plagiat merupakan tindakan tidak terpuji a study of … · supports, endless love, patience and...

A STUDY OF SYBIL’S DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER IN FLORA RHETA SCHREIBER’S SYBIL, THE TRUE STORY OF WOMAN POSSESSED

BY SIXTEEN PERSONALITIES

A THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By: Dian Ndari Nastiti

041214099

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

2010

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

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I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place

PSALM 118:5

This thesis is dedicated to: My Savior Jesus Christ

My Loving Babe and Ibu

My Brother “Primol”

My Lovely Eyang Kakung and Eyang Putri

My Dear Felix

My Beloved Friends


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to thank my savior, Jesus Christ for His

blessing, especially for guiding me through my hardest time. I have to thank Him for

showering me with love and grace during my study in Sanata Dharma University. I

never walk alone because He is always by my side.

I would like to express my greatest gratitude to my major sponsor, Drs. L.

Bambang Hendarto Y. M.hum, for sparing me his valuable time to guide, correct

and discuss my thesis. I thank him for his criticism and suggestion, so that I can

finish this thesis. Another appreciation goes to all the lecturers of the English

Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University for sharing their

knowledge during my study, and also my thanks go to the secretariat and library

staff for good services, kindness and friendliness. I also thank my great friend,

Chrisogonus Sidha for his willingness to spend his time to be my language

consultant.

With abundant of love, I dedicate this thesis to my wonderful family, my

beloved parents, Bp. Markus Eddy. S and Ibu. Endang Agustina. W for their

supports, endless love, patience and prayers. I also would like to thank my

grandparents, Eyang Yahya Soewarno and Eyang Mudjilah, for always giving me

good advice, support and prayers. I would like to thank my brother, Prima Rekha

Panji who has also given me support and sharing both sadness and happiness. I

would like to thank Gracea for time we have shared together.


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My special thanks go to My Ndundul, Felix Tyas Warih Utomo for his

love, accompaniment, encouragement, and patience, for being ‘tukang ojek’, for

being ‘dust-bin’ and for all the sadness and happiness we have shared together. I am

very blessed to have him in my life.

My next best gratitude goes to all my friends in Blindsoul band (Mas

Anton, Kobis, Mas Galih, Eqi, Mas Bagus, Nonok, Mbak Desi, Ambon, Mbak

Ika and Dinda), East-Rasta Band (Bang Foster, Bang Ronald, Bang Hero, Bang

Diaz, ect), Chromatic Band ( Mas Jack, Mas Oggy, Lala, Mas Kiki), and all

Jogja TOP 40 bands (VLV, Recycle Band, Refresh Band, etc). I am nothing

without them all. I thank them for all chances given me to develop my talent, my

knowledge about music and for every wonderful experiences we have shared.

Foremost, my deepest gratitude goes to my friends in Rhu Band (Aviandra Nagara,

Joe, Kiki Maskur, Liza Barus, Wisnu ‘penyu’, Dalbo, Siska, Gildaz Heri and

Dimas Pakde) for the support, the friendliness, the understanding during my thesis

writing time.

I would also like to express my deepest appreciation to “Alumni Kos Bu

Djaman”, to Mbak Desi, Mbak Vika, Mbak Mey, Mbak Ayi, Mbak Nina, Oline,

Briggita, Ikka, Mbak Cita, Mbak Dewi, Lolin and Meta. My time with them has

been the sweetest one. I thank them for always giving me a place to release my

burden and time to laugh.

My gratitude goes to my PBI’s friends, to Maea, Rita, Tami, Bishop, Greg,

Erlian, Novi, Dede, Etza, Tuti, Silvi, Tika, Albert, Pius, and Bekti who have made

my life in PBI become alive. I thank them for sharing knowledge together.


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Last but not least, for those I cannot mention one by one, I thank them for

every moment with me and sharing moments together, for making me grow up, for

every pain, because there is always blessing in disguise. May God bless us all.

Amen.

Dian Ndari Nastiti


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TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

TITTLE PAGE.................................................................................................... i

APPROVAL PAGE ............................................................................................ ii

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI

KARYA ILMIAH……………………………………………………………… iv

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY................................................. v

PAGE OF DEDICATION .................................................................................. vi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................ vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................... x

ABSTRACT......................................................................................................... xv

ABSTRAK............................................................................................................. xvi

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION....................................................................... 1

A. Background of the Study................................................................................. 1

B. Problem Formulation ...................................................................................... 5

C. Objectives of the Study ................................................................................... 5

D. Benefits of the Study....................................................................................... 6

E. Definition of Terms......................................................................................... 7

CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE .............................. 9

A. Theoretical Review ......................................................................................... 9

1. Characters and Characterization ............................................................... 9

2. Dissociative Identity Disorder .................................................................. 12

a. The Symptoms .................................................................................... 13


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b. Causes ................................................................................................. 13

c. Treatment ............................................................................................ 13

3. Personality................................................................................................. 14

a. Definition ............................................................................................ 14

b. Sigmund Freud ‘s Personality Theory ................................................ 15

c. Three Basic Structure of Personality .................................................. 16

4. Parental Influence on Children Psychological Development.................... 18

5. Mother-Daughter Relationship ................................................................. 20

6. Conflict...................................................................................................... 21

a. Interpersonal Conflict.......................................................................... 21

b. Intrapersonal Conflict.......................................................................... 22

B. Theoretical Framework ................................................................................... 23

CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY .................................................................. 25

A. Object of the Study ......................................................................................... 25

B. Approach......................................................................................................... 26

C. Method of the Study........................................................................................ 27

CHAPTER IV. ANALYSIS ............................................................................... 28

A. The Description of Sybil and Her Splitting Personalities ............................... 28

1. The Characteristics of Sybil Isabel Dorsett as the Major Character ......... 29

a. Sybil Isabel Dorsett .............................................................................. 29


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2. The Characteristics of Sybil Isabel Dorsett’s Splitting Personalities as the

Minor Character ........................................................................................ 33

a. Victoria Antoinette Scharleau............................................................. 34

b. Vanessa Gail and Marcia Lynn Dorsett .............................................. 36

c. Mary Lucinda Saunders Dorsett ......................................................... 38

d. Sybil Ann ............................................................................................ 39

e. Peggy Lou Baldwin............................................................................. 40

f. Peggy Ann........................................................................................... 42

g. Mike and Sid Dorsett .......................................................................... 42

h. Ruthie Dorsett ..................................................................................... 43

i. Helen Dorsett ...................................................................................... 44

j. Marjorie Dorsett .................................................................................. 44

k. Clara Dorsett ....................................................................................... 45

l. Nancy Lou Ann Baldwin .................................................................... 45

m. The Blonde Girl .................................................................................... 46

B. The Description of Sybil’s Dissociative Identity Disorder ............................. 47

1. Sybil’s Characteristic as a Person with Dissociative Identity Disorder.... 47

2. The Symptoms .......................................................................................... 48

3. The Causes ................................................................................................ 51

a. Parental Influences .............................................................................. 51

1). Mother- Daughter Relationship ..................................................... 52

a) Hattie Dorsett’s Past Life ........................................................ 53

b) Hattie Dorsett’s Abuses........................................................... 54


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2). Father- Daughter Relationship....................................................... 56

a) Willard Dorsett’s Past Life ..................................................... 56

b) Willard Dorsett’s Ignorance.................................................... 58

3). Puritan Environment ...................................................................... 59

a) Puritan’s Way of Life.............................................................. 60

b) The influence of Puritan Environment on Sybil’s Personality 61

4. Applying Sigmund Freud’s Personality Theory in Sybil’s Case .............. 61

C. Sybil’s Conflicts and the Way She Seals with Them...................................... 63

1. Sybil’s Interpersonal Conflicts.................................................................. 64

a. The Conflict between Sybil and Her Mother ...................................... 64

b. The Conflict between Sybil and Her Father........................................ 65

c. The Conflict between Sybil and Her Parents’ Hypocrisy ................... 67

2. Sybil’s Intrapersonal Conflicts.................................................................. 69

a. The Conflicts between Sybil and Her Splitting Personalities .................. 69

b. Ignoring Her Belief .................................................................................. 70

c. Committing Suicide.................................................................................. 71

CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS................................. 73

A. Conclusions..................................................................................................... 73

B. Suggestions ..................................................................................................... 78

1. Suggestion for Further Study on Sybil, the True Story of Woman Possessed by

Sixteen Personalities................................................................................... 78

2. Suggestions for Teaching Intensive Reading II by Using Sybil, the True Story


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of Woman Possessed by Sixteen Personalities ........................................... 78

BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................... 81

APPENDICES ..................................................................................................... 83

Appendix 1 : Summary of Sybil, The True Story of Woman Possessed by Sixteen

Personalities.................................................................................. 84

Appendix 2 : Cover of Sybil, The True Story of Woman Possessed by Sixteen

Personalities.................................................................................. 88

Appendix 3 : Shirley Ardell Mason (Sybil’s novel reference) and Sybil’s film and

Sally Field (Sybil’s cast in the film) ............................................. 89

Appendix 4 : The Author’s Biography ............................................................. 90

Appendix 5 : Picture of Dr. Cornelia B. Wilbur .............................................. 92

Appendix 6 : Lesson Plan for Teaching Intensive Reading II .......................... 93

Appendix 7 : The Implementation of Teaching Intensive Reading II .............. 95


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ABSTRACT

Nastiti, Dian Ndari. 2010. A Study of Sybil’s Dissociative Identity Disorder in Flora Rheta Schreiber’s Sybil, The True Story of Woman Possessed by Sixteen Personalities. Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Department of Language and Arts Education, Faculty of Teachers Training Education, Sanata Dharma University. This thesis analyzes a woman named Sybil, a main character of Flora Rheta Schreiber’s novel, Sybil, The True Story of Woman Possessed by Sixteen Personalities, who suffers from dissociative identity disorder in which she has 16 co-existing personalities as a result of terrible childhood trauma. There are three problems related to the topic of this thesis. (1) How are Sybil and her splitting personalities described in the novel? (2) How is Sybil’s dissociative identity disorder described? (3) How does Sybil cope with all the conflicts in her splitting personalities? The primary source is from the novel itself, whereas the secondary sources are from books, criticism, and articles related to the subject of the study. Some relevant references such as: personality theory, dissociative identity disorder theory, parental influences on children psychological development theory, and mother-daughter theory are the secondary sources. Those theories are used to analyses the novel. The psychological approach is also used in this analysis to observe Sybil’s dissociative identity disorder as formulated in the problems in this study. There are three points that can be concluded from this analysis. Firstly, Sybil is described as a woman who is unconfident, fragile, and fearful. Whereas, her dissociative personalities are described as: Vicky, who is sophisticated and generous; Marcia and Vanessa, who are close friends that always do things together; Mary, a house woman who is very sensitive; Sybil Ann, the depressive woman; Peggy Lou, an energetic, moody and bad tempered girl who takes Sybil’s unexpressed anger; Peggy Ann, an individual who takes the fearfulness of Sybil; Mike and Sid Dorsett, the boys who come up based on identification of Sybil’s grandpa and father; Ruthie, the youngest; Helen, a personality who gets the biggest terror because of Hattie Dorsett; Marjorie, a sanguine personality; Clara, a religious girl; Nancy, a girl who is also fanatic; and the last one is the Blonde, who comes up during Sybil’s recovery treatment and claims that she is the girl Sybil wants to be. Secondly, Sybil has multiple personalities of which each personality has its own name, sex, intelligence, and personal states. Sybil has the symptoms of having dissociative identity disorder, which are headache, emptiness, lost time, and depersonalization. And, the causes of her splitting personality are the result of her parental abuses. Her mother always does sexual, psychical and emotional abuses, intensified by the role of her father, who takes actions to be apathetic to help her, incompetent, irresponsible, and emotionally withdrawn, and the puritan environment where Sybil lives gives contributions in making Sybil’s dissociative grow fertile. Thirdly, she faces conflicts, both interpersonal and intrapersonal conflicts. Her interpersonal conflicts related with both her parents and her parents’ hypocrisy. Whereas, the intrapersonal conflicts are conflicts with her splitting personalities, namely ignoring her belief and her trial of committing suicide. This thesis provides suggestions for future researchers who are interested in studying the novel from other aspects. This thesis also provides suggestions for English teachers to teach English , especially Intensive Reading II at university level by using Sybil, The True Story of Woman Possessed by Sixteen Personalities.


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ABSTRAK

Nastiti, Dian Ndari. 2010. A Study of Sybil’s Dissociative Identity Disorder in Flora Rheta Schreiber’s Sybil, The True Story of Woman Possessed by Sixteen Personalities. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Jurusan Bahasa dan Seni, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Skripsi ini membahas tentang seorang wanita yang bernama Sybil, tokoh utama dari novel karya Flora Rheta Schreiber, Sybil, The True Story of Woman Possessed by Sixteen Personalities, yang menderita kepribadian majemuk dengan 16 kepribadian akibat trauma pada masa kanak-kanak. Ada tiga permasalahan yang berhubungan dengan topik dari skripsi ini. (1) Bagaimana Sybil dan pribadinya yang terpecah digambarkan dalam novel? (2) Bagaimanakah kepribadian majemuk dari Sybil digambarkan? (3) Bagaimana Sybil menyelesaikan semua masalah dalam perpecahan pribadinya? Metode studi pustaka diterapkan dalam pencarian data. Sumber utama adalah dari novel itu sendiri, sedangkan sumber pelengkap datang dari buku-buku, kupasan suatu buku, dan artikel yang berhubungan dengan subyek studi. Beberapa reverensi yang berkaitan, antara lain: teori kepribadian, teori kepribadian majemuk, teori perngaruh orangtua dalam perkembangan psikologis anak, dan teori hubungan ibu-anak perempuan, yang adalah contoh dari sumber pelengkap. Teori-teori tersebut digunakan dalam menganalisa novel. Pendekatan psikologis digunakan dalam menganalisa kepribadian majemuk dari Sybil terhadap permasalahan dalam studi ini. Ada tiga hal yang dapat disimpulkan dari skripsi ini. Pertama, Sybil adalah seorang wanita yang tidak percaya diri, rapuh dan penuh ketakutan. Sedangkan, kepribadian majemuknya digambarkan sebagai: Vicky, seorang yang modern dan murah hati; Marcia dan Vanessa, yang merupakan teman dekat yang selalu melakukan segala sesuatu bersama-sama; Mary, seorang ibu rumah tangga yang sangat perasa; Sybil Ann, wanita yang muram; Peggy Lou, seorang yang energik, pemurung dan emosional yang menanggung amarah yang tidak dapat diekspresikan Sybil; Peggy Ann, seorang yang menanggung rasa takut yang dirasakan Sybil; Mike dan Sid Dorsett, anak laki-laki yang muncul berdasarkan identifikasi dari kakek dan ayahnya; Ruthie, yang paling muda; Helen, seseorang yang mendapat ketakutan paling besar yang dikarenakan Hattie Dorsett; Marjorie, si ceria; Clara, si saleh; Nancy, seorang yang fanatik; dan yang terakhir, The Blonde, yang datang pada saat proses penyembuhan Sybil berlangsung dan mengklaim sebagai seorang yang diinginkan Sybil. Kedua, kepribadian majeluk Sybil berhubungan dengan tanda, gejala, dan penyebab. Sybil mempunyai kepribadian majemuk, dimana setiap kepribadian mempunyai nama sendiri, jenis kelamin, kecerdasan dan status pribadi. Gejala kepribadian majemuknya meliputi pusing, kekosongan, hilang ingatan, dan depresi. Dan penyebab dari penyakitnya muncul dari pengaruh orangtuanya. Ibunya selalu melakukan penganiayaan seksual, fisik, dan emosional, diperkuat oleh peranan ayahnya, yang bersikap apatis, kurang cakap, tidak bertanggungjawab, atau menarik diri secara emosional, serta lingkungan yang amat memegang teguh aturan agama dimana Sybil tinggal, memberi sumbangan dalam mempersubur kepribadian majemuknya. Ketiga, menyingkapkan semua konflik yang dialami Sybil, baik interpersonal maupun intrapersonal. Konflik interpersonalnya berhubungan dengan kedua orangtua dan kemunafikannya. Sedangkan, konflik intrapersonal adalah konflik dengan pribadinya yang majemuk, yaitu konflik untuk tidak memperdulikan agamanya dan keinginannya untuk mencoba bunuh diri. Skripsi ini memberikan saran bagi peneliti di masa datang yang tertarik dalam mempelajari novel ini dari aspek lain. Skripsi ini juga memberikan saran bagi guru bahasa inggris, terutama untuk pengajaran Intensive Reading II untuk mengajar menggunakan Sybil, The True Story of Woman Possessed by Sixteen Personalities pada level universitas.


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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

This chapter consists of background of the study, problem formulation,

objectives the study, benefits of the study and definition of terms. The background of

the study states the topic and the reasons of choosing the topic. Then, the problem

formulation describes the guidelines to do the analysis, whereas the objectives of

study describe what to gain in the study. The advantages of the study are presented in

benefits of the study. The last is definition of terms. This part defines some terms

related to the study

A. Background of the Study

Family is the smallest structure in a society that consists of parents and

children. It is the first place for someone to learn everything. As stated in Psychology

of the Child, there are two major effects that the home has on the life of the child.

Firstly, it provides the conditions that facilitate some kinds of behavior and inhibit

other. Secondly, its effect consists of the way in which child‘s personality is shaped

(Watson and Lindgreen 297). Whenever the function of family member does not

work optimally and then creates some terrible home situation, it will have a deep

effect on the children.

