Napoleon Bonaparte was known for many things, great political leader, emperor of the French, one of the greatest commanders in history, and the conqueror of Europe. He led multiple campaigns and wars that were beyond successful. The number of wars he led was so high, they clubbed them all together and called it the Napoleonic Wars. Maybe keeping track of so many wars was simply not possible anymore.
The biggest thing he was known for, you will see the irony here, was his height. Standing at the height of 5 feet 5 inches this man, made his debut as one of the shortest conquerors. Rumors say that his lack of height was made up for by his personality: irritable, shrewd, self-assertive (which is justifiable as he was a leader), and overly aggressive. His height and personality were so significant that they named a whole genre of men with the same personality as having the ‘Napoleon Complex. A form of inferiority complex that was modified to fit men of short stature.
The Napoleon Complex talks about how short individuals compensate for their height by being hostile and overly antagonistic, especially in their social relationships. The truth about how accurate this complex is is questionable. Psychology views the concept as a derogatory social stereotype. The generalization of this concept is large-scale and nothing more than a mere conceptualization of short men. There have been a number of studies conducted on the Napoleon Complex to verify the truth about the concept, whose results show both sides of the coin. In 2007, a study conducted by the University of Central Lancashire proved that the Napoleon Complex is nothing more than a sham concept. Research conducted in 2018 by Jill E. P. Knapen, Nancy M. Blaker, and Mark Van Vugt, talked about how shorter males tend to show more aggression in competitions against taller males. Yet another study conducted by researchers at Holland’s Vrije University in the Netherlands, revealed that shorter men do in fact experience the Napoleon complex.
Nonetheless, the Great Napoleon Bonaparte didn’t decide to be 5 feet 5 inches. No one decides their height, it’s just handed to them. This is why it’s completely fine to be of whatever height, 4 feet, 6 feet, it doesn’t really matter. Prima facie, the inferiority complex appears to root in the generalized concept of Alpha Male characteristics. This talks about how men who are taller are by default the alpha males, and shorter men try to maintain their dominance through aggression.