Napoleon Complex

Does Short Man Syndrome really exist?

J. C. Lai

What does Napoleon, Mussolini, Stalin, and Hitler have in common except being modern history’s most wicked dictators? They all possessed short stature and were considered ‘little’ during their respective milieus.

According to the Napoleon Complex, these two properties are directly related to each other, and many believers of the theory have attributed their psychological and social actions to their physique. 

The Napoleon Complex, known to many as ‘Short Man Syndrome’ is a popular belief that a short stature is a societal disadvantage, and these people, particularly men, compensate for this so-called ‘disadvantage’ by propelling themselves into quests for power, ambition, and self-confidence. Those who suffer from the Napoleon Complex are thought to possess overly aggressive and domineering social behaviour to cover-up their insecurities or distaste for society.

The syndrome is named after French Emperor Napoleon, who supposedly compensated for his 5 feet 2 inches stature by seeking war against an array of European coalitions as a form of overcompensation for his height. Nicknamed Le Petit Caporal (the little corporal), he was depicted all over art and print as a short-tempered small man in enemy states.

In reality, the view of Napoleon as a short-tempered small man was created by British propaganda as an attempt to diminish their present enemy. Historians believe that Napoleon actually measured up to 5 feet 10 inches, well above the average height of a male adult.

The belief was created from Alfred Adler’s 1956 ‘Inferiority Complex Theory’, which claims that those who feel a certain inferiority or insecurity on certain traits overcompensate on others. Human evolution based on sexual selection provides a framework and supposed scientific backing for the belief. Evolutionary psychology suggests that an individual’s height and physiology provide an advantage in intrasexual competition- competing with rivals (other men) for mates- due to heightened male physical characteristics, such as strength and size. Therefore, to re-enter the intersexual competition, shorter men suffering from a Napoleon Complex would venture into ultra-masculine qualities that society prescribe onto taller men, such as power and social standing.

So is the Napoleon Complex actually real, or is it just a ruse used to discriminate against those with shorter statues similar to the namesake of the theory? Well, there is actually quite a bit of research that supports it…

A look at the research done on the topic will show that there is certainly an argument that the theory exists. A paper by the Association for Psychological Science found that height differences do matter in intrasexual competitions between men. Through a series of competitive interactions between men, those with a shorter stature were found to have been substantially more greedy, ambitious, and physically aggressive compared to a taller opponent, aligning with predictions from the sexual selection theory and the Napoleon Complex. However, the research also found that those who felt insecure about their physique or physical appearance equality presented these traits.

Another study conducted by the University of Wroclaw in Poland further supports the argument. It found that shorter people compensated for their dissatisfaction with their height by presenting heightened Dark Triad traits (psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellians).

So what should we take away from this? Are all short people evil?

Certainly not.

The point I’m trying to make is that people with shorter physiques do not overcompensate for their shortcomings because they are short, but this occurs because society makes height such a big deal for them. There is such a high expectation for a male to be tall, to be above 6 feet, that those who aren’t are forced to mask their insecurity from society’s persecution, because at the end of the day, their height is not up to them.

Maybe height did play a contributing factor a few millenniums ago, when we were living in caves and men had a societal expectation to protect their mates using their enormous physique from potential prey or enemies. But times have changed, unless you plan on playing in the NBA one day or need to reach the top shelf of the supermarket on a daily basis, height really has no role in today’s society, and really shouldn’t be associated as a societal disadvantage.

In order to put an end to the very real Napoleon Complex, it is time for society’s ideologies of masculinity to change. Is height really that important?