The scapegoat is an archetype like many others that are created as a result of a toxic household but it also has a strong historic origin, but first what is a scapegoat?
The name of the Scapegoat syndrome has its origins in the hebrew bible, where Aaron casts all sins of the jewish people on a goat who is then exiled and is forced to suffer for others sins, and as such, a scapegoat is someone who is blamed for something that they have had no part in or are not the rut cause of, for example Pandora in greek mythology who is blamed for unleashing all the evils in the world, although it was Zeus who built the box, or Marie Antoinette, the famous french queen who is blamed for the France's economic issues. The serve the purpose of absolving the guilty of their sins in the eyes of others, there were times in history where people absorbed other sins through ritualistic purposes such as the sin-eaters of the English Isles who through a ritualistic meal absorbed the sins of the dead multiplying their sins and risking eternal damnation, these people were usually shunned by society for their unholy practices.
It is a similar story when we discuss the archetype of the scapegoat when it comes to a toxic family as they are blamed for everything that is wrong even if it is other people's actions, this is done to maintain the image of the true guilty party and it helps their sense of self not be distorted by their mistakes, usually the guilty party represents a narcissistic parent who sees their child as a way to be absolved of guilt.
This translates in a few traits that appear in children that have the role of the scapegoat such as empathy, a strong sense of justice, sensibilty, strong will, protective and caring, but they also grow up to question authority and to internalize blame even for things that they are not to blame for. This also trickles down to the way that children who have fallen in the role of the scapegoat aproach their relationships as they develop trust issues which stay in their way of creating strong bonds with others, they also are usually attracted to people that show narcissistic traits the same way their parents did, as it the familiar usually brings comfort and we enjoy and are more attracted to the things that we are used to.
And as such it becomes clear once more that how parents act influences us more clearly than we have thought.
Sources:
Comments