“Parts” in “The Woman in Cabin 10” by Ruth Ware (post 2): Protagonist in mirror, not just one personality weighing factors, but three “parts” who differ

Many people with multiple personality don’t like the idea of having multiple personality. So they employ euphemisms. In English, the most common euphemism for an alternate personality is “part.” They won’t say they have alternate personalities, but they will say they have parts:

“Making myself up for dinner that night…

“Part of me, a big part, wanted to go and huddle beneath my duvet—the idea of making small talk with a group of people containing a potential murderer, eating food served by someone who might have killed a woman last night—that thought was terrifying…

“But another, more stubborn part refused to give in. As I applied mascara…I found myself searching in my reflection for the angry, idealistic girl…thinking of the dreams I’d had of becoming an investigative reporter…But how could I look that girl in the mirror in the eye, if I didn’t have the courage to get out there and investigate a story that was staring me in the face?…

“Besides, as I shut the bathroom door behind me and put on my evening shoes, a smaller, more selfish part of me was whispering that I was safest in company. No one could harm me in front of a room full of witnesses” (1, pp. 202-203).

In the above, the mirror is noteworthy. Persons with multiple personality may sometimes see alternate personalities when they look in the mirror. Search “mirror” and “mirrors” for past discussions.

1. Ruth Ware. The Woman in Cabin 10. New York, Scout Press, 2016.