Metaphor vs. Multiple Personality: Normal person has a “part” of her with its own opinion. Disturbed person “suddenly” becomes “completely different”

Both the normal survivor and the abnormal perpetrator of a life-threatening assault (1) may have had multiple personality: the survivor may have had multiple personality trait, while the perpetrator may have had multiple personality disorder.

The survivor says that a “part” of her had thought her life was over. And when people refer to “parts” of themselves with their own points of view, they may be referring to alternate personalities.

The perpetrator seemed to “suddenly” become “a completely different person,” which may describe a switch to an alternate personality.

“Part of me had already thought my life was over,” Ms. Birli, 27, said on Tuesday, a week after her waking nightmare…

…In a moment of quiet, “when he was not beating or threatening me,” she looked around, noticed the orchids and without thinking, commented on them. “I just threw it out there, that his orchids were so beautiful.”

She added that she had orchids as well, and knew how much care went into keeping the delicate blooms alive and thriving.

“Suddenly, he started talking about how he cared for them, using water from his aquarium,” she said. “Suddenly, he was a completely different person.”

It is possible that I am over-interpreting. I can’t be certain in this particular instance. But some common metaphors may be a veiled, unknowing reference to multiple personality.

1. Melissa Eddy. “She Thought He Would Kill Her. Then She Complimented His Orchids.” https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/30/world/europe/austria-cyclist-abducted.html