Afternoon Pages 21.11.08

Patricia Highsmith "The Talanted Mr Ripley"
"What would you say about Tom Ripley,judding by his behaviour,in view of the fact that he has killed two people several days ago? Would you consider him mentally ill person or an absolutely sane, cruel and calculating?"

It's a difficult question for me. On the one hand, I can't say that he's mentally ill - he is likely to be a cruel, sane and cold-hearted person,he wanted to cash on in the range of suspicious affairs. But if we look at from the other side, his behavior is strange and it may push us on the thought that he did have some deviations in his psyche 'cause it's not inhere to a normal, healthy person to kill people one by one and at the same time remain calm, continue living as if nothing happened. The other person on his place would feel remorse and try to find a place to hide, to be in the shadow. But it's not his case: he commits crimes and it seems to me that it gives him a pleasure.