BLBK594-c19 BLBK594-Irwin Printer: Yet to Come July 25, 2015 14:20 Trim: 229mm × 152mm UNCORRECTED PROOFS 19 Existential Freedom, Self-Interest, and Frank Underwood’s Underhandedness J. Edward Hackett Throughout House of Cards, Frank Underwood amazes us with the shocking advancement of his own self-interest: murdering Peter and Zoe, canceling relationships that no longer serve his purposes, and ele- vating those who will help him for a short time in his pursuit of power. Frank goes to great lengths and expends great energy to advance what he might call his freedom. However, in her existential ethics, Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986) draws an important distinction between self-interest and freedom that Frank fails to recognize. Frank regards others in terms of self-interest, but he is incapable of seeing his own self-interest or freedom related to others. Frank pursues self-interest plainly enough, but his actions are not existentially valuable. For the irst two seasons, Frank’s wife, Claire, is no less cunning and self- interested. But in Season 3 she sympathizes with the plight of Michael Corrigan, the LBGT Rights Activist imprisoned by Russian President Viktor Petrov. As a result of her sympathy for Corrigan, Claire begins to see things differently, including the way that her husband’s pursuit of self-interest does not include her interest. Self-Interest and Morality Self-interest is the cornerstone of ethical egoism. Put simply, the ethi- cal egoist thinks that advancing his or her own self-interest is the right House of Cards and Philosophy: Underwood’s Republic, First Edition. Edited by J. Edward Hackett. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 219