One of the worst things that may happen in a family is child abuse. A

dreadful abuse experienced by children can cause some awful effects, such as


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depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and physical injury to the child. A

philosopher Daniel Dennett, as quoted in Dr. Paul McHugh says

...the evidence is now voluminous that there are not a handful or a hundred but thousands of cases of MPD (DID) diagnosed today, and it almost invariably owes its existence to prolonged early childhood abuse, usually sexual, and of sickening severity…..(reference the Wikipedia, Multiple Personality Disorder (Dissociative Identity Disorder resource))

Relating to this case, Dissociative Identity Disorder is one product of terrible

childhood trauma.

In Psychology in Action, it is described that Dissociative Identity Disorder

(DID), previously known as Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD), is a disorder, in

which at least two or more distinct personalities stay alive within the same person.

Dissociative Identity Disorder is one of the five dissociative disorders identified in

the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

(DSM-IV) by the American Psychiatric Association (1994). These include

Dissociative Amnesia, Dissociative Fugue, Dissociative Identity Disorder, and

Somatoform Disorders. In DID, each personality has unique memories, behavior, and

social relationship. When a person suffering from this disorder cannot overcome

certain problem, then the alternate personality comes to cope with. Shortly, it is said

that the change of personality may be associated with psychological stress (Huffman,

Vernoy and Vernoy 531). A person with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) tends

to have some depressions, amnesia, blackouts or time loss, sleep disorder, headache,

panic attack, flashback or intrusive memory, phobia, mood-swing and suicidal

tendencies.


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A work of literature may portray such issues as described above. People may

think that through literary works they only gain some pleasure. However, Woody

says that through literature readers can get not only pleasure, but also knowledge.

And all of us who read literary work will find our knowledge broadened and deepened, whether in the individual, the social, the racial or the internal sphere; we shall understand how we come to live at particular time and place, with all its pleasure and vexations and problems, we shall understand the ways own wards which are open to us, and we shall perhaps be able to make right rather than wrong choice (Woody 2-3).

From the quotation above, we can see that literary work can give us new perspective

of life. The contents in the literary works are the reflections of our daily life.

Therefore, it will enable us to know life better and enable to decide the right things in

life.

A novel by Flora Rheita Schreiber entitled Sybil, the True Story of a Woman

Possessed by Sixteen Separate Personalities is one real example of a story of a

woman with a Dissociative Identity Disorder. The story is about a child named Sybil.

As a child, Sybil has a tendency to escape from all severe physical and emotional

abuses at the hand of her cruel mother, and the worst thing is that her father does

nothing to protect her. This condition leaves her to have some trauma and this also

influences her personalities. Then, Sybil develops some personalities within her, in

which two of them are boys. When a personality controls her body, Sybil is in the

condition of losing the memory and the time (blackout). Each of the characters has

his/her own behavior and way of thinking and they know each other, except Sybil.

Whenever Sybil cannot overcome her problems, one of them comes up and takes

control of Sybil’s body. Then, finally Sybil realizes that there is something wrong

with her, so she decides to be examined by Dr. Cornelia Wilbur. The doctor is the


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one trying hard to unite Sybil’s characters. The novel is interesting because we will

find that the biggest enemy is within human themselves.

This study is, therefore, meant to analyze the Dissociative Identity Disorder

in Sybil’s case. Nowadays, we see that there are many cases of broken-home children

who tend to have more problems than those from the harmonious home. They grow

up to be troublemaker children, unconfident, weirdo, etc, because of lack of affection

from their parents. Shortly, as stated by Watson and Lindgren in Psychology of the

Child, it is no doubt that parents play a key role in the upbringing the children. They

can influence the child’s development especially on the development of the

intellectual ability, emotions, the relationships to peers, etc (310). Relating with

Dissociative Identity Disorder, many scientists say that the terrible childhood trauma

pays biggest contribution in making a personality divided and home is a fertile field

to plant the seed of child future personality, whether they will be a good person or

not.

The novel is intersting to discuss because, beside the story is based on a true

story, it also gives us a vivid picture of how difficult it is for someone who has

sixteen different and independent personalities within herself. Those characters come

up unconsciously in the main’s character life. This is a kind of fascinating things to

study about human personality and to find the reason why such kind of dissociative

identity disorder appears. It is true in our society that people sometimes ignore the

importance of parental role on childhood period in shaping their personality. That

phenomenon is reflected clearly in this novel. Thus, the writer believes that this

thesis can contribute a new thing among many criticisms, essays and debates about


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this story, not only for the students who directly have the relation to the literature and

psychology, but also to all readers in general.

B. Problem Formulation

In this thesis, there are three problems to solve which are formulated into

these questions:

1. How are Sybil and her splitting personalities in Sybil, the True Story of a Woman

Possessed by Sixteen Separate Personalities described?

2. How is Sybil‘s Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) described in the novel?

3. How does Sybil cope with all of the conflicts in her splitting personalities?

C. Objectives of the Study

This study is aimed to answer the questions formulated in the problem

formulation. In the first part, the writer will explain the description of Sybil’s

personality as the main character, because it plays important rule in the way the story

goes along. This part will also explain all the splitting personalities, since; they are

the keys to find the answer why Sybil suffers that disorder.

The second part digs on what is Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), the

symptoms and the reasons why someone can posses such a personality disorder from

a psychological view in relation with the parental influences, and the result of the

splitting characters.


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Finally, the last part of this study is the discussion on conflict which is

experienced by Sybil and the way she deals with them, both intrapersonal and

interpersonal conflict. And, based on the story, the other characters will be used to

reveal the conflicts and show that the splitting happens because of the childhoodod

abusive experiences.

D. Benefits of the Study

First of all, for the writer, the study can give me a chance to broaden the

knowledge, for the term Dissociative Identity Disorder is new in our society.

Sometimes, our society often judges that a person with the symptoms of DID is often

considered as a person with schizophrenia. Actually, that both Schizophrenia and

DID are two extreme distinct things. As described in e-medicine health, that the term

schizophrenia is meant "split mind." This is not an accurate medical term. In Western

culture, some people have come to believe that schizophrenia refers to a split-

personality disorder. These are two very different disorders, and people with

schizophrenia do not have separate personalities. Schizophrenia and other mental

health disorders have fairly strict criteria for diagnosis. Unfortunately, the society

usually gives some “wrong treatment” to a person with the DID symptoms. This is

how the study may be implemented.

Whereas for the researchers and the students, this study, hopefully, will give

them additional information, especially from the psychological point of view. It also

presents a deep understanding of how to cope with all the problems face and to learn

to have empathy for others. It gives an understanding that family is the place where


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everything whether good or bad starts. Family also means the environment where the

child grows. This is important, especially for the students at their teenage phase to

know such that phenomena, because they are searching an identity and it may give

them a reference.

Finally, for the readers in general, after they read the novel, they will gain

meaningful lessons and values from the psychological aspect, family influences, so

that they will be wiser. Especially for the parents, it may teach them that childhood is

the essential period to shape a personality of someone.

E. Definition of Terms

In order to obtain better understanding and to avoid misinterpretation, the

writer defines some important terms that are used in the study.

1. Dissociative Identity Disorder

Karen Huffman, Mark Vernoy, and Judith Vernoy in their book Psychology

in Action explain that the person with dissociative identity disorder has two or more

distinct personality system that becomes dominant at different times. Each

personality has unique memories, behaviors, and social relationship. The transition

from one personality to another occurs suddenly and often associated with

psychological stress. Often the alternate personalities are very different from the

original personality, and may be the other sex or a different race (506).

2. Parental influences

Parents are regarded as the most influential figures in the personality

development of a child. This is because the child’s first social environment is the


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home in which she/he lives. The home and the family will determine his first

attitudes towards people and social activities. Based on Psychology of the Child,

basically there are two major effects on the life of the child, namely the condition

that facilitates some kinds of behaviors and inhibit others and the way the personality

of the child is shaped (297).

3. Child Abuse

Child abuse is a physical, psychological, or emotional maltreatment of

children. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

define child abuse as any act or series of acts or commission or omission by a parent

or other caregiver that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child.

Mostly, child abuse happen in child’s home, schools or communities the child

interacts with. There are four major categories of child abuse: neglected child,

physical abuse, psychological/emotional abuse, and sexual abuse.

(http://www.ammericanhumane.org/about-us/newsroom/fact-sheets/child-sexual-

abuses.html).

4. Motherhood

According to Helena Deutsch in her book Psychology of Woman, motherhood

is the relationship of the mother to her child as a sociolinguistic, physiologic and

emotional whole. This relationship begins with the conception of the child and

extends throughout the further physiologic process of pregnancy, birth, feeding and

care (18).


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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter consists of theoretical review and theoretical framework. The

first section covers theories of character and characterization, theory of personality,

theory of multiple personality disorder, theory of parental influence on psychology of

the child, theory of motherhood, theory of conflicts (both interpersonal and

intrapersonal conflicts). The second section describes theoretical framework, which

describes the application of the theories reviewed in the analysis.

A. Theoretical Review

In answering the problems stated in the problem formulation, some related

theories are viewed to support the understanding of the topic. Some theories correlate

with the topic will be discussed. They are theories of character and characterization,

theory of personality, theory of multiple personality disorder, theory of parental

influence on psychology of the child, theory of motherhood, theory of conflicts (both

interpersonal and intrapersonal conflicts).

1. Characters and Characterization

Character is one of the elements of a literary work. It is all about a person in a

literary work. The character also controls the way in which the story goes along.

General readers usually identify some characters from the text. According to Robert


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Stanton in his book, An Introduction to Fiction, the term “character” is commonly

used in two ways: it designates the individual who appears in the story and the

mixture of interest, desires, emotions, and moral principle that makes up each of

these individuals (Stanton 17-18).

Abrams divides character into two types. First is the main or major character.

A major character is usually the center of the story and the most important character

in the story. Usually, the story focuses on this character from the beginning until the

end. Secondly is minor character. Minor character only appears in a certain setting,

just necessary to become the background for the major character. Their roles are less

important than major one because they are not fully developed, and their roles in a

story just support the development of the major characters (Abrams 20).

According to Murphy (161-173) in his book, Understanding Unseens there

are nine ways employed by the author to make the character understandable and

come alive for the readers. First is the personal description. Here, the author gives a

description of character by the appearance and clothes. The author also tells the

details of certain personal characterization, i.e. the face, the eyes, and the skin.

Second is character as seen by another. The author gives some descriptions by the

comments and the eyes of another character, instead of describing the character

directly. Third is speech. Usually, we can understand the character by the speech of

the character or by its speech. Forth is through past life. Here, readers are led to

know character’s past life in order to give some hints to certain actions. This can be

done by the author’s direct comments, through the character’s thoughts, through the

conversation and by another character’s thought. Fifth is by conversation of others.


11

Readers are able to recognize certain characters through the conversation of other

character and the things people say about certain characters. Sixth is from the

reactions, the author can give some clues about the character by the reaction of the

character in various situations and events. Seventh is through direct comment. The

author gives direct comment or description on a character. Eighth is a thought. By

knowing what character thinking about, the author can give us direct knowledge

about a character. In this case, the author explains us that different character has

different thought. And the last is from the mannerism. The author may describe a

character’s mannerism, habits, or unconventional behavior that can tell us something

about the character.

A well-developed character is the one that has been thoroughly characterized,

with many qualities shown in the narrative. The better the audience knows the

character, the better the character development

(http://web.uvic.ca/wguide/Pages/LTCharacter.html).

According to Baldick, character is a person in a narrative or dramatic work. It

is different from characterization. Characterization is the way in which a character is

represented. Therefore, a character is the result, while characterization is the process.

Baldick also defines that there are three methods of characterization in fiction. The

first method is explicit presentation. It means the author tells the readers through the

direct exposition or analysis, which informs the character. The second is the

presentation of the character in action. In this representation, the author only uses a

little or no explicit comment, so the readers are able to conclude the attribute of the

actor from action. The last method is the representation from within a character


12

without comments by the author. In this method, the author suggests the reader will

come to a clear understanding of attribute of the character clearly through the impact

of actions and emotions on the character’s inner self (Baldick 81).

Character development is very important in character-driven literature, where

stories focus not on events, but on individual personalities. Whereas, based on

information of Wikipedia, characterization is the process of conveying information

about characters in fiction or conversation

(http://web.uvic.ca/wguide/Pages/LTCharacter.html).

2. Dissociative Identity Disorder

G. Terence Wilson, Pete E. Nathan, K. Daniel O’Leary, and Lee Anna Clark

in their book Abnormal Psychology explain the Dissociative Identity Disorder. They

say that an individual with this disorder appears to have two or more distinct

personalities or personality states. These personalities take turns in controlling the

actions, because an individual with this disorder is not capable to remember personal

information (Wilson, Nathan, O’Leary, Clark 181).

The Dissociative Identity Disorder, previously known as Multiple Personality

Disorder, is a condition of possessing a mental disorder in which at least two separate

and distinct personalities exist within the same person. Each personality has unique

memories, behaviors, and social relationship. The change from one personality to

other occurs suddenly and is often relates with psychological stress. Usually the

original personality does not know about the existence of the alternate personalities,

but all of them may be aware of lose period time. Frequently, the alternate


13

personalities are very different from the original one and may be of the other sex or a

different race or age (Huffman, Vernoy and Vernoy 531).

a. The Symptoms

Individuals diagnosed with Dissosiative Identity Disorder (DID) show variety

of symptoms. Symptoms can include: multiple mannerisms, attitudes and beliefs that

are dissimilar to each other, headaches and other body pains, distortion or loss of

subjective time, depersonalization, amnesia, and depression. People with this

symptom may face a wide collection of other symptoms that look like epilepsy,

schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, post traumatic stress disorder,

personality disorders, and eating disorders (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). A

patient with Dissosiative Identity Disorder (DID) was reported that she ever faced

frequent headaches, feeling of weakness and period of amnesia- all symptoms

associated with dissociation (Wilson, Nathan, O’Leary, Clark 183).

b. Causes

The causes of dissociative identity disorder have not been identified clearly,

but are connected with overwhelming stress, traumatic past history, insufficient

childhood development, and a natural ability to dissociate memories or experiences

from consciousness (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). It is said that the major

problem underlying all dissociative disorder is the need to escape. A history extreme

trauma, usually sexual abuse is found in all researches in this case. Moreover, it is

also believed that severe childhood trauma is considered as a primary cause of

dissociative disorder (Huffman, Vernoy and Vernoy 531).

c. Treatment


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According to James C. Coleman in his book, Abnormal Psychology and

Modern Life, the treatment of person with DID by hypnosis and narcosis interview.

Also the key of importance in treatment is helping the patient to learn more effective

method of survive, which make the anxious behavior unnecessary (Coleman 248).

Treatment of Dissosiative Identity Disorder (DID) is the effort to reconnect

the identities of disparate alters into a single functioning identity. The treatment may

focus on symptoms, to ease the distressing aspects of the condition and ensure the

safety of the individual. Treatment methods include psychotherapy and medications.

Some behavior therapists firstly use behavioral treatments such as responding to a

single identity and using traditional therapy (http://skepdic.com/mpd.html)

3. Personality

Everyone has his own personality and every personality is different from

another. None has same personality, even, identical twin. One may be phlegmatic,

the others may be shy and another may be cheerful and easygoing. This topic of

difference is the fundamental topic to the study of personality.

a. Definition

Personality is not easily defined. Basically, ‘personality’ refers to our effort to

capture an individual’s ‘essence’. Personality is person-ality that means the science

of describing and understanding persons. The word ‘personality’ derives from the

Latin word ‘persona’ meaning ‘mask’. So, the study of personality can be understood

as the study of ‘masks’ people wear (Wilderdom).


15

Hjelle and Ziegler in their book Personalities Theories say that the basic

study of personality is to contribute extensively to our understanding of human being

from within the structure of the science psychology. Actually, there is no one best

way to understand human behavior in psychology. In fact, individual in this field

struggle to develop different systems of consistent gathering of concept, and it called

the theory of personality (Hjelle and Ziegler 1-2).

b. Sigmund Freud’s Personality Theory

Relating to the topic above, Sigmund Freud personality’s theory is reviewed

in this section. It is based on consideration that the topic has the closest relation to

Freud’s theory (Hjelle and Ziegler 32). Freud proposes a topographical model of

personality organization. According to this model, psychic life can be represented by

three level of consciousness. They are:

1. The conscious level

It includes all the feelings of our senses we can feel and experiences that we

are conscious. Freud states that only a small part of mental life (thought, perceptions,

feeling, and memories) contains in the area of consciousness. Conscious represents

only a small and limited aspect of personality.

2. The preconscious domain

The preconscious domain is often called “available memory.” It includes all

memory that we are not conscious, but it can be transmitted to the conscious area

both spontaneously and with a minimum effort. This memory might include all that

somebody had done last week, and our past memory


16

3. The unconscious

It is the deepest and main level of the human mind. Freud believes that the

important parts of human behavior are shaped and directed by desire and controled

totally by the outside area of consciousness (Hjelle and Ziegler 32-33).

c. Three Basic Structures of Personality

Based on the information of changing mind resources, the concept of the

unconscious mind becomes a central in Freud’s study of personality, then he revised

his conceptual model of mental life and introduced three basic structures in the

anatomy of personality (changing mind resources):

They are:

1. Id

The Id has no real perception of reality and it always struggles to find

satisfaction needed through what Freud called the primary processes. The process is

like something that controls the life of baby, including hunger and self-protection.

The id stands in direct opposition to the super-ego. The energy for the Id's actions

comes from libido. The id has 2 major instincts:

a. Eros:

It is the instinct that influences people on finding pleasures (e.g., sexual

desires).

b. Thanatos:

Thanatos is the unconscious instinct of human life, and sometimes it is called

death instinct that stimulates people to use aggressiveness.


