What must it be like to have several separate personalities? Chris Costner Sizemore developed the rare multiple personality disorder (MPD: now referred to as dissociative identity disorder) in early childhood in the 1930s in South Carolina, USA. Chris’s disorder was diagnosed by psychiatrist, Dr Corbett Thigpen, in 1952. Up until then, such a diagnosis had rarely been made and never carefully documented. MPD is not the same as schizophrenia, where an individual may be described as having a split or splintered personality. In MPD, the person has a number of ‘alters’, some of which may be unaware of the exist-ence of the others.
Dr Thigpen described Chris’s case history in a book co-authored with Dr Hervey Cleckley (1957). The book was made into a film of the same title — The Three Faces of Eve — starring Joanne Woodward. In the book and the film there were two alters — Eve White and Eve Black (pseudonyms). Eve White was demure and retiring, the one who met society’s expectations, whereas Eve Black had a totally different physical presence — that of a flirtatious and confident party girl. Eve Black was aware of all Eve White did but the same was not true in reverse. When Eve Black was ‘out’, she often behaved mischievously and would leave Eve White to be punished. During the course of therapy, a third personality, Jane, emerged and the doctors concluded their treatment, presuming that some integration would take place. In fact, it took a further 18 years, and treatment by a variety of therapists, before this happened. During this time, Eve/Chris developed over 20 alters, appearing three at a time. The total number included seven artists, ten poets and a talented seamstress.
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