Summary
Sybil Dorsett (Sally
Field) tells a story regarding a women who has a dissociative personality
disorder (DID). She registered herself under Dr. Cornelia Wilbur (Joanne
Woodward) care after experiencing several incidents of memory lapses/ black out
and disturbing imagery. In this film, there are several incidents that portrays
Sybil as different identities such as Vicky (who knows everything about Sybil
including other identities that resides her), Marcia (who is suicidal and want
to kill Sybil), Vanessa (who plays piano), Ruthie (infant personality), Peggy (who
remembers the abuse that Sybil encountered) and other identities. Each
Identities have different characters, intonation, interest and behaviour. Dr
Wilbur noticed the DID syndrome in Sybil when she emerges as Peggy when Dr
Wilbur went to rescue Sybil from jumping out of hotel window. Week by week, the
other personalities of Sybil emerges and becoming stronger. Dr Wilbur tape each
session for Sybil to hear when the time comes. At the same time, Vanessa
falling in love with Richard. One time, Vanessa spend the night with Richard
after having a Christmas dinner with him and his son. At that night, Sybil
suddenly awaken as Marcia who then wants to commit suicide. Richard then
contact Dr Wilbur to get help for Sybil sudden hysteria. He then been informed
regarding Sybil’s disorder. Sybil feels ashamed and vulnerable especially in front
of Richard. She then confronted Dr Wilbur saying that she has been faking her
symptoms and denies having multiple personality. Dr Wilbur who does not
believes her goes into search for Sybil’s father. The story begun to unfold as
her father revealed that Sybil’s mother has been diagnosed with paranoid
schizophrenia while raising her. Dr Wilbur also talk to Sybil’s paediatrician
who treats her. The doctor revealed a frightening amount of scarring that he
found when he treats her for a bladder problem that may indicate she has been
abused by her mother. Finally, Dr Wilbur visits Sybil’s old house. She
encounter the green kitchen and saw the wheat bin as Sybil described. She then
finds the purple drawing that Sybil scratch on a wheat bin. She then take a
portion of the bin and show to Sybil in New York which indicate that Sybil
actually experienced all the memories that she and her other personalities has
described. At the end, Dr Wilbur brings Sybil for a drive, in which Peggy
emerges and tells the horrifying stories of how she was abused by her own
mother. Sybil is awake after Peggy is exhausted and remembers everything that
Sybil has told. She then able to express her rage to her mother. Dr Wilbur has
use hypnotize to bring other identities for Sybil to talk to. Sybil then
embraces her issues. The story later is being told by a voice over of Dr Wilbur
saying that Sybil has recovered and live a happy life.
Theme: Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)
Dissociative identity disorder
refers to a person’s identity who is fragmented into two or more personalities.
People with this rare disorder mostly are victims of severe abuse.
In Sybil case,
different personalities might have been integrated by Sybil as a defence
mechanism against her memory of abused by her mother. I would say that Sybil
herself could not afford to remember the awful memories hence creating other
personalities to help her deal with that. Other personalities/ identities have
somehow help her to go on with life. It is so devastating that the only way for
a person to cope with the struggles is to fragment the memories so that it does
not drive them crazy. The issue here is the abuse that Sybil had encountered
during her childhood. Even though the film itself does not tells explicitly
about the abuse that Sybil received from a hand who is supposed to care for
her, however I could imagine the severity of the abuse that she had. Perhaps
the severity was more and beyond my imagination.
I think the problem actually
lay on Sybil’s father ego to acknowledge her wife disorder. Sybil mother should
not be allowed to raise Sybil on her own due to her disorder. Her father lack
of judgement has brought to his daughter suffering. If the father actually saw
and know what had been done to Sybil and prevented it, perhaps Sybil won’t have
to go through this suffering. Despite of this, I am glad that Sybil actually
has the courage to face her own issue starting from her motivation to register
for Dr Wilbur care. Even though she still has her coward moment to confront her
disorder when she actually stated that she was faking the symptoms so that Dr
Wilbur believes it. But, I would not judge anything because considering the
stressors that Sybil encounters, it is great enough for her to show some
resistance so that she would have the opportunity for herself to confront her
own issue and acknowledge that the memories that she had is certainly is and
learn to express and embrace her issues. In fact, her resistance has motivated
Dr Wilbur to search for Sybil true memories so that Sybil is convinced that she
experienced the memory and she needs to let go of that memory and express the
rage and any other resentment feelings towards her mother so that she can
continue a happy life.
