Why Marcel Proust’s Title about Time Loss—In Search of Lost Time—Flags the Issue of Multiple Personality

The two most common clues that a person might have multiple personality are puzzling inconsistencies and memory gaps (time loss).

“During initial interviews of patients who later proved to have MPD [multiple personality disorder], I have noticed a recurring pattern: I find that it is difficult to obtain a coherent history. When I finish taking the history and start to write it down, it becomes apparent that much of the information is inconsistent or even contradictory…This reflects the fact that…memories of their life history are divided up among a number of alter personalities.

“In most instances, the initial historical information will be obtained primarily from the host personality, who often has the least access to early historical information and experiences frequent gaps in the continuity of his or her existence…

“The inconsistencies become most apparent if the clinician returns at a later date to gather more information about a specific event. I have had the experience of obtaining three or four different and contradictory accounts of specific episodes from a patient…[this is the problem that William Faulkner had with interviews, as noted in past posts]

“Many multiples have developed compensatory behaviors to help them deal with missing information and gaps in memory…to aid in evading difficult questions or to distract the interviewer…

“In questioning patients about MPD, it is often wise to begin obliquely. I typically begin this part of the history by asking the patient about experiences of ‘time loss’…One patient, a certified public accountant, would report that he often lost 3 or 4 hours, only to find completed work sheets on his desk at the end of the day…

“Another area of genuine perplexity for many multiples is the fact that they do not remember many of the important events of their lives. They may know that they graduated from high school or college on a certain date, or that they were married, gave birth, won an award, or experienced some other noteworthy event, but they do not actually remember the experience” (1, pp. 72-76). What they actually remember depends on which personality you are talking to.

In short, the title of Proust’s novel, when it raises the issue of lost time, flags the issue of multiple personality.

1. Frank W. Putnam, MD. Diagnosis and Treatment of Multiple Personality Disorder. New York, The Guilford Press, 1989.