Hi all. I know many of you may be aware of my theory that Agent Cooper as we know and love him is just one of many personalities of a schizophrenic murderer/rapist named Richard Tremond/Chalfont. I am not trying to shove this down your throats, but I urge you to read this book! It is a quick, easy read that can be accomplished within a few hours. It is free as a .pdf or iBook download if you do a simple internet search (don't pay exorbitant prices for the used paperback). Once you read this, I assure you that you will see "Cooper" differently. Here are some key things I want to point out that are made clear in this book.
- Dale was an odd child that was prone to very strange (sociopathic, if I may) behavior.
- He had dreams as a child of an "evil entity" trying to get into his bedroom (his mother shared these same dreams).
- He was a Peeping Tom; also spied on a girls' sex-ed class in school.
- While he seemed obsessive with his journaling much of the time - days, weeks, months, and even years would pass between certain entries - he would go "MIA" for long periods of time with no explanation whatsoever and certain tapes were erased. What was he doing???
- Dale was unmoved by the death of his grandmother (who died in his house). When his mother asked him to place his hand on her forehead so he wouldn't fear death, his reaction was just that she "felt like an old leather handbag."
- He once killed a bird just because he felt like it. He was unmoved by the experience.
- Many strange deaths occurred around him throughout his life. These include people who have wronged him or rejected him in some way.
- Many fires would randomly "break out" around him, which sometimes resulted in deaths.
- He had an unhealthy preoccupation with sex (in my opinion).
- He was prone to very troubled relationships with women. Women he was involved with ALL, EVERY SINGLE ONE, either died or became institutionalized.
- He was prone to very melancholy, depressive, anti-"Coop" thoughts and behavior. He often stated that he wanted to disappear to a place where no one knew him.
- When he was on a vacation in the Caribbean, an old man told him he saw death in his face. (This man was found hanged the next day).
Again, I am not trying to hang EVERYTHING I believe on this book. I know we had two seasons of the original Twin Peaks, FWWM, and The Return. But I just can't for the life of me believe that we are expected to just completely discount this book. It was supported by the creators. What were they trying to tell us about our precious Dale Cooper?
I just read the book and thought it was like a great young adult novel, and very funny at times. I thought he was quirky and adorable. Sociopathic tendencies? He has far too much empathy for that. Your judgements about his sexual interests --he's an innocent who is dealing with his hormones and as soon as he's called out on the peeping Tom thing he stops. The interest with sex is normal for a male adolescent and he's clearly attractive to older girls who hit on him. The bird killing is a bit strange bit we know he hated birds because one attacked him and serial killers don't just kill animals, they torture them. There's nothing in the book that suggests Cooper is evil.
I agree with Cyndeewillow. I don't see anything sociopathic about his behavior.
Well, technically a lot of those could be compelling risk factors in an anti-social personality disorder/sociopathy diagnoses. However, they need to be assessed in context and by their pervasive patterns.
So, sure, it's possible. But the information provided here by the OP is not adequate for an ASPD diagnosis. There are other possible things it could be including a spectrum disorder with some freaky para-psychology stuff going on ( 😉 ) or even a severe mood disorder with some freaky telekinesis stuff going on. 😛 It is a work of fiction afterall.
Either way, not diagnosable as it stands.
I have not read the book. I am only going off the post.
I'd like to hear your opinion after you read the book, because I barely recognized the character in that list. There is "fact" in it, but no context. I realize I'm beating a dead horse here. It's only a work of fiction. Not sure why I'm feeling so passionate about it, but perhaps it's something that can happen in real life when a psychologist misdiagnoses a gifted child as mentally ill (something that can happen in real life). For example, Coop exaggerates his own culpability in situations, like the fires breaking out--there weren't really a lot of fires randomly breaking out around him as I recall.