17

2. Ego

Different with the Id, the Ego is aware of reality and controls by the reality

principle. The Ego knows and be aware of what is real and knows that every

behavior done has its consequences, including the feeling of belonging into the social

rules. Usually it uses secondary processes (perception, recognition, judgment and

memory) that developed during childhood.

The problem faced by the Ego is to balance the demands of the Id and Super

ego with reality. The Ego controls higher mental processes such as reasoning and

problem-solving, that uses to solve the Id and Super ego demands, finding ways to

satisfy the Id's needs safely in the controls of the Super ego.

3. Super ego

The super ego contains values and social morals come from the rules of right

and wrong learned in childhood from parents and contain in the ethics. The Super

ego gives the sample for ego to compare and encourage ego to move. The Super ego

plays as a balance to the Id, and often reduces the Id's pleasure-seeking demands,

especially for sex and aggressiveness (reference the changing minds resource).

Conscious

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Preconscious Ego

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unconscious Superego

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Id


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The Relation of the structural model of personality to levels of awareness (Hjelle

and Ziegler 33)

4. Parental influence on Children Psychological Development

Parents play an important role in shaping their child’s personality. Children

need to grow out of his vulnerability; in this case, parents have to provide both

material and emotional needs while they bring the children toward self-sufficiency. If

parents fail to provide them their need, the growth toward independence will

seriously obstruct. It is also usual to find that child from broken homes tend to have

more adjustment problem than those from integral homes. (Watson and Lindgren

310). For the example, the absence of father in home will give the effects that child

will have less confident, dependent, had poorer relationships with peers (Watson and

Lindgren 309).

There are basically two major effects that the home has on the life of a child.

First, home provides the conditions that facilitate some kinds of behavior and inhibit

others. Second, is a place where child’s personality is shaped. This is also proving

that love, parental warmth and permissiveness are about all that are needed for

healthy personality development (Watson and Lindgren 299).

Child’s development, known as a golden age, is a phase when as a child he

absorbs the entire environment, especially family and parents given consciously or

unconsciously. Joseph and Lois Bird explain in his book, Power to the Parents that

even in early childhood, the child encounters frustration. At first, all he can do is lash


19

out in fury: cry, scream, and kick. He needs parents’ example and teaching if he is to

learn to cope with the countless frustration, large and small, he will run up against

during his lifetime. He needs to be taught alternative actions (Bird and Bird 31).

Although most parents are loving and nurturing, some cannot or will not take

a proper care of their children, and some deliberately hurt, even kill them.

Maltreatment, by parents or others, is deliberate or unavoidable endangerment of a

child that take in many forms.

In general, abuse can refer to action that inflicts harm, physical abuse

involves injury to the body through punching, beating, kicking or burning. Neglect is

failure to meet a child’s basic physical, emotional, or education needs. Sexual abuse

is sexual activity involving a child and another person. Emotional maltreatment

includes acts of abuse or neglect that may cause behavioral, cognitive, emotional and

mental disorder. It may include rejection, terrorization, isolation, exploitation,

degradation, ridicule, or failure to provide emotional support, love, and affection

(Papalia, Olds, Feldman, and Gross 294).

Abuse may begin when parents who are already anxious, depresses or hostile

try to control a child physically but loses self-control and ends up with doing some

violations. Neglected parents tend to be apathetic, incompetence, irresponsible, or

emotionally withdrawn. They sometime built a distance from the child, critical and

uncommunicative. Many abusive and neglectful families cut themselves off from

other, socially isolated, with no one to see what is happening (Papalia, Olds,

Feldman, and Gross 295).

Neglected children tend to grow poorly and often have medical problems,


20

lack of enthusiasm, self-esteem and dependent. Therefore, maltreatment children

often have disorganized-disoriented attachments and negative, distorted self concept.

They will not develop social skills because they act aggressively and are often

rejected by peers. Physically abused child tend to be fearful and uncooperative.

Emotional abusive will produce children to be lying, stealing, low self-esteem,

emotional maladjustment, dependency, depression, aggression, homicide and suicide

(Papalia, Olds, Feldman, and Gross 296-297).

5. Mother- Daughter Relationship

The relationship between mother-child is possibly the most intimate of all

forms of association for two people, for its closeness can not be compared even with

the greatest love between man and women. It also implied that the unique nature of

mother-child relationship is reflected in the term “mother- love” is commonly known

than “father-love” which sounds unusual and strange (Allers 245).

Motherhood is the relationship of the mother to her child as a sociolinguistic,

physiologic and emotional whole. This relationship begins with the conception of the

child and extends throughout the further physiologic process of pregnancy, birth,

feeding and care (Deutsch 18). Furthermore, Deutsch explains that a daughter’s

identification with her mother is important for her moral and emotional development.

Mother will play as role of source of identification of her daughter, who will next

develop her moral and behavior according her perception toward her mother

(Deutsch 322).

A child usually has a special relation toward his/her mother, remembering she


21

is the only person who pregnant and gives birth; moreover, she takes care of the

baby’s needs until he/she grows independently. Consequently, besides parents have a

contribution in shaping a child’s personality; a mother is the one who first puts the

basic shape of what a child’s personality.

Based on (Deutsch 312) sometimes, mother seeks and expects from her child

something she misses in herself. While she naturally realizes that her child builds her

personality on models, and since she herself does not want to give up to be her

model, she makes a great effort to pretend before her to be what she is not. If the

mother fails in this responsibility, her love for the child is transformed into hostility

and become danger for the child.

6. Conflict

Conflict always happens in our society. A clash of interests, values, actions or

directions often sparks a conflict. Conflicts refer to the existence of that clash.

Psychologically, a conflict exists when the reduction of one motivating stimulus

involves an increase in another, so that a new adjustment is demanded. Conflict is

actual or perceived opposition of needs, values and interests

(http://www.indiana.edu/~uhrs/training/ca/personality.html). Conflict can be divided

into two. They are:

a. Interpersonal Conflict

This is a person-to-person conflict. Interpersonal conflict also means “an

expressed struggle between at least two independent parties who perceive

incompatible goals, scare resources, and interference from the other party in


22

achieving goals.” The essential thing in this concept comes from the words

“expressed struggle” which has a deep meaning from both side to overcome the

conflict and it needs compromise.

There are five basic ways of addressing conflict are identified by Thomas and

Kilman in 1976 in Wikipedia’s article. There are: First is accommodation, it

surrenders on one's own needs and wishes to accommodate the other party. Secondly

is avoidance. In this method, people usually avoid or postpone conflict by ignoring it,

changing the subject, etc. Avoidance can be useful as a temporary measure to

enhance time or as a method of dealing with very negligible, non-recurring conflicts.

In more cases, conflict avoidance can involve severing a relationship or leaving a

group. Thirdly is collaboration. In this method, people are work together to find a

mutually beneficial solution. While the Thomas Kilman grid views collaboration as

the only win-win solution to conflict, collaboration can also be time-intensive and

inappropriate when there is not enough trust, respect or communication among

participants for collaboration to occur. Fourthly is compromise. People are to find a

middle ground in which each party is partially satisfied. Fifth is competition. It

emphasized on one’s viewpoint at the possible solutions of another. It can be useful

when achieving one's objectives balances one's concern for the relationship

(http://www.indiana.edu/~uhrs/training/ca/personality.html)

b. Intrapersonal Conflict

It goes on within one’s self. It deals with the struggle a person or character

has within himself/herself. Richard G. Warga in his book “A Psychology of

Adjustment” gives a point of view that its description includes into the intrapersonal


23

conflict. He says that a conflict is a special sort of frustration because it requires

choosing among alternatives (Warga 112).

Warga also states in his book about types of conflict within a self. There are:

first is approach-approach because it involves making choice between two equally

attractive alternatives. The opposite of this is avoidance-avoidance conflict, in which

the alternatives are equally unattractive. It means we are damned if choose one and

doomed if we do not. And the last is double-approach-avoidance; that the conflict

involves such choices of good and evil on both sides (Warga 112).

B. Theoretical Framework

In analyzing the novel, the writer uses six theories; theories of character and

characterization, theory of personality, theory of conflicts, theory of dissociative

identity disorder, theory of parental influence on children psychological

development, theory of motherhood. Theories of character and characterization will

help the writer to describe the main character and all her characteristics of this story.

It also means that the writer will describe all characters and their characteristics

inside the main character. By using theory of personality, the writer will analyze

deeper on the main character’s personality and her alternate. It helps to understand

what personality is before study deeper on the next parts. The theory of dissociative

identity disorder is used to give clear descriptions about dissociative identity

disorder, being multiple, and the symptoms. Actually, this is the main theory in

searching what kind of person Sybil is. Parental influence on children psychological

development will describe and answer about the role of family, especially parents, as


24

why Sybil personality splits. Because the writer believes that somebody’s personality

is splitting because severe childhood trauma, and in this case parents give the biggest

contribution.

Similar with theory on parental influence on psychology of the child, by

using the theory of motherhood, it will specify emphasize about mother’s role in

taking care of her child. This is important, because in this story, Sybil’s mother plays

the biggest part in contributing of being multiple. It also her responsiblility of

causing Sybil’s multiple pesonalities. The theory of conflict is very useful to give

specific details of the conflict in the story. It will also help the writer to show how

main character deals with all conflicts.


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CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter contains three parts. The first part is object of the study that

states the physical descriptions of the novel. The second part is the approach used in

this thesis in analyzing the novel. The last part is method of the study. It deals with

the research steps taken from reading up to the report writing. It also deals with what

the type of study undertaken, aspects of the topic, and how and where to gather data.

A. Object of the study

The object of the study is a novel entitled Sybil, the True Story of Woman

Possessed by Sixteen Personalities by Flora Rheita Schreiber. Sybil was written in

1973 and first published in the same year and became bestseller. Sybil is the most

controversial novel talking about Multiple Personalities, later called Dissociative

Identity Disorder. Because of its controversy, it was brought into a film in 1976

starring Sally Field as the actress and won an Emmy award. Thus, Sybil deeply

affected readers’ point of view in seeing the new term of being Multiple and of

course its influence the mental health profession.

The novel analyzed was published by Penguin Book in 1975. The novel was

written based on the true story of Dr. Cornelia C. Wilbur’s patient, Sybil who was

firstly considered as the patient with schizophrenia that had a history of blackout and

emotional background, and then finally it was revealed that she possessed more than


26

one personality.

The story is about the main character named Sybil Isabel Dorsett who is born

in a rural down in a very strict, conservative and orthodox family. Her father, Willard

Dorsett, is a building contractor, and her mother, Hattie Dorsett is a housewife. She

grows in the hands of a psycho-mother, who often does some abuses. The worst

thing is that her father does not care about what happens to her. Little Sybil then tries

to find a way to escape from her trouble by creating some imaginary personalities in

her mind, so she can run away from that horror. This habit of escaping traps her into

a big problem that is the personality splitting that she does not know about that.

B. Approach

This study aims to reveal the Sybil’s dissociative identity disorder. The

psychological approach is the approach to analyze the novel. The psychological

approach will enable the writer to analyze the characteristics of dissociative identity

disorder of the main character and the conflicts lying inside and also find out how

she copes with all the conflicts in her spitting personalities. Psychological criticism

employs three approaches. First, it investigates the creative process of the artist. The

second is psychological study of particular artist. Most modern literary uses the

psychological approach to understand the subject’s motivation and behavior. The

third common area of psychological criticism is the analysis of fictional characters

(Kennedy and Gioia, 1947).

C. Method of the Study


27

Library research was the method used by the writer in gathering the data from

this study. It means the data were collected by reading books, and taking notes and

doing some researches.

The main source was from the deep analysis of Flora Rheita Schreiber’s

Sybil. The others sources were collected by reading the articles, essays and criticism

either from books or from websites.

There were some steps done by the writer in analyzing the novel in order to

answer the problem formulation states in the chapter 1. Firstly, the writer read the

novel untilled: Sybil, the True Story of Woman Possessed by Sixteen Personalities for

several times both the English and Indonesian version to get clear and better

understanding. Secondly, the writer decided the problem to analyze in this study; it is

about a study on Sybil’s dissociative identity disorder, then the problems was

formulated. Thirdly, to answer the problem formulation, the writer needed to collect

data to support. The data can be found by reading some books related to the topic.

The writer also uses the electronic sources in finding some data. Fourth, the writer

re-read the primary data and underlines some important things relate to the answer of

the problems. Next, the writer applied some theories and the approach to analyze.

Finally, the writer drew some conclusions to answer the problems formulated.


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CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS

This chapter discusses the analysis of the novel Sybil, the True Story of

Woman Possessed by Sixteen Personalities. It is divided into three sections. The first

one is the analysis of how Sybil and her splitting personalities are described, while

second one is to reveal why Sybil has the dissociative identity disorder. The last one

is to answer how Sybil copes with all conflicts in her splitting personalities.

A. The description of Sybil and her Splitting Personalities in Sybil, the True

Story of Woman Possessed by Sixteen Personalities

In a novel, we can see that there are several characters with their own

characteristics. In the previous chapter, Abrams divides characters into two types.

The first is the main or major character. A major character is the center of the story

and the most important character in the story. Usually, the story focuses on this

character from the beginning until the end. The core of the story is highlighted

through this character experiences. Secondly are minor characters. Minor characters

only appear in a certain setting, just becomes the background for the major character.

Their roles are less important than the major one because they are not fully

developed, and their roles in a story are just to support the development of the major

character. However, the discussion of the major and minor characters is just limited

to the discussion of the character of Sybil and her splitting personalities by applying

Murphy’s theory of characterzation.


29

1. The Characteristics of Sybil Isabel Dorsett as the Major Character

a. Sybil Isabel Dorsett

This story presents Sybil Isabel Dorsett who is born on January 20, 1923 in

Willow Corners; a place where Sybil’s depressed life begins. She is the major

character in this story because she is the center of the story and most important

character. She is the main focus in the story from the beginning until the end of the

story. And she is described as:

1. Battered

Sybil is described as a battered person. She always gets some abuses from her

mother during her childhood.

A favorite ritual however, was to separate Sybil’s leg with a long wooden spoon, tie her feet to the spoon with dish towels, and then string her to the end of a light bulb cord, suspended from the ceiling. The child was left to swing in space while the mother proceeded the water faucet to wait the water to get cold. As the child swung in the space, the mother would insert the enema tip into the child’s urethra and filled the bladder with cold water…After placing Sybil on kitchen table, Hattie would force into the child’s vagina an array of objects that caught the mother’s fancy-a flashlight, a small empty bottle, a little silver box, the handle of a regular dinner knife, a little silver knife, a buttonhook (Schreiber, 198-199).

The quotation above shows the examples of abuses that Hattie does to Sybil.

Everyday for almost nine years during her childhood, Sybil has to face these kinds of

abuses.

Another proof is when Sybil is eight years old, she often sits alone, leaning

her head on her knees, and wondering why she feels lack of something. But, why she

should feel that way, she has the best house in Willow Corners and has better clothes

and more toys then some other child in town. The more she tries to define the lack,

the more obscure it becomes. She feels so sad, down and blue. To assuage her


30

feelings of guilt she prays for forgiveness three counts: for not being more grateful

for all she has; for not being happy, as her mother teaches she should be; and for

what her mother named ‘not being like other youngsters’ (Schreiber, 126).

That is why from the Sybil past life and by the reaction of Sybil in certain

situations we can conclude that Sybil is a battered person.

2. Fragile

After living for almost eighteen years in Willow Corners, Sybil has moved

several times to study and work. Finally, she lives in New York to heal the syndrome

by the help of Dr. Cornelia B. Wilbur.

Dr. Wilbur has her own perception toward Sybil’s appearance. She thinks that

Sybil is lean, fragile, and looks younger than her age. She has a heart shape, a tilted

nose, a small rosebud mouth; the characteristics of an English woman.

At the same time Dr. Wilbur was thinking: She’s as slender, as fragile, as ever. Looks no older. I’d know that face anywhere: the heart shape, the tilted nose, the small rosebud mouth. It’s a face you don’t see on the street of New York. It’s an English face, and despite the slight pitting of the skin, it has the fresh, unadorned look of an Englishwoman (Schreiber, 56). The other evidence that shows the Sybil’s fragile is when she is trying to

commit suicide. This is based on consideration that she will never be healed.

She felt alone, useless, futile. Convinced that she never going to get better…certain that her life had stopped while retraced a path that uncovered only anguish, Sybil felt that she had indeed come to the end of the line…She envisioned herself in the water, sinking (Schreiber, 320). Another proof showing the Sybil’s fragile is when she tries to jump into the

grave in her grandmother’s burial. Her grandmother is the one who really loves and

cares for little Sybil. She is the only one who brings happiness toward Sybil. Her

grandmother’s burial means burying the happiness, so she tries to chase the


31

happiness by jumping into the grave, to the place of the one who really loves her

(Schreiber, 132). Thus, from the personal description, reactions of the certain

situations, thought, etc, she is described as a fragile person.

3. Unconfident

Sybil is also described as a person who does not have enough self-confidence.

It can be seen from the conversation between Sybil and Henry. She thinks that people

do not like her and she does not deserve to have a close relationship.

“Don’t you like me just a little bit?” he asked. “Of course, I like you, “she replied slowly.

“Well?” he asked. “But I don’t want to date anybody,” she replied firmly.

“You’re too nice for that,” he protested. “Lots of people like you, and you shouldn’t be like that. You’re a good company (Schreiber, 318). We can also see the idea of Sybil’s lack of self-confidence is from Vicky’s

opinion. Vicky is one of the characters of Sybil. She says that Sybil is always afraid

of not being polite enough. She is terrified to interact with some high society women

(Schreiber 91). This opinion is based on consideration that the society will never

accept Sybil’s condition. When she meets Marian Ludlow, a high class woman from

the society, Sybil becomes afraid and thinks that she does not deserve to have a

relationship with a woman from a high society. Thus, from her speech, conversation

of other, Sybil is described as a woman with lack of confidence.

