ABSTRACT
Jane Austen reveals an early interest in psychopathy in her juvenilia. This chapter also highlights the argument that sympathy can offer a cure for social evils. Hume and Smith both assert that sympathy is the a priori principle of human nature and the foundation of morality. Northanger Abbey reflects the problems of psychopathic economic men and sympathetic women, and Jane Austen is particularly alert to the danger of using sympathy to fight selfishness. Sympathizers not only fail to change the order of things but also reinforce the asymmetrical power relationships. Literature can improve the theory of mind, but it is not a weapon for dealing with psychopaths.
