Psychoanalyst Jamieson Webster on Pride as a Sin in 2026

Psychoanalyst Jamieson Webster reflects on pride as one of the seven deadly sins for CULTURED magazine's Indulgence issue. She argues that pride in women is often misread as self-exaltation when it is actually a refusal to yield. Webster describes her own struggle with pride after decades of psychoanalysis, valuing independence and professional integrity. She contrasts her younger self's strident refusal with midlife's desire for withdrawal and dignity. Visiting Fra Angelico's "The Mocking of Christ" in Florence, she sees Christ's non-retaliation as a renunciation of narcissistic demands. Yet she distrusts humility, noting it has long been rewarded in women to keep things smooth. Her indulgence in pride is exhaustion with demands to apologize for taking up space. Midlife brings a fantasy of restraint—containment without disappearance. The piece is part of a series where seven figures examine one sin each, including Dries Van Noten on greed, Christine Sun Kim on anger, and Helen Molesworth on laziness.