4. Fearful

In all her entire life, Sybil is always scared. Peggy, one of Sybil’s

personalities, gives the opinion about Sybil. Sybil is always under the shadow of fear

(Schreiber 67). This is the product of her abusive mother. From the harsh condition,

she will never be permitted to tell anybody, including her father. She is forbidden to


32

be angry or just showing her feeling. Because of facing the dreadful situation from

her mother, she then becomes a person who cannot stand up for herself. She is

always afraid to depend for her right or at least to ask for help. All she can do is only

image that she becomes someone else who has a completely different situation, and

of course a happy life. The way she escapes from all her problems by imaging brings

her personality dissociated (Schreiber 103-105).

Another proof is when Peggy appears and introduces herself; she makes some

comparison between Sybil and herself. She says that Sybil is scared. She is just

scared all the time (Schreiber 67). From the conversation of other, character seen by

another, we can conclude that Sybil is a fearful person.

5. Clever

Above all those negative characteristics within Sybil, actually Sybil is a smart

girl. Dr. Hall, her mother’s doctor, gives her a special attention and has treated her

like an intelligent adult.

…and she realized that what she liked most about him was that he treated her like an intelligent adult… Being twenty two entitled her to adult status. Having an IQ of 170, according to a standard intelligence test, should have earned her the right to be treated as if she were intelligent (Schreiber 33). In fact, she is never treated like being an intelligent person by her mother and

her father. Based on Dr. Wilbur’s opinion, Willard Dorsett, Sybil’s father has let his

daughter down by not permitting her to skip grade (even though her IQ was170 and

she is held back by slower children), for fear she would get what he calls a ‘swelled

head’ (Schreiber 248). That quotation shows us that Sybil’s father does not allow her

talented child to skip grade because he is afraid that her child will be an arrogant


33

person. On the other hand, what he has done makes Sybil’s mental down.

Another proof is from her father who realizes that Sybil is talented child.

When Frieda, Sybil’s step mother gives her opinion about Sybil, saying that Sybil

does not try good enough to be a good daughter, Willard denies her wife opinion

with a conviction that Sybil is a genius, brilliant, gifted girl, no matter what else she

is. Therefore, based on comment of others, conversation between Willard and Frieda

and by the author direct comment, Sybil is described as a cleaver person.

2. The Characteristics of Sybil Isabel Dorsett’s Splitting Personaties as the

Minor Character

Sybil has multiple independent and different personalities, and each of the

personalties knows each other well. The ironic thing is that Sybil does know nothing

about them, and even does not know they exist. She finally agrees to be examined by

Dr. Wilbur, a Psyatrician. She says that the first dissociation happens in St. Mary

hospital when Sybil is in age of three and a half years old and that it has been

spawned not by one trauma but by succesion of traumas induced by Hattie Dorseet,

Sybil’s mother, the taproot, aided and and abetted by the powerful associated roots of

Willard Dorsett’s failure to provide rescue and it has been also reinforced by Sybil’s

entrapment by religion, particularly as projected by a religiously hysterical

grandfather (Schreiber 310).

The chart below shows Sybil’s dissociative personalities, a genealogy of

psycologycal functioning, emotional inheritance. In the year of 1935, she is only


34

known as Sybil, then when she is twelve years old. Sybil personalities consist of

Vicky’s line, Peggy’s line and Sybil’s line. Dr. Wilbur describes that Vicky’s line

consists of Marcia, who appeares in 1927, Mary (1933), Vanessa (1935) and Sybil

Ann. Whereas, Peggy’s line consists of Peggy Ann, into whom the original Peggy

has developed; Peggy Lou who arrives in 1926; Sid and Mike, who arrive early in

1928. Ruthie, Helen, Marjorie and Clare are descented from neither Peggy nor

Vicky, but directly from the original Sybil. It is stated that although Sybil has lost

everything with which Vicky and the original Peggy endowes, Vicky and Peggy has

lost nothing from their descendents inheritage. Vicky and Peggy retaines their own

the emotions, characteristics, aquisitions, and modes of behaviour that have infused

the lives of their progeny. (Schreiber 309-310). Whereas Nancy is not states in the

novel when she appers and the Blonde appears during Sybil recovery treatment.

SYBIL ISSABEL DORSETT

Vicky Peggy

Ruthie Helen Marjorie Clara Nancy The Blonde

Marcia Peggy Lou

Vanessa Peggy Ann

Mary Sid

Sybil Ann Mike

a. Victoria Antoinette Scharleau

Victoria Antoinette Scharleau or Vicky is one of Sybil’s imaginary


35

personalities. She is a character borrowed from Sybil’s imagination, which is in the

fantasy of the pretending world of childhood who is bright, and unafraid. She

describes herself as a woman with blonde ringlets (Schreiber 89). She comes from

abroad and her family is in Paris. She assures that her existence is to help. And after

awhile, her parents will come to her to pick her up (Schreiber 87). Vicky comes up

when Sybil is still a little girl.

Vicky is sophisticated woman. As a sophisticated woman, Vicky has a good

taste of fashion. She can fit all her clothes beautifully. She always can mix and match

some clothes and fit it with a circumstance in which she will attend (Schreiber 86).

Vicky’s sophisticated character can also be seen not only by her choice to

dress, but also from her movements, voice and her diction and grammar when she

held a conversation (Schreiber 94). Dr. Wilbur also has the same opinion about

Vicky. She thinks that Vicky is sophisticated, friendly, and very concern about Sybil.

From Vicky’s mannerism, direct comment from the author and other’s character’s

description, Vicky can be concluded as a sophisticated woman.

Vicky is described as a helpful person. She says that she is glad she can help

(Schreiber 91). Vicky really wants to help Dr. Wilbur to find the basis problem of

Sybil. From the entire story, we can see that Vicky is the key person who helps Dr.

Wilbur in the process of integrating all Sybil’s personalities. She is also the most

important personality who gives the most information about all personalities

(Schreiber 86). Therefore, from her speech about herself and other’s thought, Vicky

can be described as a helpful person.


36

Vicky is a brave person. Vicky is not afraid to ask something or argue Sybil’s

mother. When she is not allowed to sit in the cold, when they still live in Willow

Corners, she says that she is used to their Midwestern winters (Schreiber 147). Vicky

shows herself that she is not afraid arguing with Hattie, although she knows the

consequences she takes whenever Hattie becomes angry. This is the characteristic

that Sybil does not have. Sybil prefers to obey her mother; otherwise she will be

punished instead. From the conversation of by Vicky and Hattie, we can see that

Vicky is a brave person who is not afraid of arguing with Hattie.

b. Vanessa Gail Dorsett and Marcia Lynn Dorsett

Vanessa Gail Dorsett and Marcia Lynn are two of sixteen Sybil’s

personalities. Vanessa and Marcia are described as persons who are interested in

doing new things together.

‘What do you girls like to do?’ ‘Travel,’ said Marcia.

‘Go places’ said Vanessa. We’re always interested in new and different places to see and things to do. Life is for living.’ Marcia and Vanessa then talked about how they both enjoyed aeroplanes, big cities, the theater, concerts, places of historical interest, and buying choice book. ‘We have our own like,’ but Vanessa and I enjoys things most and we do them together (Schreiber 168).

Marcia and Vanessa are also described as close friend within Sybil’s personality.

Vanessa and Marcia come up firstly when Sybil is twelve years old and lived in

Willow Corners (Schreiber 168).

Vanessa’s physical characteristic can be seen from what Vicky has explained

to Dr. Wilbur in the certain consultation. It is said that Vanessa is red-haired girl. She

loves to play the piano and she is a kind of a cheerful person (full of joie de vivre)


37

(Schreiber 167).

Although Vanessa and Marcia speak the same English accents in a similar

diction and speech pattern, however, Vanessa talks soprano and her voice has a

lilting (Schreiber 168).

Vanessa likes to exaggerate everything. She likes to emphasize hyperbolic

with certain mimic and gestures (Schreiber 169). Dr. Wilbur also has a special

opinion about Vanessa. She thinks that Vanessa is energetic and uses an extravagant

gesture, and overstates everything (Schreiber 170). Thus, Vanessa can be described

as a dramatic woman.

Vanessa is also described as a gorgeous woman. From Mary’s opinion, she

says that she is not as attractive as Vicky or as glamorous as Vanessa. Vanessa is a

kind of enchanting women, which means that she is a good-looking person

(Schreiber 163-164). Thus, Vanessa is an attractive person.

On the other hand, Marcia is described as a writer (Schreiber 170) of soft-

hearted. From what Vicky explains to Dr. Wilbur, it is described that Marcia feels

what Sybil feels more intensely (Schreiber 167). Another proof shows how easy

Marcia cries. She has a sensitive feeling.

When Sybil and the others watched something sad on television, Marcia was the one who cried. Whenever a child or dog returned to its home or taken back to its parents or found its mother again, Marcia would weep copiously (Schreiber 170-171)

Marcia is also the one who will cry because of missing her mother, (Schreiber

171) therefore, Marcia is a sensitive person.


38

c. Mary Lucinda Saunders Dorsett

Mary Lucinda Saunders Dorsett is another personality that comes up when

Sybil is ten years old of the sixth grade, during the first years of Peggy Lou’s two-

year term. She emerges when Sybil has her first menstruation (Schreiber 153).

Mary’s accent is Midwestern accent, soft, low and somber (Schreiber 161). Mary

sees herself as a plump, maternal, little-old-lady type, and not very stylish. She is just

interested in Kinder, Küche, Kirche (children, kitchen, and church) (Schreiber 164).

Mary gets her name from Sybil’s grandma’s name and she says that she looks like

Sybil’s grandma.

Mary also has a sensitive feeling. She is the one who took the deepest sadness

of losing Grandma, a feeling that Sybil cannot express. She tells her feeling to the

doctor during 15 June 1955 sessions (Schreiber 164).

Because Mary has a pensive thought, she likes to express it by writing poetry

to ease her pain, her pain of being lonely (Schreiber 163). The other proof of Mary’s

favorite writing poetry can be seen in the quotation below,

‘You try,’ Mary answer firmly, almost self-righteously. “In the world’s broad field of battle, you try,” The doctor nodded. ‘In the bivouac of life, Be not like dumb, driven cattle! Be a hero in the strife! (Schreiber 165).

Thus, Marry is described as a sensitive person.

Mary is also a person who loves doing housework. She feels that all the

housework is her responsibility (Schreiber 162). And by her description about herself

from the conversation with Dr. Wilbur in certain analysis, we can see that she is a


39

home-loving woman.

Besides, Mary is described as a fanatic person. Mary thinks that having

psychoanalysis with Dr. Wilbur can be considered as a sin. This consideration comes

up because the influence from Willard Dorsett and a priest of her town. According to

them having analysis with the doctor from different religion may decrease her faith

(Schreiber, 163). Doctor also thinks that her attitude toward her religion makes some

traumas to her (Schreiber 167).

d. Sybil Ann

Sybil Ann is portrayed as a pale, stringy girl with ash-blonde hair, grey eyes,

an oval face, and a straight nose. When Sybil Ann controls the body, it seems that the

body endures a change. The body seems grow smaller. The dress wore seems to

stretch. She seems to be hiding.

Sybil Ann is an extremely in a deep depression and thinks that she does not

deserve to live. When she has a consultation and she makes an excuse for being life.

Sybil Ann shrank into the consulting-room. She didn’t speak to the doctor but whispered. After the introduction was over, Sybil Ann sat silently, starting into vacancy. It was as if she were erasing herself from the scene, almost as if, by implication, she were saying, ‘I’m not fit to occupy space. Excuse me for living’ (Schreiber 272). This idea is strengthened by the fact that she seldom eats, sleeps little, and

generally evinced only slight interest in her surroundings (Schreiber 273). Therefore,

Sybil Ann is a depressive person.

e. Peggy Lou Baldwin

Dr. Wilbur says that Sybil often faces a fugue state, an empty phase when she


40

is not conscious about herself, and in this phase the other personalities take control.

Peggy is one of Sybil personalities who come up whenever Sybil faces a fugue state.

The quotation below shows the existence of Peggy inside Sybil.

The doctor had the distinct impression that she was dealing with someone younger then Sybil. But the denunciation of men? The doctor couldn’t be sure. Then the thought she had reined back broke forth: ‘Who are you?’ ‘Can’t you tell the difference?’ was the reply, accompanied by a resolutely independent tossing of the head. ‘I’m Peggy.’ The doctor didn’t answer, and Peggy continued: ‘We don’t look alike. You can see that. You can.’ (Schreiber 63) Peggy is always convinced that she and Sybil are completely different

persons with distinct physical characteristics. Peggy has a square body that gives her

a chunky appearance that she is not too crazy about. She has Dutch haircut that she

likes very much, and also she likes her straight black hair, her bangs, her round face,

her pig nose, her bright blue eyes and, her mischievous smile. She looks like “a pixie,

Sybil, with her thin, lean body, her light brown hair worn loosely, her heart-shaped

face, her grey eyes, and her serious expression, was altogether different” (Schreiber

75-76).

The existence of Peggy inside Sybil is strengthened by Peggy’s own interest

that is told when the analysis held. Peggy says she likes to paint, in black and white.

She does charcoal and pencil sketches. Peggy thinks that her painting is not as well

as Sybil does (Schreiber 63).

Peggy is really an independent personality that lies within Sybil’s body and

takes control whenever Sybil faces a fugue states. As an independent personality, she

has her own characters. We can see Peggy’s characters as presented below


41

Peggy is described as a woman with good self-confidence. She always does

whatever she wants. She really takes full control of Sybil’s body as if it is hers. It

also means that no one can force her to do the things she doe snot wants to do.

And Peggy, obviously pleased that the doctor had been able to tell her apart from Sybil, entered with quick, confident steps…..‘I told you a little the other day,’ she said, ‘I was angry then, I had right to be, ‘….. (Schreiber 66) Peggy added. ‘I supposed they’d smile if you ticked them with a feather. Not me though. I don’t smile or talk if I don’t want to. And anybody can make me.’ (Schreiber 67-68) Suddenly thinking about Peggy out on the street alone, Dr. Wilbur was concerned. Peggy, an assertive personality, should be able to take care of herself. (Schreiber 68)

Peggy is a woman with a big eager. She always wants to know something

new, go to somewhere or to do something different. She, sometimes, decides to walk

for a while, look, see, experience. There are so many things she wants to know about.

That is why she always listens, tries to hear everything with her ears straining to

capture all she can. She often goes to different places just to find out what is going

on (Schreiber 69).

Peggy is illustrated as a person who is easy to be furious: an angry pixie. This

is because Peggy carried some terrible burden that Sybil refuses to face. This is

proved by incident in Elizabeth, about her reaction to bangs the metal frame against a

slightly open car’s window with her handbag, when she thinks a car parking nearby

is her father’s (Schreiber 71). Thus, Peggy is a bad-tempered person.

f. Peggy Ann

Besides Peggy Lou, there is one of other Peggy too. Her name is Peggy Ann.

In the story, it is described that Peggy Ann is a counterpart of Peggy Lou with similar


42

physical characteristics.

This is Peggy Lou. Her hair is black… The doctor nodded and asked, ‘What about Peggy Ann?’

‘I won’t bother drawing her,’ Vicky replied. ‘The sketch of Peggy Lou could pass for Peggy Ann. They’re very much alike.’ (Schreiber 89)

The thing that makes the two Peggys different is that Peggy Ann takes the

fearfulness of Sybil. Then Peggy Lou takes the anger of Sybil (Schreiber 88).

g. Mike and Sid Dorsett

After three years of analysis, there come up other personalities within Sybil

Isabel Dorsett. And it is such a surprising thing for Dr. Wilbur, since the personalities

are two boys in the body of woman, who call themselves Mike and Sid (Schreiber

252).

Sid emerges from the identification of Sybil’s father. He calls himself as a

builder. Whereas, Mike emerges from grandpa’s identification

I look like my Dad, ‘Sid had volunteered. ‘He’s a builder. I’m a builder. As good as he is anytime.’ Mike had remarked, ‘Grandpa was strong, and I’m strong. He could pound nails, and I can pound nails just as hard as he can. He was big, and I can be as big. I’m not crippled.’(Schreiber 254) Mike is a portrayed as a boy who has olive skin, dark hair, and brown eyes.

While, Sid is described as a boy who has light skin, dark hair, and blue eyes

(Schreiber, 252). Mike gets his name from both Sybil’s father and grandpa. The

name ‘Mike’ exists because Willard is accustomed to call his daughter ‘Mike’ and is

reinforced by a favorite expression of grandfather Dorsett: ‘For the love of Mike,’

whereas, Sid gets his name from Sybil’s initial – Sybil Isabel Dorsett (Schreiber


43

253).

A personality strutted jauntily toward the couch, sat down, and confessed, ‘I did it’ ‘Did what?’ the doctor asked. ‘Built the partition, of course. I let Mike drive in nails, but I did all the heavy work myself…’ (Schreiber 252) Sid, who was the partition’s carpenter, was also Sybil’s repairman. ‘I fix what’s broken, mend what needs mending,’ Sid told Dr. Wilbur. (Schreiber 253)

Mike and Sid say that they share same hobbies and experiences. They say

they like to do boys-things, such as: building and fixing and repairing things

h. Ruthie Dorsett

Ruthie is the youngest personalities among others. She is only three and a

half years old. She emerges by the primal scene of Sybil’s parents’ revealing analysis

(Schreiber 176).

Although she is a child, Ruthie can be considered as a smart girl. This can be

seen by the way she interrupts her parent’s sexual activity by climbing her parents’

bed and takes place in the middle. What Ruthie has done is an effective way to cut

Hattie and Willard’s activity.

