“The Accidental Tourist” by Anne Tyler (post 3): “He began to think that who you are when you’re with somebody may matter more than whether you love her”

Toward the end of the novel, Macon reflects on the fact (see previous post) that when he lives with Muriel, his personality is fundamentally different than when he lives with Sarah (his wife of many years):

“He began to think that who you are when you’re with somebody may matter more than whether you love her” (1, p. 307).

Notice: He does not speak of how a person feels when with one person or another, but who a person is when with one person or another.

Everyone feels different in different circumstances and with different people. But it is the person with multiple personality who switches among different senses of personal identity.

Thus, the author has raised the issue of multiple personality without acknowledging it and apparently without intending to do so. Why? It may reflect her own psychology.

1. Anne Tyler. The Accidental Tourist [1985]. New York, Berkley Books, 1986.