Dr Lucy Foulkes
Dr Lucy Foulkes - Psychological diagnoses offer an easy way in to understanding character - but our habit of using them comes at a cost, says Dr Lucy Foulkes (UCL Psychology & Language Sciences). It takes around 30 seconds to diagnose Holden Caulfield. Sixty, maybe, if you look at more than one website. The unhappy protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), brought on by the death of his 13-year-old brother several years before the novel begins. The diagnosis explains a lot: the distressing thoughts, the trouble sleeping, his habit of drinking to numb the pain. Other critics say he might have depression instead, or an anxiety disorder, or maybe all three. The details don't actually matter.
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