Mood disorder? Maybe. This is TWIN PEAKS, after all. The entire cosmos could be diagnosed as one huge manic/psychotic episode. Maybe that's what the OP is thinking--that the whole cosmos of TP is a manic episode of Cooper? I suppose anything is possible!
cyndee, while we clearly have different takes on all of this, I find your assessments refreshing. Yes, we live in a culture of "over diagnosing" mental disorders in general; youth, in particular. It is very possible that this book is just meant to "humanize" Cooper and to demonstrate that while his persona in the series was rather saintly, he lived through some very challenging experiences in his younger days that shaped the adult that he became. I am not sold on that idea (obviously) but am keeping an open mind. Could the entire story be one big bipolar haze? Sure it could! Anything is possible, as it relates to what we are dealing with in Twin Peaks. Thanks for your thoughts.
I don't know much about Mark Frost's childhood, but assuming that he and Scott might have consulted with Lynch on this project. David discusses his at length in THE ART LIFE, and he had several dark patches and forays into rebellion, dissociation of selves (not multiple personality but a strong need to keep "separate worlds" in his home and social life), and confusion and depression, some of which might be mirrored in the book. Perhaps he wanted to channel some of that into Cooper to make him more relatable as well as give some insight into how he might have been drawn to such an unusual life path.
Interesting things to consider. Yet another Twin Peaks mystery!!
Personally, I think you've made your mind up already that this is the theory you're running with, and are now bending the evidence to suit your theory.
I mean, nothing you've presented here would suggest a psychotic paranoid. Nothing at all.
He just sounds like a hyper intelligent child who viewed the world in a unique way, and explored childhood as most people do.
And we know he hates birds...perhaps because it reminds him of the one he killed..something he regrets? So being around them forces him to confront a part of him he'd rather not, leading to his disdain for them
There is also, in the series itself, not a solitary scene that suggests this. Not one. Not a singular second of screen time.
I'm all for people devising theories, that's the beauty of Peaks, but your theories have to at least somewhat match up with the evidence presented, which this one doesn't.
There's a new interview with Kyle and he says he thinks that Mr C. is a separate being, Coop is the opposite of him (so universally good) and that the two are not related. He admits that being a Lynch project, he could be wrong and it could be different. I guess they're all just avenues we can let our minds wander down if we choose to.
Lynch has talked about Cooper as a force for good, so while it's fun to build an alternative narrative, I don't think it's what Lynch and Frost intended.
Note that I'm not saying that Cooper isn't a flawed individual like every other human being, because we clearly see that he is.
I think it's as good a theory as any. Lots of people are finding them or creating them or ironing them out and many are completely sold on them. Isn't that one of the greatest things about art? As I've said many times now, you get out of it what you want/need/choose.
If we take the book and what KM says about Mr. C and put them together, then maybe young Cooper (or whomever he was/is) were one and the same at some point in childhood and split, either technically or psychologically, to become two separate dichotomous entities, good and bad, black and white, democrat and republican. 😉
That theory would mean that as a child, little Dale would have the propensity for great good and great evil........as we all did/do.
I'm just playing with the theory. I do not subscribe to any church within the religion of TP. I am a Peaksist of the most ambiguous form. 😀
I think it's as good a theory as any. Lots of people are finding them or creating them or ironing them out and many are completely sold on them. Isn't that one of the greatest things about art? As I've said many times now, you get out of it what you want/need/choose.
If we take the book and what KM says about Mr. C and put them together, then maybe young Cooper (or whomever he was/is) were one and the same at some point in childhood and split, either technically or psychologically, to become two separate dichotomous entities, good and bad, black and white, democrat and republican. 😉
That theory would mean that as a child, little Dale would have the propensity for great good and great evil........as we all did/do.
I'm just playing with the theory. I do not subscribe to any church within the religion of TP. I am a Peaksist of the most ambiguous form. 😀
Personally, I think you've made your mind up already that this is the theory you're running with, and are now bending the evidence to suit your theory.
I mean, nothing you've presented here would suggest a psychotic paranoid. Nothing at all.
