Willa Cathers Paul‟s Case: A Study in Temperament Essay examples -- P

Willa Cathers Pauls Case A Study in Temperament (1905) invites the reader to wonder, What really is Pauls case? Cather provides us with ample touchs and descriptions of Pauls temperament with remarkable detail and insight into the world psyche considering that she had no formal background in psychology and that she was writing when Sigmund Freud was just beginning to publish his theories and was therefore writing by intuitive posting rather than by using a scientific approach. Because Pauls Case is written much like a descriptive analysis or case study in a patients temperament, the reader is left with several details about Paul that are mysterious and psychiatrically and medically unexplained. The lack of a diagnosis for Paul has led many critics to develop their own diagnosis some say Paul is a stereotypical homosexual, has Aspergers Syndrome or Autism, or that he has a combination of depression and anxiety. In my opinion, however, the most likely diagnosis for Paul is that he suffers from Narcissistic Personality Disorder. harmonise to the DSM-IV, people with Narcissistic Personality Disorder are preoccupied with fantasiesof unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love (Criterion 2) and believe that theyare special and unique and pot only be understood by, or should be associated with, other special orhigh-status people (Criterion 3). Pauls clothing gives us our first clue to his narcissistic attitudesabout himself in Cathers description of Pauls dress, it is apparent that Paul is attempting to riseabove his lower-class status by mimicking the swiftness class appearance. The collar of Pauls overcoat isvelvet, and there was something of the dandy about him, and he wore an... ...her was writing about a social disorder that had non yet beenidentified or studied. Despite the lack of knowledge about Narcissistic Personality Disorderwhen Cather wrote this short story, she provides readers with plenty of details to diagnose the male child the mselves. Narcissism is the only diagnosis that can explain all of Pauls attitudes and behaviors,and that is why it is the disorder that he must be suffering from. whole kit and caboodle CitedDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV. Arlington, VA. American Psychiatric Association, 2007. Print.Larry Rubin. The Homosexual Motif in Willa Cathers Pauls Case Studies in Short Fiction (1975) 127-31. Print.Perkins, Barbara, Robyn Warhol-Down, and George B. Perkins. Pauls Case A Study inTemperament. Womens Work an Anthology of American Literature. New York McGrawHill, 1994. Print.