Writing: The Imposter Syndrome

My last article on Class focused primarily on the death of innocence, which is something all of the teenage characters go through throughout the TV (and audio spin-off) series. None more so than Tanya Adeola, the youngest of the group and although the smartest, suffers with severe imposter syndrome.

I will be looking at how Tanya is written with imposter syndrome and how multiple factors play into this insecurity for a lead character.

First off, what is it?

Impostor syndrome (IS) refers to an internal experience of believing that you are not as competent as others perceive you to be. While this definition is usually narrowly applied to intelligence and achievement, it has links to perfectionism and the social context.

To put it simply, imposter syndrome is the experience of feeling like a phony—you feel as though at any moment you are going to be found out as a fraud—like you don't belong where you are, and you only got there through dumb luck. It can affect anyone no matter their social status, work background, skill level, or degree of expertise.

How did Ness and the audio drama writers incorporate these characteristics for Tanya? There are a multitude of ways to write your character to have imposter syndrome. Here are the main characteristics and how they apply to this character:

Self-doubt - Tanya is a character who is filled with self-doubt, that insecurity becoming all too consuming at times of stress or vulnerability. In the Detained episode where Tanya is forced to tell the truth and reveals her insecurities about her place within the group - feeling she is tolerated or seen as a child rather than an equal. This is an interesting scene because before this revelation, Tanya is actually leading the group and analysing the situation rationally. Despite her peers looking to her for guidance, Tanya still can't shake her self doubt of her role within the group.

An inability to realistically assess your competence and skills - During this same episode, Tanya admits her insecurities to April and feels more patronized rather than reassured. Tanya can't comprehend that April is giving genuine praise and instead becomes angered when April points out the others have been dealing with issues just as much as her. This can be attributed to being younger than her peers, but this shows this character can't accept praise without feeling like she is being treated like a child and lashes out.

Attributing your success to external factors, sabotaging your own success and berating your performance - In the audio drama Catfish, we see Tanya's imposter syndrome really come to the surface and that insecurity effecting multiple relationships. Tanya starts to overthink her validation among her peers when they are too busy or she can't spend time with them outside school. Through miscommunication, we see (or hear) Tanya demonstrate all these traits above, undermining her friends' feelings for her and even thinking they tolerate her out of convenience.

Fear that you won't live up to expectations and overachieving - This is mainly seen through her relationship with her mother, who wants her daughter to focus on academic studies as she's been moved up three classes ahead of her age. Which is why we see Tanya throwing herself into her studies, under the fear of disappointing her mother while wanting to be accepted by her fellow sixth formers. She is by far the best in the class and many would see her book and street smarts as a strength, but instead this character feels more like an outsider because of this.

Setting very challenging goals and feeling disappointed when you fall short - In the finale of the series, Tanya loses her innocence. After being undermined by her friends and being treated like the child she strived not to be, she loses her mother in a horrific way. Tanya then sets herself the challenging goal of defeating the Shadow Kin with Quill. This is the moment where Tanya shreds her imposter syndrome, driving the plot and consumed entirely by grief and anger. But who is Tanya outside of this trope? Maybe Big Finish will answer that question with an audio Season 2....