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1-Page Summary of Sybil
Overall Summary
Sybil, a book by Flora Rheta Schreiber, tells the story of Sybil Dorsett (Shirley Mason), who suffers from multiple personality disorder because of childhood trauma. The book was published in 1973 and became an instant success. It sold millions of copies and brought the little-known disorder into Americans’ cultural awareness. Critics such as Debbie Nathan have questioned whether the story is true or not, but it still remains popular today.
The book starts off with Sybil Dorsett, a woman who is getting her master’s degree at Columbia University. She finds herself in an unfamiliar city after she has lost five days of memory and can’t figure out how it happened or where she went. After walking around the city for a while, she discovers that she is in Philadelphia. Using a room key found inside her purse, which was also missing five days worth of memories, Sybil lets herself into another hotel room filled with objects that are strange to her.
This episode of Sybil’s story vividly illustrates the unnamed, terrifying, and crippling illness she suffers from. It recounts a crucial turning point in her analysis when Dr. Wilbur finally diagnoses her with multiple personality disorder. The first part of the book describes how this happened and what led up to it.
Sybil suffers from “nervousness” and has to leave a college. She is not able to overcome the adversity of her parents until she finds Dr. Wilbur in Omaha, Nebraska. Sybil knows that Dr. Wilbur will help her but when she gets sick and asks her mother for help, Hattie pretends like she’s calling Dr. Wilbur but doesn’t actually call him at all. After some time passes, Sybil learns that Dr. Wilbur has left without saying goodbye to her or giving treatment which leaves Sybil with a sense of betrayal after expecting so much more from him as a doctor who could treat people suffering from nervousness just like herself.
Sybil’s goal is to move to New York City, where Dr. Wilbur now lives, and receive treatment from her. However, Sybil has difficulty telling Dr. Wilbur about the blank spaces in her life because of fear and anxiety. Eventually, two of Sybil’s personalities take control without her knowledge: Peggy Lou Baldwin (childlike), who is emotional; and Victoria Antoinette Scharleau (sophisticated), who possesses all of the sophistication that Sybil does not have or wish she had. Vicky becomes a co-analyst with Dr. Wilbur when it comes time for diagnosis but struggles to deliver this news since it’s so traumatic that another personality takes over before hearing any bad news about herself/herself as a person.
Dr. Wilbur finally tells Sybil that she has Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD), and decides to befriend her patient in order to show her that Dr. Wilbur doesn’t think less of her because of this diagnosis. The other personalities emerge, seeing the doctor’s compassion for Sybil, and the analysis continues as they delve into why these personalities emerged in the first place.
Sybil is a girl who has an unusually close relationship with her grandmother. When she dies, Sybil dissociates for two years and doesn’t know where she is or what year it is. She also loses her best friend when he moves away.
Dr. Wilbur soon discovers the root cause of Sybil’s multiple personality disorder: her parents’ conflicting views about sex, which made it confusing for her to understand as a child. She slept in their room until she was 9 years old, and witnessed them having sex at night. Her parents would tell her that sex is disgusting during the day but then do it themselves at night, which confused Sybil and led to several different personalities emerging over time.
