I spent last weekend with a psychology learning group looking at behaviour through the lens of "shame" - an enlightening perspective! It triggered a lot of new insights, one of which was about the place of shame in the Centaur character styles of Hero and Superhero.
Both types know about shame, and about it's antidote at the opposite end of the spectrum, which is pride. The difference is that for the Hero, shame and pride take centre stage at particular moments, whereas for the Superhero they are existential - a part of their way of being. The Hero character style can sometimes act very aggressively to avoid the shame of failure and sometimes display "true" pride in the achievement of success. The Superhero is similarly aggressive in protecting themself from the deeper (primary) shame of not actually being a superhuman, and needs to maintain a virtually permanent display of "false" pride.
Two things I took from this analysis. One is an explanation for why people so often incorrectly point at a male Hero's behaviour and say "he must be a Superhero" - the Hero's aggression or their pride can look very similar from the outside. The other is real empathy with the Superhero - our common experience of shame and pride means I understand what it can feel like on the inside.
