“The Fourth Man” by Agatha Christie (post 9): Short Story explicitly on Multiple Personality

Dr. Campbell Clark, an eminent “physician and mental specialist” tells his traveling companions that he is on his way to treat “a case of dual personality.” In that context, he tells them about a famous case in France that had featured four personalities. And to explain that multiple personality may be more common than they think, he says:

“You’re the master of the house—we’ll admit that, but aren’t you ever conscious of the presence of others—soft-footed servants, hardly noticed, except for the work they do—work that you’re not conscious of having done? Or…moods that take hold of you and make you, for the time being, a ‘different man’ as the saying goes? You’re the king of the castle, right enough, but be very sure the ‘dirty rascal’ is there too.”

“ ‘My dear Clark,’ drawled the lawyer. ‘You make me positively uncomfortable. Is my mind really a battleground of conflicting personalities? Is that Science’s latest?’ ” (1).

Considering previous Christie posts, her metaphor of the house may reflect her own mind and creative process.

1. Agatha Christie. “The Fourth Man” [1925], pages 55-76 in Agatha Christie, The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories. New York, William Morrow/HarperCollins, 2012.