ABSTRACT
Sulking is a state of sullen resentment, irritability, and negativity manifested by and through extreme inactivity. This chapter considers that the judicious use of passivity along with an air of petulant resentment embodies the basic strategy of the sulker. Most severe conditions such as paranoia, somatic psychoses, and manic episodes may signify intense, unremitting, unrestrained sulking. “Having the sulks”, “throwing a sulk”, or “being sulky” is a basic intermediary between primary aggressive impulses such as envy and jealousy and their subtle expressions, especially passive aggression. The sulker is an expert at using passive aggression to gain an advantage in a social situation. Although sulking is a childish phenomenon, the most refined, skilled, subtle, and not so subtle sulkers are adults. Perhaps the strongest reaction that the sulker seeks to arouse in the sulked, whether a relative, friend, or unfamiliar person, is desperation.
