The idea that multiple personalities can exist within the same body has
long captured the Western imagination. From Three Faces of Eve to Sybil,
from Pyscho to Raising Caine, from 60 Minutes to Oprah to One Life to
Live, we are captivated by the fate of multiples who, divided against
themselves, wreak havoc in the lives of others.
Why do we find multiple personality disorder (MPD) so fascinating?
Perhaps because each of us is aware of a dividedness within ourselves:
we often feel as if we are one person on the job, another with our
families, another with our friends and lovers. We may fantasize that
these inner discrepancies will someday break free, that within us lie
other personalities--genius, lover, criminal--that will take us over and
render us strangers to our very selves.
What happens when such a transformation literally occurs, when an alter
personality surfaces and commits some heinous deed? What do we do when a
Billy Milligan is arrested for a series of rapes and robberies, of which
the original personality, Billy, is utterly oblivious? What happens when
a Juanita Maxwell, taken over by her alter personality, Wanda, becomes
enraged and commits a murder which would horrify Juanita? Who really
committed these deeds? Are alter personalities people? Are they centers
of consciousness which are akin to people? Mere parts of a deeply
divided person? Who should held accountable for the crimes? Which is
more appropriate--punishment or treatment? In Jekyll on Trial, Elyn R.
Saks carefully delineates how MPD forces us to re-examine our central
concepts of personhood, responsibility, and punishment. Drawing on law,
psychiatry, and philosophy, Saks explores the nature of alter
personalities, and shows how different conceptualizations bear on
criminal responsibility. A wide-ranging and deeply informed book, Jekyll
on Trial is must reading for anyone interested in law, criminal justice,
psychiatry, or human behavior.
