress disorder. And, you know, I had no free will. I had virtually no free will until I was separated from them for about two weeks” (Patty Hearst). In 1974, Patty Hearst developed Stockholm syndrome after being kidnapped by an American communist group. She was dependent on her kidnappers and felt secure with them. Because of this, she followed the beliefs of the group and performed terrible tasks with her kidnappers. By definition, “Stockholm syndrome is a condition that occurs in certain hostage situations, whereby a captive bonds with his or her captor(s) and becomes sympathetic to the cause behind the kidnapping” (“Stockholm Syndrome”). A model of Stockholm syndrome, Patty Hearst became reliant on her kidnappers, resulting in her being the victim rather than the criminal in the bank robbery.
The syndrome is named after a situation that occurred in Stockholm, Sweden in 1973. Two men held four bank employees in a bank vault for six days. One of the employees not only bonded with her captors but became the lover of one of them and continued to consider herself his girlfriend even after he was sent to prison. According to Patricia D. Netzley of the Greenhaven Press, “since this time, there have been several documented cases of terrorists ' hostages coming to sympathize with their captors, and some psychologists have noted that the same type of syndrome occurs among victims whose lives are threatened in similar closed environments, such as prison camps, cult compounds, and homes with battering spouses” (Netzley). Psychologists have also theorized that fear of death often leads to the development of Stockholm syndrome, perhaps because the victims find themselves grateful to their captors for deciding not to kill them after all (Netzley.) Against all evidence, many actually believe that the idea of Stockholm
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