But when parents got into bed and her father moved to her mother’s side, Ruthie would make her presence known. ‘Go to sleep, mama,’ she would call. ‘Go to sleep, daddy,’…..Ruthie climb out of the crib and walked very quietly toward her parent’s bed…Climbing onto the bed, she attempted to get between her parents and reclaim her rightful place in the middle (Schreiber 176-177)

What she has done is also a way to show to her parents that she hates her

parents doing that activity. And by her reaction toward the primal of her parents, she

is concluded as a smart girl.


44

Ruthie is a brave girl because she is not afraid to take the consequences doing

sexual interruption. Hattie can do more and more terrible abuses toward her because

of interrupting their sexual activity. However, she brave to do and take the risks.

And, by her reaction of stopping the primal scenes, she can be concluded as a brave

girl (Schreiber 176-177).

i. Helen Dorsett

Helen is described as a person with light-brown hair, hazel-eyes, a straight

nose and thin lips. Helen is a fearful person. Helen is afraid of the character of

‘mother,’ and when Dr. Wilbur says about Hattie in the treatment room, then she

suddenly jumps and tries to hide. It clearly shows us that Hattie become a big terror

for her (Schreiber 272).

Helen is also an ambitious character. Helen, who seems unassertive in

manner, is nevertheless ambitious, determined ‘to be somebody, to do things in her

own way, and makes Dr. Wilbur, proud of her (Schreiber 272).

j. Marjorie Dorsett

Marjorie is another personality within Sybil’s. She is a person who has a

small figure, willowy brunette hair with fair skin and a pug nose. Marjorie is also a

humorous person. When Dr. Wilbur asks her whether she knows Sybil or not she

raises her eyebrow and says that she will not tell her (Schreiber 171). From her

gesture in the conversation held, we can see that Marjorie is a humorous person.

Marjorie is such a cheerful girl. This characteristic is special that none of the


45

other personalities posses this. She enjoys her life so much. She likes parties, theater,

fairs and traveling, all the things that Sybil withdraws (Schreiber 271). That is why,

she is a cheerful character.

k. Clara Dorsett

Clara says that she is 23 years old. She likes studying and music very much

(Schreiber 274). Clara is also religious. She says that she knows religion more than

the other selves do. For her, religion is important. She really believes in the Bible as

the revelation of His truth (Schreiber 274).

What Sybil has done seems is not okay for Clara. She also fights against

Sybil. A self is against a self in a woman. She also says that she does not like Sybil.

‘Sybil’s such a deplorable character. Honest, it’s disgusting. The thing about it is that she gets the idea that she’s going to try. She can’t do anything!’

‘You sound as if you don’t like Sybil,’ the doctor said. ‘I don’t,’ Clara replied bluntly (Schreiber 274) From the quotation above shows that Clara does not like Sybil because she

thinks that Sybil can not do anything. This is Sybil’s weakness according to other

personalities. Thus, Clara is always trying to criticize Sybil.

l. Nancy Lou Ann Baldwin

Nancy Lou Ann Baldwin introduces herself to Dr. Wilbur. She gets the name

Baldwin by using the name of Sybil’s teacher. She lives in the outer of terror. It

means she does not experience the abuses directly, and then she just becomes a

person who sees and listens to the abuses. Therefore, she becomes a person who does

not like noisy voices. She thinks that everything seems to blow up (Schreiber 277).


46

Nancy believes in prophecy very much. From the quotation below, we can

see the proof.

Before the end, prophecy also tells us, the Catholics will come into power and control the government and men’s mind. We’re seeing both things happening. Everywhere we read about rivers that have been polluted. Pollution is the blood of which prophecy speaks. And since you can’t live very long without water, we shall all die as prophecy predict (Schreiber 278).

Nancy always thinks that what happens has a connection with the end of the world as

the biblical prophecy; before the end, the Catholics will lead governments and

people’s mind. She really believes that the Armageddon is going to happen soon.

That is why; she can be concluded as a person who believes in the fulfillment of

biblical prophecy.

m. The Blonde Girl

The last character of Sybil’s Dissociative Identity Disorder is The Blonde.

She appears during Sybil’s recovery treatment. She says she has been around for

nineteen years. She is the girl Sybil would like to be, who is born in tranquility

(Schreiber 397). She does not say her name. She only says that she is the girl Sybil

wants to be, a blonde and is always happy

Rising to her feet, Sybil seemed taller than her normal size. A voice younger then Sybil’s, light, lilting, and cheerful exclaimed ‘I’m the girl Sybil would like to be. My hair is blonde and my heart is light.’ (Schreiber 396)

She is only the one among other selves who has had no childhood traumas.

She never knows both Hattie and Willard, never lives in Willow Corners, and never

attends the Willow Corner church. She comes in Omaha and she does everything


47

Sybil really wants to be. She says that she enjoys college. She will join sororities,

will have many dates, and will become a cheerleader at sport events, a campus leader

in everything. She loves life and living (Schreiber 394).

B. The Description of Sybil’s Dissociative Identity Disorder

The Parents, Hattie and Willard play a big part in making Sybil’s

dissociative. Because of Hattie’s Schizophrenia and Willard’s ignorance about her

daughter and the hypocritical environment in the family and in Willow Corners that

makes Sybil’s splitting personalities grow fertile.

1. Sybil’s Characteristics as a Person with Dissociative Identity Disorder

Some experts explain that an individual with dissociative identity disorder

appears to have two or more distinct personalities or personality states. These

personalities take turns in controlling the actions, because an individual with this

disorder is not capable to remember personal information (Wilson, Nathan, O’Leary,

Clark 181). It is described in the novel that her sixteen personalities are: Vicky,

Peggy Lou, Peggy Ann, Marcia, Vanessa, Marry, Clara, Helen, Marjorie, Ruthie,

Mike, Sid, Nancy, Sybil Ann and The blonde and the original Sybil herself. These

sixteen altogether live within the same body.

The term dissociative identity disorder also means that each personality has

its own age, name, sex, intelligence and personal states (Huffman, Vernoy and

Vernoy 531). Each personality within Sybil also has its own characteristics above.

For the example in the novel, when Sybil is born, her parents give her a name Sybil


48

Isabel Dorsett. However, because of some traumas that has happened, her personality

splits into sixteen personalities. Peggy Lou is one of the sixteen personalities. She

has black hair, easy to get furry, a bad tempered girl (Schreiber 75-76). The other

personalities are Mike and Sid. They are male, a builder and carpenter, and they still

kids (Schreiber 252). They usually appear together. This case proves that even

different sexes can live within the same body.

2. The Symptoms

Individuals diagnosed with Dissosiative Identity Disorder (DID) show a

variety of symptoms. The symptoms can include: multiple mannerisms, attitudes and

beliefs that are dissimilar to each other, headaches and other body pains, distortion or

loss of subjective time, depersonalization, amnesia, depression (Wikipedia, free

encyclopedia (http://skepdic.com/mpd.html). In this case, Sybil experiences all of the

sequences.

a. Multiple mannerisms

The proof that Sybil has multiple mannerisms is that she has sixteen alternate

personalities within her. They are: Peggy Lou who arrives in 1926; Peggy Ann, into

whom the original Peggy has developed; Vicky, who appears in 1927; Mary on 1933,

Vanessa on 1935; Sid and Mike who arrives in the early1928, Nancy, Ruthie, Helen,

Marjorie, Claire, and the Blonde who arrives during Sybil recovery treatment

(Schreiber 309-310).

b. Multiple Attitudes


49

Sybil has also multiple attitudes. Sometimes when Peggy Lou emerges within

her, then she becomes a very confident person, moody and easy to be furious

(Schreiber 66-68). When Vicky emerges, then a sophisticated, helpful and brave

woman takes control of Sybil’s body. It will be different when Mary appears, then

Sybil who is fragile, unconfident and fearful (Schreiber 56, 103-105,318) becomes

person who is sensitive, fanatic and loves doing housework (Schreiber 162-165). The

different attitudes will also emerge whenever the other alternates take control of

Sybil’s body.

c. Headache and other body pains

When Sybil is in college, she experiences extreme nervousness and something

called hysterics. And because of this, the college refuses to take her back unless a

psychiatrist says she is fit to rejoin. During the late spring of 1935, Sybil is diagnosed

to have hysteria, the illness resulting from emotional conflict, which is characterized

by immaturity, dependency and suddenly a half of Sybil’s face and her arms will

become numb. She grows weak on one side, not always the same side. She, and some

of selves, for instance Mary, develops a nervous tic. Sybil and one of the

personalities will twitch, jerk and carry on with unrestrained body movements. The

symptoms are intensified by headache (Schreiber 155-156).

d. Distortion or loss of subjective time and amnesia

These are what Sybil must face. The time loss or what Sybil calls is “bad

day” or “the emptiness” appears when she cannot face some problems. At that time

the other personalities take control of her body. The example is when Sybil does not

know why she is suddenly already at Philadelphia because all that she can remember


50

is she is in the way home from the lab (Schreiber 19-23). This proves that the other

personality who takes control is Peggy Lou. She is the one who takes a journey to

Philadelphia. Another proof is when she is in the fifth grade, because as long as she

knows, she is at the third grade (Schreiber 133-135).

e. Depersonalization

Depersonalization is a symptom when the sufferer has a feeling of lack of

involvement or drifting apart from one’s self; the sufferer may feel like the robot or

as if they live in a dream or a movie. They also become paranoid of the common

thing .e.g.: the voice of the low volume radio becomes as if too loud voice, etc.

Depersonalization is a reality testing that remains intact, which means the person

knows something terribly wrong and trying to figure it out. Sometimes, the person

becomes hyper vigilant to the things around them and their existence. There are some

causes of depersonalization, they are: early childhood trauma, temporal epilepsy,

stress resulting from life threatening situations, migraine, drugs abuse, including the

use of marijuana and ecstasy (Depersonalization info).

Here, Sybil faces a depersonalization as one symptom of dissociative identity

disorder, because a person with depersonalization is become paranoid of the common

things and the person becomes too alert of all the things. In this case, because of her

childhood trauma, Sybil becomes paranoid of music, shoes and a buttonhook. Sybil

often feels that her life seems to be floating by in an unreal kind of way, filled with

strange presentiments. She seems that her life is like a dream. She often feels that she

is walking beside her and watching her (Schreiber 155-156).

f. Depression


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Depression is the actions of taking over her body by the alternates create a

hard pressure to Sybil. She feels alone, useless and futile, but convinces that she will

never get better. She faces a self-recriminations and complaints. And, she does not

want to live like the way she has. And the climax of her depression is the desire to

end her life (Schreiber 320).

3. The Causes

Dissociative personality disorder is often caused by extreme negative events

during childhood. In Sybil's case, she is tortured and sexually abused by her mother

when she is a young girl. This causes her personality to break up; the following are

the causes literally, because she can not bear the extreme abuse she is subjected to.

a. Parental Influences

Researchers have proved that love, parental warmth and permissiveness are

about all that a child needs for healthy personality development (Watson and

Lindgren 299). So, there is no doubt that parents are playing an important role in

upbringing children. Moreover, home provides the conditions that facilitate some

kinds of behavior. However, inevitably some parents also do some tortures: physical,

neglect, sexual, emotional abuse that makes horrific effect toward children.

Sybil, the daughter of Hattie and Willard Dorsett also faces some

maltreatment that makes her escape from all horror by creating some personalities

that she thinks can save her and that is the taproot of her psychological disorder.

Hattie and Willard do not play their part as good parents. Hattie, a schizophrenic


52

does some abuses to Sybil. Meanwhile, Willard as a father builds a wall of distance

from his daughter. Therefore he even does not know what Hattie has done to Sybil.

1. Mother-Daughter Relationship

The relationship between a mother and a child, especially between a mother

and a daughter involves emotional, sociolinguistic, and physiologic aspects. This is

because they have certain connection that happen process of pregnancy, birth,

feeding and care (Deutsch 18). But, this kind of relationship does not always happen

as it does. It describes in the novel that during the first thirteen years of the Dorsett's

marriage, Hattie has four miscarriages. They think that they will never have a child.

And there is another reason why this happens. It is because the psychological

components that seems likely to be mother’s ambivalence about having a baby

(Schreiber 124).

Hattie’s ambivalence of being a mother reasserts itself. That is why the first

time she sees her daughter and thinks that Sybil is so fragile, and Hattie is afraid that

she will break. A severe depression follows Hattie after she gives birth and lasts for

about the first four months of Sybil’s life. At this time, the only contact happening is

when she breast-feeds her baby, and the rest of nurturing falls to the nurse, to Willard

and Grandma Dorsett. The depression follows after a child’s birth intensified the

anxiety and the ambivalence of a mother that has been the characteristic of Hattie

Dorsett (Schreiber 125).

Little Sybil often sits alone in the stairs and feels that she is lack of

something. Although she has all children in Willow Corners wants, and she has


53

better clothes and more toys than the other child in town. The more she tries to find

out the lack, the more indescribable it becomes (Schreiber 126). And the lack itself is

the lack of love and care from Hattie.

Mother is a role model for her daughter. A child will identify herself as her

mother; she will automatically develop her moral and behavior according her

perceptions towards her mother (Deutsch 322). But, in some cases there is a mother

who wants to be a role model for their children by forcing them to be what she has

missed in her past life and if this is does not happen, the love of the mother turns into

something dangerous for the children (Deutsch 312). In this novel, Sybil, the

daughter of Hattie faces something very terrible that makes her personality split. Dr.

Wilbur, a psychiatry who analyzes Sybil concludes that her psychological disorder is

caused by childhood trauma, especially abuses done by her mother. It is true that

Sybil is a victim of her mother's failed ambition in her youth and a target of her anger

toward her father for stumbling off her dreams.

a) Hattie Dorsett’s Past Life

Hattie Anderson is Sybil’s mother; she is one of thirteen children in

Anderson’s big family. She is a daughter of Winston and Aileen. Her father is the

one who gets well respected from the town and an autocrat at home. Her mother only

has little time for nurturing her many children. It is clear that her children are lack of

attention from both of their parents (Schreiber 213).

Hattie is a tall girl with a slender body, auburn hair and blue grey eyes, whose

the elementary school report cards reveal a solid phalanx of As. She likes to write


54

poetry and her music teachers praise for her ability and support her dream of going to

music conservatory to becoming a concert pianist. She finds that her ambition

collapses when she is twelve years old. Winston, her father has yanked her from

school when she is in seventh grade and places her in a store to replace her elder

sister’s position who has left to get married. There is no economic reason for making

Hattie give up her studies. Hattie’s dream has crumbled, and she become ill with

chorea, a physical illness that makes her jerk and twitch (Schreiber 215).

Striking back for losing her dream, Hattie does little acts of mischief and

practical jokes, not by open rebellion or outright confrontation. Then she becomes a

family’s trouble maker. Shortly, Hattie’s anger is last during his father’s lifetime and

after his death. She buries her hatred against him, transmitting it into idealization,

idolatry, and pathological attachment, which is evident when she is fondling his

father jacket. The unloved Hattie is incapable of loving. Unnurtured herself, she

becomes a nonnorturing person. A lonely isolated in her big family, then she isolates

her only child emotionally. Her anger is the result of her broken dream of pursuing a

music career. Sybil, her daughter is the recipient of Hattie’s repressed furry against

Winston. Sybil is also the victim of Hattie’s father idolatry and of repressed conflict

resulted from Hattie’s idealizing and blaming her father (Schreiber 216).

b) Hattie Dorsett’s Abuses

Hattie is not able to love because she has never been loved (Schreiber 216).

Then Hattie never treats her daughter properly. She does abuses and abuses.

A favorite ritual however, was to separate Sybil’s leg with a long wooden spoon, tie her feet to the spoon with dish towels, and then string her to the


55

end of a light bulb cord, suspended from the ceiling. The child was left to swing in space while the mother proceeded the water faucet to wait the water to get cold. As the child swung in the space, the mother would insert the enema tip into the child’s urethra and filled the bladder with cold water… (Schreiber 198-199)

From the quotation above, it can clearly be seen that Sybil really faces some tortures

everyday. That ritual is not complete until Hattie warns Sybil not to tell anybody

about that. If she does, then Hattie threats that God’s wrath will do to her. And the

torture continues, such as: a hot flat iron is pressed in the hands of Sybil that causes

serious burn. A rolling pin descends on Sybil’s fingers. A drawer closes on Sybil’s

hand. A purple scarf is tied around Sybil’s neck until she gasps for breath (Schreiber

200).

Hattie will not hesitate to do such pains that almost kill her daughter. Starting

with the incident of the bead, Hattie has shoved one of the beads up her nose.

Another incident is the horrible affliction in the wheat crib. When Sybil is four and a

half, Hattie puts Sybil in the wheat and leaves her. Encircled by the wheat, Sybil

feels herself smothering and thinks that she is going to die (Schreiber 206-207).

Beside physical tortures, Sybil also suffers from sexual abuses done by her

mother. These sexual abuses done every morning and becomes a ritual. Hattie often

forces into Sybil’s vagina an array of objects catches by Hattie’s fancy. There are

kinds of flashlight, a small empty bottle, a little silver box, the handle of a regular

dinner knife, a silver knife, a buttonhook, and sometimes, the object is Hattie’s

finger. She explains that Sybil will be accustomed to it, because that is exactly what

men will do to her, to put things in hers and hurts her. Hattie makes a justification of

the sin she does by saying that she is preparing Sybil to face the thing that men will


56

do. Because of all these abuses, Sybil’s hymen is severed in infection and her vagina

is permanently scarred. The worst effect of that sexual abuses ritual is that Sybil will

never bear a child, because the internal injury (Schreiber 199).

