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History records many political usurpers. Some seized power in conquered lands…Alexander, Cortez, William the Norman, Napoleon, and many others. The House of Commons notified James I that the divine right of kings was scarcely known in English history, but English history is studded with the usurper successors of the legitimate monarchs…King John, Henry IV, Richard III and Henry VII. Most of these usurpers were practical stolid individuals whose victims provided the suggestion of martyrdom to dramatists and storytellers. In democratic societies, the party partisans denounce what they consider the usurpers of office and power…the boss who seizes control of the party machinery, the “johnny-come-lately” in party work who suddenly seeks party leadership. Sometimes, the office holders, although elected, are considered as usurping power in the government.
Since the usurper's act has great impact on his fellow men who tend to identify with him, the personality of the political usurper has compelled attention in Western literature and drama. In Hamlet, much of the plot motivation is based on Claudius' usurpation; the theme is strong in Julius Caesar, in Schiller's The Robbers, as well as in Shakespeare's historical plays. The theme of usurpation in literature must originate in deep-seated emotions of the poet and dramatist. Its universality suggests that the role of the usurper relates to fundamental human impulses and to experiences of man in society, which provoke a response to the usurper's personality, a response of shared remorse and retribution for the crimes committed. The usurper's act appears to approximate the desire to kill the father who represents authority. In some situations, the political usurper may assume scapegoat characteristics in order to relieve, by projection, the pressure of guilt on the part of his fellows. As a political personality, the usurper's career recapitulates the beginning of civilized order in society.
In Totem and Taboo, Freud develops his