I think that if we were to diagnose Mr. Lupin with something, it wouldn't be something that indicates a lack of empathy. Lupin has shown on multiple occasions to feel true remorse for his mistakes/arrogance when it hurts others, see 813 for details. But may I put forth the idea of some mild variation of dissociative disorder? He has a very loose sense of 'self', probable depersonalization as he acts like hes a character in a story and thus is not 'real', and on occasions has suicidal impulses.
Oh yes, he is very remorseful when it concerns people who don’t deserve to get wound up in his ugly business. He couldn’t care a hang for stupid and cruel people–but for innocents who are just living their lives, it means a lot to let them know comfort and happiness.
As to the possibility of a dissociative disorder: where it concerns my array of Lupins (for I have quite a few) this shows through much more with one Lupin over the other, based on the circumstances he is exposed to, et cetera. I think, particularly for the way I portray him here, à la Shadow self-aware of his existence, it becomes even more probable: for, as one who belongs to the collective unconscious, you do not belong to yourself–furthermore, you become incapable of evolving beyond the limitations the collective unconscious imposes on you–doubly furthermore, as one who is known to have a thousand faces, the sense of no identity becomes further compounded. I find it easily likely a self-aware Arsene would have the spells of detachment you might expect in a mild dissociation, the loss of the impact of life and reality, the indifference to the prospect of death. An especially self-aware Arsene might struggle with the idea that he was only ever a fictional character–but this is why Shadows do not arise in self-awareness beyond what is necessary. The moment they gain that knowledge, they gain a Shadow of their own…so on.
Where it concerns classic Lupin in Leblanc’s writings, I find it a harder argument to pose: Lupin’s suicidal spells are mostly due to active defeats brought about by his tangles with fate, sound defeats where he gave his utmost efforts and came out only ruined. In the case of 813, these entailed the loss of his loved one, plural, even, if you consider the various kinds of losses–on top of that, the needless deaths of innocents. Other instances I would not call tendencies, so much as contemplations. Having just finished Super-Sleuth, I have seen a scene where he vows to die alongside the person he loves if he cannot win the game. It strikes me curious he does it in this book and not in the others, but that may be due to the differing circumstances–in most cases, he intends to live happily with his partner, and has her robbed away by a wicked turn of fate without any chance to vow death at her side.
There is, however, the fact that he brazenly laughs in the face of death, and often even entices it. This is easily chalked up more to an incredible self-confidence that he will not be harmed, perhaps the idea that he is protected by a divine force, or a force merely projected by his own competence. But one can reasonably argue this might also be an honest carelessness for his own life, because life simply is not worth living without something to go on, and if he does not have love, he must fill the void with the thrill of danger. After the death of his first wife and the kidnapping of his son, he fully embraced his burglar life and launched into the career of Arsène Lupin, straying far from the noble path of Raoul d’Andresy.
On the topic of identity, while he easily assumes the role of this character and that, I feel that that’s all they are to him: characters, which he can play very convincingly, as an actor plays his part. He does admit to having no sense of form, as he is always changing his face, and for a while dissolves into the name and lifestyle of another–but Arsene Lupin remains his core, slumbering or awake, and when he is awake, he is in full force. He holds on to the proof of his successes, and that is enough for him to say, “I am Arsène Lupin!”
Mild dissociation, I do not think is farfetched. But it is certainly more circumstantial than clinical. That is my opinion, anyway.