2) Father-Daughter Relationship

Although Allers (245) says that the term “father-love” is unusual and strange,

father is needed in contributing a synergy with a mother to raise the children at

home. The absence of father at home will give the effects that child will be less

confidence, dependent, has poorer relationships with peers (Watson and Lindgren

309).

Willard Dorsett, Sybil’s father is believed as a person who also gives

contribution to Sybil’s dissociative identity disorder. Willard does abuses in the form

of negligence toward Sybil. He does not know what Hattie does, or he does not want

to know about her daughter.

a) Willard Dorsett’s Past Life

All the things happen in past will give effect to what we do now. It can be our

ways of thinking, attitudes, etc. Similar with Willard, his behaviour and his puritan

thought are the result of reaction toward his past life.

Willard is actually an impressive person with five feet eleven height; his face

is carved well with bones; his hair is not seen to be the ravages of ageing; he has a

confident face and a very health body figure; his voice is soft and low; and he has a

tilted nose similar with Sybil’s (Schreiber 226). Young Willard studies elocution and


57

singing. He sings tenor in the church choir and the town glee club has organized an

excellent male quartet. He plays the guitar in the Spanish style, and he also has

interested in classical music. He is also interested in economics, has a real sense of

community responsibility, and is greatly respected in every town he has lived.

Willard is also a kind of perfectionist. He wants perfection of every work he does. It

is not only for the sake of himself, but also for the sake of God glory. This makes

Willard very focused on the details, and often makes him blocked in communication.

He has more than average intelligence, and it makes him more than average

restriction and naiveté. Then he rigidly adheres to the doctrines of his religion is so

literal in his reading Scriptures (Schreiber 225-227).

Willard is a son of Aubrey Dorsett and Mary. Aubrey is a confrontational and

boorish six-footer with large features and goatee who, a wrestler in his youth. As a

father, Aubrey demands unquestioning obedience and requires it from his three

children, Theresa III, the eldest; Willard, the middle child; and Roger, the youngest

(Schreiber 228).

Being ashamed of his father’s belligerence, Willard resorts to passivity.

Embarrassed by his father’s haranguing hallelujahs, aggression and gruffness,

Willard cannot see himself in the image of his father. Willard makes identification

instead with his gentle, artistic, but passive mother. Willard’s identification with his

mother, not only help mould is personality, but it also affects his choice of mate.

Like his father, Hattie Dorsett is overly aggressive, constantly conspicuous, and

downright cruel. Willard has married his father in the female form (Schreiber 228).


58

b) Willard’s Ignorance

Neglected parents tend to be apathetic, incompetence, irresponsible, or

emotionally withdrawn. They sometimes, built a distance from the child, critical and

uncommunicative (Papalia, Olds, Feldman, and Gross 295). Willard Dorsett’s

apathetic shows by his consideration that at her daughter’s thirty-four, Sybil is too

old to support financially. Willard, as seen by Dr. Wilbur helps his daughter

grudgingly, erratically. A father minds to support her daughter who is struggling to

becomes whole makes Sybil think that her father gives her things out of a sense of

duty, not because care about her. At her stage, Sybil has neither bank account, nor

permanent job. And for this excuse of what he has done, he always says that he is a

busy man, too busy to take care of his one and only child (Schreiber 221-222).

During Sybil’s childhood, Willard does not pay much attention on Sybil’s

unusual injury, dislocated shoulder and fractured larynx and the burns on his

daughter’s hands. He knows and is aware about it, but he never wants to pay

attention. He keeps on reserving his own selflessness by making an opinion that he

never sees them happen, and saves himself from the guilt by the consideration that he

is busy (Schreiber 240). Willard never blames Hattie for the carelessness in taking

care of Sybil in connection with the incident of the bead on Sybil’s nose and the

incident in the wheat crib. He just believes in Hattie’s reasons behind the incidents

(Schreiber 205-206).

Willard has embellished and smothered her daughter’s problem with the

concern of his own, instead of getting the core of the problem. For instance, he seeks

an instant solution, like a guitar lesson to cure Sybil’s emotional illness (Schreiber


59

246).

As a father, Willard never shows affection toward his daughter. He makes an

emotional gap instead. He says that Sybil is too big to do such a small kind of

devotion from a daughter to father, such as putting a sweet smelling salve on his feet,

helping him wearing jacket and with his buckled overshoes. It is only after Willard

gets crippled hands, and then she is allowed to do these things for him again

(Schreiber 181).

The sign of Willard’s withdrawn concern, the lifelong retreat into his shell,

has enlarged the chance of a mother to do some violence. And this has made Sybil to

find a psychoneurotic escape toward an intolerable fact in her childhood. The mother

is the taproot of Sybil’s disorder, but the father through the guilt not of commission

but of omission, is an important associated root. The mother has trapped her, and the

father has made Sybil feel that there’s no exit from that entrapment (Schreiber 243).

3) Puritan Environment

The experts believe that the place where children live has effect on shaping

child’s personality. They automatically absorb all that happen in the environment

(Watson and Lindgren 299). Based on Dr. Wilbur analysis, it can be said that the

environment where Sybil has spent her childhood may take a part in strengthening

her multiple personalities. She lives in a puritan environment where the people live

in are also hypocrite.

a) Puritan’s Ways of Life


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Sybil is born on 20 January 1923 in Willow Corners, Wisconsin. Willows

Corner is located in the flat terrain of southwestern Wisconsin. The surrounding

countryside is flat. The town is dotted with tall maple and elm trees, but there is no

willow there. The house has been mostly built by the men work for Willard Dorsett.

The local accent of people there is barbed with a nasal twang. There are no

remarkable things about this small town with monotonous news of its one thousand

persons living in area of two square miles, which is recorded in the Corners Couriers,

the weekly news. Before Sybil’s birth and until she is six years old, the town

wealthiest man is her father, but it does not last long. All the wealth is lost in the

1929’s depression (Schreiber 199-120).

Willow Corners has many churches of many faiths. They are: the

fundamentalist group of Seventh-Day Baptists, Seventh-Day Adventists, the Church

of Saint John Baptist De La Salle, and the Church of Assembly of God. The

Methodist, the Congregationalist and the Lutherans all look suspiciously at one

another and at the Roman Catholic which is regarded as the manifestation of evil.

Prejudice is widespread in that town. Eventhough seemingly self-righteous in

appearance can be seen in the people, but cruel is done in its behavior. There are

mocks for the mentally retarded ice man and snickers for the telephone operator who

has nervous tic. Prejudice against Jews, who are only few live there, and Negroes are

intense (Schreiber 120-121).

People do not really take care much their surrounding that Dorsett’s next door

is an ascetic person, the woman across the street is a dwarf, and the man down the

street ever rapes his thirteen year old daughter, and they still live in the same house,


61

as though nothing ever happens. It all looks as if it runs so average, so normal, and so

puritanical (Schreiber 122).

b) The Influence of Puritan Environment on Sybil’s Personality

Willow Corner is not a good place to live. It is stated that people living there

live in a hypocritical way. This way of life will automatically affect Sybil’s

personality; moreover she has spent her eighteen years of her life there.

Willow Corner is a place where a carcass is hiding behind the holiness of the

Sculptures. People in Willow Corner do not really care about what has happened to

the Dorsett’s family, about some abuses toward Sybil, and the strangeness of Hattie.

It gives the prospect of Sybil’s sickness grow more fertile. It attests by the ignorance

of people in Willow Corner of the sexual abuses done by Hattie behind the Willow

Corner’s church (Schreiber 193). Sybil knows it, and it rips Sybil’s emotion. It gives

a great contribution of her abundant chance of dissociative identity disorder, because

all the ignorance of the evil thing.

4. Sybil’s Dissosiative Identity Disorder Analyzed by Applying Sigmund Freud’s

Personality Theory

According to the Freud, every individual has the three levels of

consciousness. They are: conscious, preconscious and the unconscious levels. Then

Freud revised his theory and introduced three basic structures in the anatomy of

personality: id, ego and superego (Hjelle and Ziegler 32-33).

Sybil faces some horrible tortures in her childhood and these have hit her


62

conscious level (ego) of her memory so bad. She does not even remember that hurt

anymore. The first time she has some analysis with Dr. Wilbur, she often hides what

she gets in the past and she only tells everything on the surface (Schreiber 52). Then,

to save herself from this horror, she creates some personalities behind her

unconscious level. And at this level, her personality starts to split. Sybil’s personality

does not work as it is supposed to do and it is imbalanced. The Id, as a basic human

instinct in finding satisfaction becomes dominated whenever Peggy Lou controls her,

because of Peggy Lou’s tendency of using her raw animalistic instinct, as

aggressiveness, uncontrolled emotions and changeable mood. Here, it does not mean

that the other ego and superego ‘sleep’, but they cannot work optimally. The other

example is when Marry appears and controls Sybil’s body. She is a kind of a fanatic

of her religion. Then she connects everything with her religion. When Sybil has a

consultation with Doctor Wilbur, Mary thinks that going to a physician who has

different religion is a sin. Here, Mary’s super ego dominates others, although the Id

really wants to have a consultation because it is the only way to be normal. Being

normal is a part of the Id. Furthermore, the Ego’s function is to balance what the Id

and the Super-ego wants and to adjust with reality. Vicky, one of Sybil’s splitting

personalities, is dominant in the Ego. She is playing a role as a balancer among all

the personalities.

Therefore, from the explanation and some proofs above, we can see that

Sybil show the characteristics of dissociative identity disorder. It means that Sybil

suffers from disociative identity disorder.


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C. Sybil’s Conflicts and the Ways She Deals with Them

Experts say that there are some types of conflicts. There are interpersonal

conflict and intrapersonal Conflict. Interpersonal Conflict is person-to-person

conflict. Interpersonal conflict also means “an expressed struggle between at least

two independent parties who perceive incompatible goals, scare resources, and

interference from the other party in achieving goals (Warga 112).” There are five

basic ways of addressing conflict. There are: first is accommodation. It surrenders on

one's own needs and wishes to accommodate the other party. Secondly is avoidance.

In this method, people usually avoid or postpone conflict by ignoring it, changing the

subject, etc. Avoidance can be useful as a temporary measure to enhance time or as a

method of dealing with very negligible, non-recurring conflicts. In more cases,

conflict avoidance can involve severing a relationship or leaving a group. Third is

collaboration. In this method, people work together to find a mutually beneficial

solution, win-win solution to conflict; collaboration can also be time-intensive and

inappropriate when there is not enough trust, respect or communication among

participants for collaboration to occur. Fourth is compromise. People are to find a

middle opinion in which each party is partially satisfied. Fifth is competition. It

emphasized on one’s viewpoint at the possible solutions of another. It can be useful

when achieving one's objectives balances one's concern for the relationship

(Wikipedia, free encyclopedia).

Intrapersonal conflict occurs within one’s self. It deals with the struggle a

person or character within himself/herself. There are some types of conflict within a

self. The first is approach-approach because it involves making choice between two


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equally attractive alternatives. The opposite of this is avoidance-avoidance conflict,

in which the alternatives are equally unattractive. It means we are damned if choose

one and doomed if we do not. And the last is double-approach-avoidance. The

conflict involves such choices of good and evil on both sides (Warga 112).

1. Sybil’s Interpersonal Conflicts

The interpersonal conflict is considered as person-to person conflict. It means

that the incompatible goals, perception, and resources between the persons may

cause the conflict. In this novel, the interpersonal conflicts occur in Sybil’s

relationship with her parents and people in Willow Corner. The conflict between

Sybil and them are aroused by their incompatible perception.

a. The Conflict between Sybil and Her Mother

The relation between Sybil and Hattie is not good. As a mother, Hattie always

does some tortures to her during Sybil’s childhood. Here, it is clearly shown that

actually there are some fights that have happened. It can be in the way Sybil refuses

what her mother asks or the way Sybil thinks differently from her mother.

Sybil’s mother approached the wagons after the farmers had left them and helped herself to peas and corn, which she put in her apron. Other people did this, too, but Sybil was embarrassed because her father had said that it was stealing…Even though her mother explained that items stolen never would be missed because the owners had more than they needed, or that on the loading platforms were out in the sun and would spoil anyway, Sybil felt it was wrong to steal….Let’s get some, ‘Hattie suggested conspiratorially as Sybil walked with her toward the Bishop’s rhubarb stalks. Hattie bent over the stalks, but Sybil hung back. ‘You’d be the first to eat the rhubarb pie,’ (Schreiber 190-191)

The quotation above reveals Sybil’s consideration that what Hattie does is wrong.


65

Hattie wants Sybil to steal the corn and peas. However, Sybil refuses what Hattie

wants, for the consideration that stealing is wrong. Hattie also makes Sybil

embarrassed by talking loudly at the church functions, which embarrasses her by

watching her mother’s voyeuristic, get some satisfying by seeing other’s sexual

activities and to shit on the people’s house yard she hates (Schreiber 191-193).

Sybil at the age of three, four and five has to follow her mother walking out

the house and walking apprehensively through the town (Schreiber 192). It means

that Sybil finds that accommodation is the safest way to solve the conflict, since by

accommodation she finally surrenders on what her mother wants and accommodate

her wants. She feels that there is no best way to unravel the problems, because she is

afraid of her mother’s threat and what her mother will do toward her if she does

some fights.

b. The Conflict between Sybil and Her Father

The interpersonal conflict between Sybil and her father, Willard can be seen

when Danny Martin comes into Sybil’s life. When Danny comes into Sybil’s life, her

father tries to separate them. The conflict between Willard and Sybil is that Willard’s

will is incompatible with Sybil’s feeling. It can be seen from the quotation below.

When Dr. Wilbur accused Willard of having wanted to break up Sybil’s friendship with Danny Martin, which had a healing effect on Sybil and which could have developed into a marriage, for religious reason, the father took the umbrage. ‘I did only what I knew to right. I didn’t want her to marry out of our faith, if she had been older, she would have been agreed with me’ (Schreiber 248)

The quotation above implies that Willard purposely breaks up Sybil’s relationship


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with Danny. He considers that the best way for Sybil to have relationship is with the

man who is from the same religion. This arouses the conflict between them. The

conflict here is caused by her consideration that her father already does the

incompatible attitude that is by marrying Hattie, who has a different religion. Hattie

is a Methodist. And since Danny is Methodist, he is warned by Willard not to have

relationship with Sybil. Sybil feels that her father is hypocrite (Schreiber 146-149).

What Willard has done to separate Sybil and Danny makes Sybil sad. This situation

makes Sybil dissociate into Vicky. The existence of Vicky is Sybil’s way in facing

the conflict.

From the explanation above, it seems that there is no other way, except just

following what her father wants. It means that Sybil also chooses accommodation to

solve the conflict. She accommodates what he wants to separate her from Danny

Martin. But, this accommodation brings her a deep pain, which she cannot hold on

subsequently. Thus, she dissociates into Vicky. For years, she keeps the pain inside.

No body ever knows it. Finally, she can not bring that emotional burden. She escapes

from the fact by dissociating herself.

c. The Conflict between Sybil and Parents’ Hypocrisy

This conflict is shown when Sybil’s parents have sexual intercourse in the

same room where Sybil sleeps. That intercourse in psychoanalytic term is called

primal scene, which means a child‘s auditory and visual perception of the parents’

sexual intercourse. The scene is called primal because it is first in time in the sense

that it is the child’s first encounter with adult sexuality. And it is as a foundation


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toward children in building their future feeling, attitudes, and behaviour. For some

children this primal scene happen accidental, inadvertent and it will have no

significant psychological damage if the family at home think that the intercourse is

something private, but not forbidden (Schreiber 173).

In Sybil’s case, it is no accidental glimpse. For nine years, she has to see her

parents doing sexual intercourse as a daily activity. The parents’ activity is also

incompatible with the rules in the house “where a kiss, touch and address each other

are not allowed, either by any endearment, affectionate attitude or perfunctory.

Moreover, sex is regarded as wicked attitude in the Dorsett’s house” (Schreiber 174).

However, her parents do the incompatible activities, and it is considered as

hypocrisy. It automatically raises a conflict. Sybil thinks that her parents do the

wrong activity. She wants to stop it, but she does not know how to do it.

To deal with this conflict, she applies two ways. Firstly is accommodation.

She surrenders on one's own needs, applying Sybil’s parents’ needs and wishes.

Secondly, it also can be solved in avoidance. In this method, people usually avoid or

postpone conflict by ignoring it, changing the subject, etc. Sybil, for almost nine

years pretends that there is nothing happening in the nights where she sleeps. But,

her splitting personalities react differently.

Peggy Lou was wakeful, uneasy, but she did not try to cover her eyes or to keep from listening….enraged by the feeling of exclusion endangered by the whispering, Peggy Lou was also made furious by rusting of the sheets. Every time she heard that rustling she wanted to stop it. (Schreiber 175)

Sybil as Peggy Lou becomes angry of her parents’ activity. She feels

disturbed by the whispering sound produces by the sexual activities. Peggy Lou


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thinks that they may talk about her. Therefore, each time when her parents do the

intercourse, she always tries to disrupt by making some noises. Peggy is applying the

avoidance, it means she wants to stop it, but she does not know what to do, except

makes some noises. So, she just ignores it. Vicky has certain reaction toward that

primal scene. What Vicky’s done is completely different from Sybil. Vicky just

looks at the shadow of that activity, but she is too scared to stop it. Vicky just looks

at her father’s penis and watches the activity. In the beginning Vicky thinks that her

father is going to kill her mother, but instead of dying, her mother rolls over with

Willard. Vicky thinks that that it certainly is not up her to save her mother (Schreiber

175). She applies accommodation to solve her conflict. She accommodates what she

wants with what her parents’ wants. When Sybil dissociates into Marcia, she fears

for her mother’s safety because she thinks that Willard will kill her mother

(Schreiber 176). When Mary appears, she hates that thing to be done in front of

Sybil. She thinks that it is such a private activity (Schreiber 176). When Vanessa

controls Sybil’s body in that primal scene, she questions about the inconsistence of

their behaviour. On the day they behave as if they are good people who always obey

all the rules. But, the reality is that the hypocrisy exists (Schreiber 176). The most

courageous rebellion against the primal scenes is done by Ruthie, who is still a baby;

she bravely climbs to her parents’ bed and lies between them (Schreiber 176-177)

According to Thomas and Kilman in wikipedia’s article, mostly Sybil’s

splitting personalities applying accommodation and avoidance in solving the conflict.

