Must literary critics know any psychiatry? Are critics incompetent if they fail to note the unacknowledged multiple personality that is present in many novels?

Acknowledged Multiple Personality

When Alfred Hitchcock directed “Psycho” and Charles Dickens wrote “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” they assumed that everyone watching the film or reading the book would know some psychiatry: When the character’s multiple personality was finally revealed, everyone would recognize it. And any critic who didn’t recognize it would be incompetent.

Unacknowledged Multiple Personality

Novels discussed in this blog illustrate that unacknowledged multiple personality is relatively common, much more common than acknowledged multiple personality. In these works, the author hadn't intended to raise the issue of multiple personality, and it is there only because it reflects the author’s own mind and own concept of ordinary psychology.

The Critic’s Responsibility

One of the traditional responsibilities of literary criticism is to explain why a novel has the impact that it does. Unacknowledged multiple personality gives characters and plots an aura of hidden meanings and psychological depth. It is one of the things that makes a novel “serious” and “literary.” Critics should know about this.