“Only Angels Forget” by Rosamund Clay, pseudonym of Ann Oakley (post 2): Character has amnesia, memory gap, a symptom of multiple personality

Sociologist Ann Rosamund Oakley has published other fiction, both before and after this novel, under her own name (1), so why did she publish this novel under a pseudonym? Was she embarrassed by it? Not at all. She lists this novel, among other fiction she is proud to have published, on her website (2).

As I have previously discussed, the use of pseudonyms may be a clue to multiple personality, since a pseudonym may be the name of an alternate personality (search “pseudonyms” in this blog).

Only Angels Forget

The word “forget” in the title refers to an episode in which one of the main characters is raped, but has amnesia, a memory gap, for it. She has bruises and a vague idea that she must have been assaulted, but she is not sure what happened until she finds that she is pregnant.

Most people who are raped have trouble forgetting it, not remembering it. Only a person with multiple personality, a cardinal symptom of which is memory gaps, is likely to have a memory gap for being raped (assuming the person did not have a head injury and was not drugged). Search “memory gaps” in this blog for previous discussions.

There was no necessity, in regard to either plot or character development, for this character to have had a memory gap for being raped. The reason for her memory gap is never even discussed (except when the rapist later tells his victim that "only angels forget. Good women are hard to find. Be thankful") (3, p. 187). Evidently, the author, for personal reasons, considered memory gaps to be within the realm of ordinary psychology.

The inclusion of this symptom of multiple personality was gratuitous (search “gratuitous multiple personality”) since the novel never intentionally made multiple personality an issue.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Oakley

2. http://www.annoakley.co.uk/

3. Rosamund Clay. Only Angels Forget. London, Virago, 1990.