They prefer to follow what their parents’ wants or to ignore it. Whereas, Ruthie


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prefers competition to solve the conflict, she emphasizes her viewpoint as the

possible solution, by climbs to her parents’ bed and lies between them.

2. Sybil’s Intrapersonal Conflicts

There are three types of intrapersonal conflict. First is approach-approach

because it involves making a choice between two equally attractive alternatives. The

opposite of this is avoidance-avoidance conflict, in which the alternatives are equally

unattractive. It means we are damned if choose one and doomed if we don’t. And the

last is double-approach-avoidance; that the conflict involves such choices of good

and evil on both sides (Warga 112).

a. The Conflicts between Sybil and Her Splitting Personalities

The conflicts here are the ones between Sybil and the personalities within her.

It can be assumed that Sybil faces a war within. As stated in chapter two that the

splitting personalities within a person suffering from dissociative identity disorder

are independent. It means they have their own age, name, sex, intelligence, and

personal states, own characteristics, hobbies, and interests (Huffman, Vernoy and

Vernoy 506). Inevitably they always trigger some clashes of interests of one to

another. The clashes are considered as a double-approach-avoidance conflict. The

thing that is good to an individual will not always be good for the other one. It has

good and bad perceptions on both sides.

The decision of Mary to buy a house makes Sybil burn in furry. In Mary’s

perspective, it is fine to buy a house because she wants a privacy that she does not


70

get in her childhood, and a house is also symbolize as an escape from the primal

scenes she ever sees. But, for Sybil, it will cost a lot of money, while she has not that

much (Schreiber 332-334). On the other hand, the other personalities also take its

wise action based on their thought. Peggy always plans to take over the selfhood,

Vanessa works at Laundromat, and Marcia storm the citadel of authorship (Schreiber

343).

Sybil realizes that she is a hostage of the selves that she has not been able to

deny. It raises conflicts also. For the limited funds, all the clothes in her wardrobe

she never buy, and her paintings are completed when she is absent. Furthermore,

because the others take individual doses of the medicines, consequently it runs out

before it is time to renew a prescription (Schreiber 343).

There are also conflicts among the alternates. It is portrayed in certain

occasions when Peggy Lou controls Sybil’s body and when she goes to a store in

Broadway. She picks a dish, and wants to break it, but, Vicky comes up and

restrains. And in spite of Vicky’s prevention, it makes them argue (Schreiber 344).

b. Ignoring Her Belief

This conflict is revealed in the story during psychoanalysis. There is a war

inside herself. Sybil tries to struggle against the rules of her religion. It is triggered

by the consideration that she has to obey the rules, whereas she does not like the

rules and has to break them. Whereas the conflict within herself is the want to get

free from the religious distortions, yet her wanting to hold her belief. She


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understands that the problem is one of salvaging God while she has to release herself

from her past terror where religion was omnipresent (Schreiber 261).

Another proof about a religion conflict within herself is shown on the

quotation below

Pacing the consulting-room, Peggy Lou came to a sudden halt. ‘It’s supposed to do more than not upset you. It supposed to help you. But it never helped me. It never helped Peggy Ann or any of the rest of us.’ The fire of rebellion had been unleashed, yet the church still stood’….’I’d like to tear the church down!’ (Schreiber 264)

From the quotation above we can see the emotions that Sybil cannot have. The anger

reflects Peggy’s hatred that makes Peggy want to destroy the church. As she says that

the church only creates anger for her. The existence of the hatred and anger is also

related to the evidence of sexual abuses that her mother has done to some children in

front of the church, in which people in Willow Corner do not care of what Hattie

does (Schreiber 193).

In dealing with this conflict, Sybil sometimes dissociates into Ruthie. Since

the church become the place that she does not like to go, Ruthie, Sybil’s alternate

then tells to their parents that she is sick and can not go to the church (Schreiber

266).

That is why, the conflict considered as avoidance-avoidance conflict, means

that the alternatives are equally unattractive (Warga 112). Because, she wants to hold

her belief, on the other hand she also wants to get free from religious distortions.

c. Commiting Suicide


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After several years having psychoanalysis with Dr. Wilbur, Sybil feels that

there will be no way out of her suffering. She thinks she will never be healed. She

feels alone, useless, and futile. Based on that consideration, she thinks that death will

bring peace that will answer her problems.

She felt alone, useless, futile. Convinced that she was never going to get better, Sybil was faces with self-recriminations and complaints…I’d like to die. But God doesn’t let me. You see I’d have to do it to me, and suicide is just wrong…Sybil walked closer to the river, but before she could actually reach it, her body turned, propelled by another’s will. The body controlled by Vicky, sought and found a phone booth in one of the apartment house on Riverside Drive (Schreiber 320)

According to (Warga 112), the conflict here is considered as avoidance-

avoidance conflict, which means both the alternatives are unattractive. She wants to

die, but it is not allowed by her religion. She traps into difficult situation. In her

hesitation, she finally decides to go to commit suicide. But, before she really jumps

into Hudson River, Vicky, one of Sybil’s alternate takes the control and evades her

from death. The existence of Vicky is the result of Sybil’s self-protection against the

conflict.


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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

This chapter consists of two parts, conclusions and suggestions. The

conclusions wrap up all the answers of the formulated problems. The suggestions

consist of two parts, namely suggestion for the further study on Sybil, the True Story

of Woman Possessed by Sixteen Personalities and for implementation of literature in

teaching Intensive Reading II.

A. Conclusions

After analyzing the novel, they are three points that can be concluded. The

first conclusions concerns with the problems formulation in Sybil, the True Story of

Woman Possessed by Sixteen Personalities that is how Sybil and her splitting

personalities described.

Based on the analysis, Sybil is described as a woman who possesses sixteen

separated personalities because of horrible childhood trauma in the hands of a psycho

mother. She has to face psychical, sexual and emotional persecutes every day during

her childhood. The most horrible thing is that when she tries to search for a helping

hand from her father, she only gets ignorance instead. Hence, she searches auxiliary

within herself. Then, her unawareness creates some imaginary personalities that may

become rescuers. Sybil does not know about their existence, but all the personalities

know about Sybil. They are: Vicky, who is sophisticated and generous; Marcia and


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Vanessa, who are close friends that always do things together; Mary, a house woman

who is very sensitive; Sybil Ann, the depressive woman; Peggy Lou, an energetic,

moody and bad tempered girl who takes Sybil’s unexpressed anger; Peggy Ann, an

individual who takes the fearfulness of Sybil; Mike and Sid Dorsett, boys who comes

up based on identification of Sybil’s grandpa and father; The youngest Ruthie;

Helen, a personality who gets the biggest terror because of Hattie Dorsett; Marjorie,

the sanguine personality; Clara, the religious girl; Nancy, a girl who also fanatic, but

she claims herself as a person who just sees and listens the abuses, not experiences it;

and the last one is The Blonde, she comes up during Sybil’s recovery treatment. She

claims that she is the girl Sybil wants to be.

The second conclusion concerns with Sybil’s Dissociative Identity Disorder,

which includes the characteristics, the symptoms, and the causes. A person is said to

have this personality splitting is when he/she has two or more distinct personalities,

by which each personality has its own name, sex, intelligence, and personal states.

Sybil is considered to have the Dissociative Identity Disorder. Sybil has the

symptoms that show the proofs of this personality disorder. The first proof is that

Sybil has multiple personalities, namely: Peggy Lou who arrives in 1926; Peggy

Ann, into whom the original Peggy has developed; Vicky, who appears in 1927;

Mary on 1933, Vanessa on 1935; Sid and Mike who arrive in the early1928, Nancy,

Ruthie, Helen, Marjorie, Claire, and the Blonde who arrive during Sybil recovery

treatment. Sybil also has multiple attitudes. She will act differently based on who

emerges within. The other symptoms are that headache and other body pain. When

Sybil is in the college, she is ever refused because she suffers from extreme


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nervousness or hysteria, and because of that, a half of Sybil’s body becomes numb.

She grows weak on one side, not always same side. Sybil and her other personalities

will twitch, jerk and carry on with unrestrained body movements. The symptoms are

intensified by headache. Sybil must face, emptiness, lost time. It appears when Sybil

cannot be up against her problems. This is the phase when the other personalities

take control.

Sybil faces a depersonalization as one symptom of dissociative identity

disorder. Sybil becomes a paranoid of music, shoes and a buttonhook. Sybil often

feels that her life seems to be floating by in an unreal kind of way, filled with strange

presentiments. She seems that her life is like a dream. She often feels that she is

walking beside her and watching her.

The actions of taking over her body by the alternates create a hard pressure to

Sybil. It makes a deep depression as one of dissociative identity disorder’s

symptoms. She faces a self-recriminations and complaints. And, she does not want to

live like the way she does. And the culmination of her depression is the desire to end

her life.

By analyzing the novel deeply, it can be concluded that parents play a big

role in making a healthy personality of the child. Hattie Dorsett, Sybil’s mother is a

person who becomes the taproot of her psychological disorder. Sybil’s mother does

not give love and warmth; she does sexual, psychical and emotional abuses to Sybil

instead. Sybil is a victim from her mother's failed ambition in her youth and a target

of her anger toward her father for stumbling off her dreams in music career. A father,

a person who supposes to come together with a mother to makes a synergy in raising


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a child, but rather be somebody who cannot play his responsibility. Willard takes

actions to be apathetic, incompetence, irresponsible, or emotionally withdrawn. He

builds a distance from the child, critical and uncommunicative.

The place where children live have effect on shaping child’s personality. The

environment where Sybil has spent her childhood may take a part in making her to be

multiple. Moreover she has spent her eighteen years of her life there. She lives in the

puritan environment that the people live are also hypocrite, Willow Corner.

Although, the self-righteous in the utterances of the people, but cruel is done in its

behavior. Everything is all looks as if run so average, so normal, and so puritanical.

And for its actions, it large the prospect of Sybil’s sickness grows more fertile.

The third conclusion concerns with Sybil’s ways to cope with all the conflicts

she is up against to. There are interpersonal and intrapersonal conflicts. Relating to

the novel, Sybil faces interpersonal conflicts with both Hattie Dorsett and Willard

Dorsett, as her parents. The relationship between Sybil and her mother, as a mother-

daughter is in an unharmonious one. Hattie, not only does some abuses, but also

compels Sybil to do something incompatible with her lustrous. Sybil finds no best

way, except to accommodate her wants and surrenders on her mother’s wants.

Accommodation is also considered as a best way in facing a conflict with Willard. It

expresses in the confrontation when Willard tries to separate Sybil with Danny

Martin because of they are from different religion. Sybil thinks that it is such a

hypocritical thing because Willard also married with Hattie, who is a Methodist. And

since Danny Martin is a Methodist, Willard sets a plan to move Danny’s family to

Texas. Sybil always sees the private activity of her parents during her childhood, in


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psychology it calls primal scenes. It creates conflict. Because in Dorsett’s house

never shows such affection expressions, for example: kisses, hugs. Moreover, those

expressions of love are forbidden and consider as sin. She traps in the confusions of

what she experiences and the puritanical way of live in her house also.

Sybil also faces intrapersonal conflicts with the personalities within, because

those personalities do what they think is right to do. Peggy Lou has a passion to

control the body. Marry decides to buy a house without Sybil’s permission, Vanessa

works at Laundromat, and Marcia storm the citadel of authorship. What they do

makes Sybil be like a prisoner within herself. The conflict raises when she only has

limited funds, but she finds the clothes in her wardrobe she never buys, the

medicines runs out long before it is time to renew a prescription, etc.

The wanting to hold or ignore her religion also becomes an intrapersonal

conflict within Sybil. The conflict within Sybil is the want to get free from the

religious distortions, yet she wants to hold her belief. Sybil understands that the

problem is one of salvaging God while she has to release herself from her past terror

where religion is ubiquitous.

After several years having a psychoanalysis consultation, Sybil feels that

there will be no way out from her psychological disorder, she thinks she never be

healed. She feels alone, useless, and futile. The conflict happens within Sybil is that

she wants to die, but it is not allowed by her religion. She traps into a difficult

situation. In her hesitation, she finally decides to go to commit suicide.

B. Suggestions


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1. Suggestion for Further Study on Sybil, the True Story of Woman Possessed by

Sixteen Personalities

It is impossible to discuss all aspects of Flora Rheita Schreiber’s Sybil, the

True Story of Woman Possessed by Sixteen Personalities because the limitation of

time and sources. Thus, the writer realizes that the analysis in this study is not

perfect. There are some studies of Sybil’s Dissociative Identity Disorder in this

analysis. Besides, Sybil, the True Story of Woman Possessed by Sixteen Personalities

still provide other topic to be analyzed and other approaches to be applied.

Future researchers may explore Sybil’s character development that is

influenced by her puritan environment using physiological approaches. Moreover,

the analysis on the other characters such as Hattie Dorsett and Willard Dorsett can

also be considered. Another choice of topic that the future researchers may explore is

the analysis of the parental influence on a specific area such as mother-daughter

relationship or it may study on Willow Corner, as a primal environment of

personality’s growth. The psychological and socio-cultural historical approach can

be applied in analyzing those topics.

2. Suggestions for Teaching Intensive Reading II by Using Sybil, the True Story

of Woman Possessed by Sixteen Personalities

A literary work is the source of knowledge for teachers to implement their

activities in educating their students. The writer recommends the novel to be taken as

a possible teaching material considering the fact that Sybil, the True Story of Woman

Possessed by Sixteen Personalities offer potential benefits to reach the main goal in


79

teaching English that is the language mastery.

Relating to teaching learning activities, teaching reading literary works bring

its own benefits toward students. Students can strengthen their comprehension in

reading. Students can also not only get life value, but also develop their maturity

toward certain case in the novel. In this case, the writer chooses intensive reading

than extensive reading, because of two reasons. Firstly, the text material is chosen by

the teacher, considering that the teacher can measure the level and the need of the

students. It is different from the extensive reading, where students choose their own

reading passage by themselves. Secondly, the writer is focus on vocabularies and

main idea, and it is different from extensive reading, where only focus on general

understanding of the text.

The writer chooses to use Sybil, the True Story of Woman Possessed by

Sixteen Personalities on teaching Intensive Reading II class of Sanata Dharma

University, Yogyakarta. The writer suggests three parts procedures of teaching

learning activity. They are pre reading activity, whilst reading activity and post

reading activity.

1. Pre Reading activity

In this section, teacher gives an opening activity, such as: asking several

questions related to the topic in order to get the students close to the topic of

the passage.

2. Whilst Reading Activity

- The teacher distributes the reading passage to the students

- The teacher asks the students to read the passage carefully


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- The teacher divides students into some groups to answer the questions

given and discuss it in a group.

- The teacher asks one of the group to answer the question and

comparing with others, then discussing it

3. Post Reading Activity

- The teacher asks the students to write a passage commented on the

passage given

- The teacher asks some students to present their opinion on the passage

given

- The teacher states the concluding remark.

The reading material and the sample of the lesson plan and teaching learning are

provided in the appendices.


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abrams, M.H. 1981. A Glossary of Literary Terms, 4th ed. New York: Holt, Rivehart and Winston, Inc.

Allers, Rudolf. 1943. The Psychology of Character. London and New York: Sheed

and Ward. Baldick, Chris. 1991. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Term. Oxford:

Oxford University Press. Bird, Joseph and Lois. 1972. Power to the Parents. New York: Doubledary and

Company. Inc. Coleman, James C. 1950. Abnormal Psychology and Modern Life. London:

Foresman Scott. Deutsch, Helena. 1973. The Psychology of Women. Volume 11: a Psychoanalytic

Interpretation. New York: Grune and Stratto. Inc. Hjelle, Larry A and Daniel J. Ziegler. 1981. Personality Theories, Basic

Assumptions, research, Application. Washington: International Students Edition.

Huffman, Karen Vernoy, Mark Vernoy, and Judith Vernoy. 1997. Psychology in

Action, 4th ed. Toronto: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Kennedy, X.J. and Dana Gioia. 1999. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry

and Drama. 7th ed. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc. Murphy, M.J. 1972. Understanding Unseens: An Introduction to English Poetry and

the English Novel for Overseas Students. London: George Allen and Unwin, Ltd.

Papalia, Diane E, Olds, Feldman, Gros. 2003. Human Development. Boston:

McGraw Hill. Schreiber, Flora Rheita. 1975. Sybil, the True Story of Woman Possessed by Sixteen

Personalities. New York: Penguin Books. Stanton, Robert. 1965. An Introduction of a Literature. New York: Holt, Rinehart,

and Winston, Inc. Warga. Richard G. 1983. Personal Awareness a Psychological of Adjustment,

Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Watson, Robert I and Henry Clay Lindgren. 1973. Psychology of the Child. New York: John Wiley.

Wilson, G. Terence and Peter E. Nathan, K. Daniel O’Leary, Lee Anna Clark. 1996. Abnormal Psychology. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, A Simon and Schuster Company.


