“Mind Games” (post 4) by Nora Roberts: Mr. Riggs, the Murderer, may be Thea’s Self-persecuting Alternate Personality; and a hunch on politicians

In previous posts, I noted that Thea has multiple personality, and that, as she says, the murderer has what she has. Moreover, as alternate personalities, they could communicate with each other telepathically. In short, the murderer may be Thea’s self-persecuting alternate personality. But what is that?

Self-Persecuting Alternate Personalities

At least half of all MPD patients have alternate personalities who see themselves as enemies of the host [regular] personality (2, p. 108). These internal persecutors sabotage the patient and may even want to seriously harm or kill the person. The perceived degree of separateness that allows one personality to believe it can harm another personality [or their loved ones] without endangering itself would mean the patient were delusional, except for the fact that the regular personality typically does not share the delusion of invulnerable separateness (2, p. 108).

Reservations: I’m only three-quarters through this novel, so it’s possible the author will have a better interpretation. But even if my interpretation best fits the facts, I don’t expect the author to agree with it, because she has not explicitly raised the issue of multiple personality. What prompts my interpretation at this time is that I have finally paid attention to a glaring fact, that the murderer’s name is “Riggs.”

It is a famous fact that former president Trump erroneously thought he lost the previous presidential election, because it had been “rigged” by electoral fraud. I speculate that the famous word “rigged” entered Nora Robert’s mind, and she used it to name her villain.

And I speculate that Mr.Trump, a very bright person, was misled by his own self-sabotaging alternate personality. For I consider it probable that some great politicians, like many great novelists, have multiple personality trait.

Added June 21: I finished reading this novel: Good triumphs over evil. The psychological issues I raised in posts one to four are not addressed. For interesting discussions related to this author, please search “Nora Roberts” and “pseudonyms” in this blog.

1. Nora Roberts. Mind Games. New York, St. Martin’s Press, 2024.

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