He just sounds like a hyper intelligent child who viewed the world in a unique way, and explored childhood as most people do.
And we know he hates birds...perhaps because it reminds him of the one he killed..something he regrets? So being around them forces him to confront a part of him he'd rather not, leading to his disdain for them
There is also, in the series itself, not a solitary scene that suggests this. Not one. Not a singular second of screen time.
I'm all for people devising theories, that's the beauty of Peaks, but your theories have to at least somewhat match up with the evidence presented, which this one doesn't.
Hey, Joshua. While I have put my theory out there - that is all it is. It is no better or worse than anyone else's - it is simply what I believe at this time, having watched the series/FWWM (multiple times) and having read the books.
I certainly never intended to twist or contort any of the information from the book to fit my theory. I simply provided factual details and (I believe) was careful to reference my opinions on the items as such.
Personally, I think you've made your mind up already that this is the theory you're running with, and are now bending the evidence to suit your theory.
I mean, nothing you've presented here would suggest a psychotic paranoid. Nothing at all.
He just sounds like a hyper intelligent child who viewed the world in a unique way, and explored childhood as most people do.
And we know he hates birds...perhaps because it reminds him of the one he killed..something he regrets? So being around them forces him to confront a part of him he'd rather not, leading to his disdain for them
There is also, in the series itself, not a solitary scene that suggests this. Not one. Not a singular second of screen time.
I'm all for people devising theories, that's the beauty of Peaks, but your theories have to at least somewhat match up with the evidence presented, which this one doesn't.Hey, Joshua. While I have put my theory out there - that is all it is. It is no better or worse than anyone else's - it is simply what I believe at this time, having watched the series/FWWM (multiple times) and having read the books.
I certainly never intended to twist or contort any of the information from the book to fit my theory. I simply provided factual details and (I believe) was careful to reference my opinions on the items as such.
Like I said, it's as good of a theory as any, better than many. 🙂 You do not have to defend yourself.
I think it's as good a theory as any. Lots of people are finding them or creating them or ironing them out and many are completely sold on them. Isn't that one of the greatest things about art? As I've said many times now, you get out of it what you want/need/choose.
If we take the book and what KM says about Mr. C and put them together, then maybe young Cooper (or whomever he was/is) were one and the same at some point in childhood and split, either technically or psychologically, to become two separate dichotomous entities, good and bad, black and white, democrat and republican. 😉
That theory would mean that as a child, little Dale would have the propensity for great good and great evil........as we all did/do.
I'm just playing with the theory. I do not subscribe to any church within the religion of TP. I am a Peaksist of the most ambiguous form. 😀
It's more than possible that Mr. C. and Dale were part of the original kid...they have the same DNA after all. Just a lil mixup on the spiritual finger.
Can I ask a dumb (newbie) questions?
Are we supposed to have read this book and the secret history?
Is it just as important as watching all episodes?
The general public don't know about them. I only found out about them from this forum.
Can I ask a dumb (newbie) questions?
Are we supposed to have read this book and the secret history?
Is it just as important as watching all episodes?
The general public don't know about them. I only found out about them from this forum.
Hi Julie,
I think most viewers have not. Probably more viewers of a certain age watched season 1 and 2, and it would be really hard to understand if you didn't. But the books, not so much. There are several books: this autobiography of Cooper, the Secret History of Twin Peaks, and the Secret Diary of Laura Palmer (which I haven't read yet). I read the others because of theories in the forum.
If there are more than these three, I'm unfamiliar with them.
Can I ask a dumb (newbie) questions?
Are we supposed to have read this book and the secret history?
Is it just as important as watching all episodes?
The general public don't know about them. I only found out about them from this forum.
Hi Julie,
I think most viewers have not. Probably more viewers of a certain age watched season 1 and 2, and it would be really hard to understand if you didn't. But the books, not so much. There are several books: this autobiography of Cooper, the Secret History of Twin Peaks, and the Secret Diary of Laura Palmer (which I haven't read yet). I read the others because of theories in the forum.