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Sources from the Internet: 1. Characterization: Character development

http://web.uvic.ca/wguide/Pages/LTCharacter.html Accessed on May 22, 2009 at 8.10 pm

2. Conflict http://www.indiana.edu/~uhrs/training/ca/personality.html Accessed on June 4, 2009 on 06.09 pm

3. Depersonalization http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depersonalization_disorder Accessed on May 24, 2009 on 06.15 pm

4. Freud’s Personality Factors http://changingminds.org/explanations/personality/freud_personality.htm Accessed on June 2nd, 2009 on 06.15 pm

5. Mental Health (HTTP://WWW.WEBMD.COM/MENTAL-HEALTH/DISSOCIATIVE-IDENTITY-DISORDER-MULTIPLE PERSONALITY-DISORDER) Accessed on May 22, 2009 on 05.59 pm

6. Multiple Personality Disorder (Dissociative Identity Disorder) By: Dr. Paul McHugh http://skepdic.com/mpd.html Accessed on March 17, 2009 on 4.40 pm

7. Structure of Mind: Freud's Id, Ego, & Superego http://wilderdom.com/personality/L8-4StructureMindIdEgoSuperego.html Accessed on March 3, 2009

8. Sybil (book) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sybil_(book) Accessed on May 22, 2009 at 6.26 pm

9. Sybil: A Woman with 16 Multiple Personalities by Violet on October 23,2008 http://violetcrush.wordpress.com/2008/10/23/sybil-a-woman-with-16-multiple-personalities/ Accessed on March 17, 2009 at 11.19 am

10. Unconscious Mind http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unconscious_mind Accessed on March 17, 2009 an 05.50 pm


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Appendix 1

SUMMARY OF SYBIL, THE TRUE STORY OF WOMAN POSSESED BY

SIXTEEN PERSONALITIES

This incredible psychological true-story regarding multiple personalities is disturbing

to read but highly recommended. Sybil Isabel Dorsett (not her real name) has sixteen

separate personalities, two of which are male, and struggles throughout her life to try

and live with the frightening ‘dark thing’ which threatens to overcome her.

Sybil’s first dissociation happens when she is but a baby and the major cause of her

multiple personalities is rooted in her mother, who was likely, a paranoid

schizophrenic. Sybil fights an increasing ‘loss of time’ where she cannot remember

why she has ended up in a certain place or why ‘that dress’ hangs in her closet.

Knowing she is mentally ill, she begs her father, Willard Dorsett, to allow her to visit

a psychiatrist. Her local physician suggests a Dr. Wilbur, a female psychologist, but

her parents are skeptical. Highly religious, they believe that such intervention is

sinful. Yet, Mr. Dorsett knows there is something drastically wrong and reluctantly

allows Sybil to visit the doctor in August, 1958.

Sybil, though desperately needing help, tries to disguise her problem and before she

can receive any real help, comes down with a fever and unbeknownst to her, her

mother Hattie cancels her appointment. In 1948 Hattie dies and Sybil tries to work

but her bouts with ‘lost time’ continue until finally, in 1954, she locates Dr. Wilbur

in New York and moves there for therapy. It is months after her first session that Dr.


85

Wilbur meets the first of the many other personalities in Sybil. Her name is Vicky,

and she knows what all the ‘others’ do and think, but keeps all knowledge of her

other selves from Sybil. Dr. Wilbur is excited. This is a major breakthrough and she

reads all she can on dual personalities. Nothing much has been noted except for the

highly publicized story of Eve who had three distinctive personalities.

Before long, Dr. Wilbur discovers that Sybil has many more than three personalities.

All multiple personalities have one which knows everything and Dr. Wilbur becomes

very dependent on Vicky to keep her updated on the actions of the ‘others’. The most

notable after Vicky are Peggy Lou and Peggy Ann who reflect Sybil’s unrealized

anger and fear against her abusive mother. Dr. Wilbur is gradually introduced to the

dramatic Vanessa, the artistic Marcia, and the suicidal Sybil Ann. Lurking inside are

also two male personalities, the carpenters, Mike and Sid, who have taken on the

traits of Sybil’s father Willard, and her tyrannical Grandfather. Willard Dorsett’s

chief sin is that he ignored his daughter’s growing emotional instability and allowed

his mentally ill wife to continue raising the child even though he knew Hattie was

deeply ill. For two years, Hattie was catatonic, and still Willard did nothing about her

condition.

Hattie Dorsett, when alert, was a monster. Sexually and physically abusive, Sybil

suffered a broken larynx, dislocated shoulder, a bead up her nose, black eyes and

constant bruises, as well as intense sexual abuse involving a shoe hook which

resulted in Sybil’s incapability to have children. Why, asked the doctor, when

Willard finally agreed to come in for a ‘chat’ did he allow this to go on? Passive and

indifferent, Willard answered he simply felt that a mother should raise her child and


86

that their belief in God was enough. It was not and a shaken Willard agrees that Sybil

needs much more therapy and agrees to send his daughter a check each month to

make sure she is treated.

Sybil, after three years of intense sessions with Dr. Willard is still reluctant to ‘meet’

her other personalities. She believes that her other selves may have committed ‘sins’

and deeply religious, Sybil is terrified to learn what they might have really done.

After the ‘Peggy’s’ flee to the countryside for a holiday, Dr. Wilbur finally convinces

Sybil to hear the tapes she’s made about what they did while vacationing. There

pastimes were pleasant, even fulfilling and Sybil finally acknowledges their

existence and their right to be there. The sixteen personalities were her protectors

against the cruel Hattie and the voices that fought back against constant neglect,

abuse, and indifference. It is Dr. Wilbur’s duty to try and merge these separate

personalities into one new Sybil. It takes eleven years, but finally, after three sessions

a week and a financially supportive father, a new Sybil emerges. Sybil realizes her

dream to become a college professor and an artist and writes Dr. Wilbur in 1969,

after a year of no ‘lost time’ that she is finally not afraid and able to live a full life.

Dr. Wilbur goes on to diagnose and treat seven other cases of multiple personalities,

though none are as complex and compelling as Sybil’s. The author, Flora Rheta

Schreiber, becomes a personal friend of Sybil’s and with her permission, writes a

book about her traumatic childhood and dissociations. This book, published in 1972,

became an instant best seller, finally resulting in a movie with Sally Field in the lead

role. For people who generally do not enjoy non-fiction, this book reads like a sad,

yet strangely exhilarating novel and just illustrates how ‘fact really is stranger than


87

fiction.’

Taken from: http://www.shvoong.com/books/155992-sybil/ accessed on March 4th, 2010


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Appendix 2

COVER OF SYBIL, THE TRUE STORY OF WOMAN POSSESED BY SIXTEEN PERSONALITIES


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APPENDIX 3

Shirley Ardell Mason (Sybil’s novel reference)

Sybil’s film and Sally Field (Sybil’s cast in the film)


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APPENDIX 4

THE AUTHOR’S BIOGRAPHY

Flora Rheta Schreiber (April 24, 1918) an American journalist was the author

of the 1973 bestseller Sybil, the story of a woman (identified years later as Shirley

Ardell Mason) who suffered from dissociative identity disorder. Miss. Schreiber was

an English instructor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Before teaching at

John Jay College, Miss Schreiber taught for many years at the New School for Social

Research and at Adelphi College. She specialized in children's speech and wrote a

1956 manual for parents called ''Your Child's Speech.'' She was a theater critic in the

1940's and later contributed to many magazines and published several short stories.

Her last book The Shoemaker was the true story of a mass murderer who suffered

from schizophrenia. Because of her studies of the psychological origins of

criminality, Schreiber became interested in writing about Joseph Kallinger, a

shoemaker who killed three people in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. She interviewed

him in jail in 1976, saying that a book about the murderer would show that ''it's even

more important to prevent the development of psychosis that leads to crime than to

get tough with criminals after the event.'' Like ''Sybil,'' the new book by Miss

Schreiber provoked considerable controversy. After ''Shoemaker'' was published in


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1983, she was sued by the family of one of Kallinger's victims under a so-called Son

of Sam law in New Jersey that required that money owed to a criminal or his

representatives as a result of his crimes go to the victims. A Superior Court ruled that

not only the 12.5 percent promised to Mr. Kallinger but also money earned by Miss

Schreiber and her publisher, Simon & Schuster, be paid to the victim's family.

Publishers called the ruling a violation of First Amendment rights of free speech, and

an appellate panel reversed the decision, ruling that the law applied only to payments

received by the criminal. She died (November 3, 1988), of a heart attack at Beth

Israel Hospital in Manhattan. She was 70 years old.

Taken from http://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/04/obituaries/flora-schreiber-70-the-writer-of-sybil-and-of-shoemaker.html?pagewanted=1 accessed on March 4, 2010


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APPENDIX 5

Dr. Cornelia B. Wilbur


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APPENDIX 6

LESSON PLAN FOR TEACHING INTENSIVE READING II

Subject : Intensive Reading II

Level of students : 2nd semester students of English Language Education

Study Program

Topic : Parental Abuses

Time Allocation : 2X50 minutes

Material : Sybil, the True Story of Woman Possessed by Sixteen

Personalities by Flora Rheta Schreiber (chapter 10)

General Course Objectives :

1. Apply various reading strategies: previewing, skimming, scanning,

identifying main idea, summarizing.

2. Improve literal and inferential comprehension by reading various kinds of

texts.

3. Develop English vocabulary.

4. Write simple responses to the ideas or issues presented in the texts.

Achievement Indicators :

1. The students are able to identify main idea and the supporting idea of the

text.

2. The students are able to improve their literal and inferential

comprehension by reading the texts given from Sybil, the True Story of

Woman Possessed by Sixteen Personalities by Flora Rheta Schreiber

(chapter 10).

3. The students are able to define unfamiliar words in the passage.


94

4. The students are able to answer the comprehension questions about the

text.

5. The students are able to write responses to the issues presented in the text.

Learning Experiences :

1. Teacher gives some explanations about the topic by giving several

example of dissosiative identity disorder from the slide-show and also

giving several questions about the topic.

2. Students read the passage and get the comprehension.

3. Students discuss the passage and answer the questions in group of five.

4. The students write a comment based on the text individually and

presented in front of class.


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Appendix 7

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEACHING INTENSIVE READING II

I. PRE-READING ACTIVITIES

1. What you think about Parental Abuses?

2. In your opinion, what is the effect of Parental Abuses?

3. In your opinion what id Dissociative Identity Disorder in connection

with Parental Abuses?

4. Have you ever experiences a blackout or temporal lose

consciousness?

5. In your opinion, is there a connection between blackout and

Dissociative Identity Disorder? Explain!


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READING PASSAGE

The vague memory of the girl who had distributed the funeral flowers gave Sybil the incentive to ask Danny about all of the things that were different. Houses had been built. Stores had changed hands. The town was not the same. Sybil knew that she could ask Danny about any or all of it.

‘How come the Greens are living in the Miners’ house?’ Sybil asked.

‘They moved there last summer,’ Danny replied

‘Who’s the baby Susie Anne is pushing in the buggy?’ Sybil wanted to know.

‘That’s Susie Anne’s little sister,’ Danny explained. ‘She was born last spring.’

‘Who is Mrs Schwarzbard?’

‘A dressmaker who came to town a year ago.’

Danny never asked. ‘How come you don’t know?’

Sybil was freer with Danny Martin than she had been with any human being except her grandmother. The freedom with Danny was the more remarkable because it came during the spring, summer, and fall of 1934, the very period which, tricked by time, Sybil enshrouded herself in a green alones and fortified her usual reserve with a special invincible armour against the world.

Danny became the antidote to the loneliness and vulnerability Sybil experienced after ‘coming to’ in the

fifth grade. Inexplicably, she had lost her friends. And, although her fundamentalist faith had always set her apart from other children, it was now as if they were noticing it for the first time. Now, because she could not do all the things they did – because the prohibitions of her faith – they directed at her sinister epithet ‘white Jew’.

Less painful, too, because of Danny, was her father’s coolly critical counsel, ‘You should be able to talk to people and to face the world,’ and her mother reactivation of an old complaint, ‘I never know from one day to the next what mood you’ll be in or what kind of person you’ll be.’

If it weren’t for Danny, Sybil knew she could not have endured the humiliation at school, where, because of her problem with maths, her marks had gone down. Without Danny, Sybil could not have withstood her mother’s unrelenting accusation: ‘But you used to know the multiplication tables. You used to know them. You’re just pretending to forget. You’re a bad girl-bad.’….

When Sybil was with Danny, she was able to forget that otherwise she walked alone. And she was alone. In the morning she was careful not to leave home until after she had ascertained that none of her classmates was in sight. After school she lingered at her desk until all the other children had left. When she walked on Main Street, doing


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some errand for her mother, she often crossed from one side of the street to the other six or seven times in a single block to avoid an encounter with one of townsfolk. Turning from everybody else, she turned to Danny. Danny, without erecting barriers against other children, turned as surely to Sybil as she did to him. Sybil and Danny just naturally assumed that when they were old enough, they would marry. Sybil firmly believed that when this happened, time would cease to be funny.

Then, on a brisk October day, as Sybil and Danny sat on the front steps, Danny said, somewhat awkwardly, ‘Syb, I have something to tell you.’

‘What?’ Sybil, sensing his tone, asked anxiously.

‘You see,’ Danny continued, ‘my dad – well, he brought a gas station in Waco, Texas, and well, we’re going there to live. But you’ll come to see me. I’ll come back here. We’ll see each other.’

‘Yes,’ Sybil said, ‘we will.’

That evening, when Sybil told Hattie Dorsett that Danny was leaving Willow Corner forever, Hattie shrugged and said, with great deliberateness: ‘Well, Daddy didn’t like you to spend so much time with that boy anyway. Daddy thought you were too old to be playing together.’

……. Ultimately however the day

came for Danny to say goodbye. Sybil, sitting with him on the front steps, which for so long had been the scene of close communion, was quiet and composed.

‘You’ll come to see me,’ Danny reminded Sybil.

‘I’ll come,’ Sybil temporized. ‘We’ll see each other,’ Danny

repeated. ‘We’ll see each other,’ Sybil

echoed. Danny rose to go. Sybil sat

motionlessly on the steps. ‘Well, Sybil,’ he said. ‘Well…’ overwhelmed by adolescent embarrassment and unable to complete sentence, he fell silent, bending over instead to where Sybil was still sitting. He kissed her swiftly on the cheek, turned and was gone.

Sybil, who, since early childhood, had shunned even the most casual physical contact, was now transported by a joyous tingle. At first, she was not even aware that Danny was no longer beside her. Then, when awareness did come, she panicked apprehensively searching for Danny. There he was – his blond hair, his little body-moving retreating.

As he turned from Vine Street into Main Street, he faded out of sight. Sybil sank down onto the steps. The rescue that Danny represented had been withdrawn. The town was deserted. All that existed now was an unmitigated aloneness.

And there still was something funny about time, which, like invisible soap in imperceptible water, slipped away.

The Sky is blue, Vicky thought, as

getting up from the front steps, she stepped into the time from which Sybil had just departed.

Vicky walked around the white house with black shutters thinking about how nice it was to be able to give locomotion to the body, which for the first time belonged wholly to her, Vicky …

Vicky knew what had happened in life of Sybil Isabel Dorsett, whether or


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not Sybil herself had been present. Paradoxically, while time had been discontinuous for Sybil, who had lived in the world, it had been continuous for Vicky, who had existed in the recesses of being. Time, which had been capricious and often blank for Sybil, had been constant for Vicky. Vicky, who had total recall, served as a memory trace in the disjointed inner world of Sybil Dorsett.

This solidity of memory, combined with the fact that, in surfacing into the world, Vicky incorporated within herself a powerful fantasy of Sybil’s

own coinage, became the source of Vicky’s strength. The Victoria of the fantasy, like the new Vicky, an alternating self, was confident, unafraid, and immune from influence of the relationships that had disturbed Sybil.

**************************

II. WHILST READING ACTIVITY

A. Read the following statements. If a statement is true, write T in the front

of statement. If it is false, write F!

__ Danny Martin always asked Sybil ‘How come you don’t know?’ if Sybil

asked him about something.

__ Because of her fundamentalist faith, Sybil had lost friends.

__ Sybil used to know the multiplication table.

__ Sybil was accustomed to the physical contact since her childhood.

__ Vicky knew everything about Sybil, vice versa.

B. Reading passage above has only one main idea. Which one of the

following statements is the main idea?

1. Sybil had relationship with Danny Martin.

2. Sybil suffers because of her school mates’ humiliation.

3. Sybil suffers because of splitting personality’s blackout.

4. Vicky’s emergence because of Sybil’s suffers.


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C. Find the supporting idea (with evidence) of the following main idea of the

passage above.

• Sybil felt free to tell everything to Danny Martin.

________________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________

• Sybil’s Father did not like Sybil and Danny’s relationship.

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

• With Danny, Sybil was able to forget her reclusions.

________________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________

• The existence of Vicky was a product of Sybil’s imaginary denomination

of her own.

________________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________


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D. Try to guess meaning of following words which are used in the passage

1. Vague (par.1)

2. Buggy (par.4)

3. Enshrouded (par. 9)

4. Green aloneness (par. 9)

5. Fortified (par. 9)

6. The antidote (par.10)

7. Vulnerability (par. 10)

8. Sinister epithet (par. 10)

9. Lingered (par 13)

10. Deliberateness (par.18)

11. Adolescent embarrassment

(par. 24)

12. Swiftly (par.24)

13. A Joyous tingle (par. 25)

14. Unmitigated (par. 26)

15. Imperceptible (par. 27)

16. Capricious (par.28)

17. Coinage (par.29)

III. POST READING ACTIVITY

A. What do you think about what Sybil’s parents had done in relation with

Sybil’s blackout?

B. Write in one paragraph what value can you get from the passage!


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