“Madame Bovary, c’est moi”: Flaubert’s famous explanation of his writing process refers to his multiple personality (and that of most fictions writers)

Some of the greatest characters in literature are not the same sex as their author. What can explain it? Most men don’t understand women. And most women don’t understand men. So how can fiction writers do it?

I have discussed Flaubert before (search “flaubert”), but may not have previously made clear how common cross-gender personalities are in multiple personality.

“At least half of all MPD [multiple personality disorder] patients have cross-gender personalities. In female MPD patients…male personalities are found in about half of cases. In male MPD patients, female alter personalities appear…in about two-thirds to three-quarters of all cases. These opposite gender personalities…may be responsible for the unisex look adopted by many MPD patients…In both sexes, cross-gender alter personalities may be sexually active with either heterosexual or homosexual orientations… (1, p. 110-111).

“Cross-gender alters may see the body as [consistent with their self-image]. In cases where a cross-gender alter perceives the body’s actual sex, there may be attempts to change it. These may run from crude mutilation of the genitals or breasts to seeking sex-change operations. One female multiple complained to me about the fact that she was getting arm muscles ‘like a man.’ The culprit turned out to be ‘Billy,’ a 17-year-old male alter who liked to lift weights. He kept telling me, ‘I got to get this body back in shape, man!’ ” (1, p. 181).

Of course, the above is from a textbook on clinical, multiple personality disorder. To apply the above to fiction writers, subtract the clinically significant dysfunction. What remains is the presence of cross-gender personalities in up to three-quarters of people with multiple personality. 

And that is what “Madame Bovary, c’est moi” means.

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