If there are more than these three, I'm unfamiliar with them.
Thank you 🙂
I am of a certain age, lol.
I watched the original series when it aired.
I bought and read Lauras diary when it came out . Still have it. Maybe I should reread.
Didn't even know about FWWM!
Rewatched the original series then FWWM before watching season 3.
Hi all. I know many of you may be aware of my theory that Agent Cooper as we know and love him is just one of many personalities of a schizophrenic murderer/rapist named Richard Tremond/Chalfont. I am not trying to shove this down your throats, but I urge you to read this book! It is a quick, easy read that can be accomplished within a few hours. It is free as a .pdf or iBook download if you do a simple internet search (don't pay exorbitant prices for the used paperback). Once you read this, I assure you that you will see "Cooper" differently. Here are some key things I want to point out that are made clear in this book.
- Dale was an odd child that was prone to very strange (sociopathic, if I may) behavior.
- He had dreams as a child of an "evil entity" trying to get into his bedroom (his mother shared these same dreams).
- He was a Peeping Tom; also spied on a girls' sex-ed class in school.
- While he seemed obsessive with his journaling much of the time - days, weeks, months, and even years would pass between certain entries - he would go "MIA" for long periods of time with no explanation whatsoever and certain tapes were erased. What was he doing???
- Dale was unmoved by the death of his grandmother (who died in his house). When his mother asked him to place his hand on her forehead so he wouldn't fear death, his reaction was just that she "felt like an old leather handbag."
- He once killed a bird just because he felt like it. He was unmoved by the experience.
- Many strange deaths occurred around him throughout his life. These include people who have wronged him or rejected him in some way.
- Many fires would randomly "break out" around him, which sometimes resulted in deaths.
- He had an unhealthy preoccupation with sex (in my opinion).
- He was prone to very troubled relationships with women. Women he was involved with ALL, EVERY SINGLE ONE, either died or became institutionalized.
- He was prone to very melancholy, depressive, anti-"Coop" thoughts and behavior. He often stated that he wanted to disappear to a place where no one knew him.
- When he was on a vacation in the Caribbean, an old man told him he saw death in his face. (This man was found hanged the next day).
Again, I am not trying to hang EVERYTHING I believe on this book. I know we had two seasons of the original Twin Peaks, FWWM, and The Return. But I just can't for the life of me believe that we are expected to just completely discount this book. It was supported by the creators. What were they trying to tell us about our precious Dale Cooper?
OK! Just finished up the book! So glad you posted this thread! Reading this after all the Twin Peaks episodes was fantastic, took me only a few days. The only fiction i have read in years and years! I have grown to enjoy only non fiction, something that will teach me anything good.
From what I got from the book is that it definitely did paint an accurate picture of who Dale might have been as a boy(linking together what we know of him through the show). I highly disagree with just about all the negatives you claim the book portrays of his character. Respectfully, of course. In my opinion he had normal sexual behavior as a male. Him being a peeping tom? Dale only glanced at his friends window, in which his friend had a sister, who was a bit strange herself. (*RED WIG----DIANE CONNECTION*?) She pretty much showed herself to him.
Dale was no doubt a special kind of dude and evil did follow him where ever he went. As far as him committing the evil I don't think the book portrays him whatsoever as an evil doer, but a gifted individual with a spiritual sense, a normally high sex drive, and a bright mind, very in touch with his own self.
I still do wonder what the Old Man meant when he said he saw death in his face. I suppose it was related to Windom Earl somehow. Lets remember Windom disappeared, and remembered nothing of the event. He then spoke of seeing the Abyss and described as a wonderful place. Was he possessed by Bob? Dale did note he did change after the event.
this book was great!!!!!!!!!!!And I recommend all TP fans to enjoy it! Upset i cant get an english copy though for less than 100 smackaroos! what the?
Fire walk with