pathology of lying-第23节

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


nd　she　wondered　much　about　them。　　No　practices；　however；　were　indulged　in　and　even　the　thoughts　were　fought　against　until　the　time　mentioned　above　when　other　sex　ideas　were　implanted。　　Janet's　mother　had　neither　given　nor　received　confidences　on　this　subject；　and　indeed　never　throughout　the　daughter's　life　has　there　been　anything　except　vague　warnings　on　the　part　of　the　mother　about　the　general　dangers　of　sex　immorality。

We　gradually　came　to　learn　that　Janet　had　been　subject　to　much　sex　temptation　from　her　own　physical　feelings。　　She　never　was　a　good　sleeper；　she　thinks；　and　she　often　lies　awake；　or　will　wake　up　for　a　time　in　the　middle　of　the　night　and　think　of　sex　affairs。　　She　feels　sure　there　has　been　considerable　stress　upon　her　on　account　of　this　temptation　which　she　has　felt　should　be　combated。　　The　occasional　giving　way　to　sex　habits　also　resulted　in　mental　stress　and；　as　she　expresses　it；　worry。

At　the　time　of　her　failure　to　do　well　in　school　work　her　internal　conflicts　were　especially　acute。　　There　was　before　her　continually　the　success　which　the　other　members　of　her　family　had　made；　which　she　herself　admired；　and　for　which　she　was　ambitious。　　She　hid　at　that　time　the　cause　of　her　nervousness　and　failure；　there　was　the　danger　of　its　being　discovered。　　After　thus　reviewing　her　case　with　us；　Janet　reiterated　that　she　was　sure　her　tendency　to　prevaricate　came　on　at　the　time　when　she　first　began　her　bad　sex　habits。

This　girl　was　probably　not　much　of　a　day…dreamer。　　She　denies　being　so；　saying　she　had　always　been　too　busy　for　such　to　be　the　case。　　We　also　obtained　corroboration　of　this　from　others　who　had　closely　observed　her。　　She　says　she　had　lived　no　specially　imaginative　life　beyond　occasionally　thinking　of　herself　as　a　well…to…do　lady　with　many　good　clothes　to　wear；　or　sometimes　lying　in　bed　and　imagining　she　had　a　lover　there。　　Further　inquiry　into　her　imaginative　life　seemed　futile　because　she　was　not　trained　in　introspection　and　because　even　in　her　frankest　moments　we　were　always　afraid　that　she　might　fall　into　her　strongly　formed　habit　of　prevarication。　　We　ascertained　that　in　her　home　life　special　efforts　had　been　made　to　keep　her　busy　and　she　could　not　be　regarded　as　a　dreamer。　　Janet　strongly　denied　the　periodicity　in　her　lying　which　her　mother　maintained；　but　the　girl　did　state　that　her　periods　of　sex　temptation　were　mostly　just　preceding　her　menstrual　period。

In　giving　the　above　account　of　what　was　ascertained　by　analysis　with　Janet　we　have　offered　such　of　her　statements　as　are　clearly　probable　or　which　are　corroborated　by　the　parents。　　Our　many　experiences　with　the　young　woman　led　us　to　be　particularly　careful　in　accepting　as　veracious　any　of　her　statements　unless；　as　in　what　is　given　above；　they　clearly　followed　the　type　of　fact　which　may　be　ascertained　in　the　investigation　of　other　instances　of　pathological　lying　where　the　individual's　word　is　more　reliable。　　The　parents　were　able　to　corroborate　many　points。　　The　mother　remembers　the　older　girl　in　the　town　where　they　lived　when　Janet　was　7　years　old　and　that　this　girl　was　notorious　for　her　sex　tendencies；　although　she　was　not　in　the　least　aware　that　Janet　had　been　contaminated。　　Then　she　recollects　that　Janet　used　to　tell　her　so　particularly　about　going　with　a　special　crowd　of　girls　（those　which　she　now　says　were　not　her　companions）。　　Both　parents　considered　the　matter　at　great　length　in　order　to　help　my　study　of　the　case　and　both　are　very　certain　that　it　was　just　about　this　period　when　Janet　says　she　was　beginning　her　covert　sex　experiences　that　she　began　the　lying；　which　was　petty　at　first；　but　after　a　time　expanded　into　the　type　of　detailed　falsifications　we　have　enumerated　above。　　Altogether　there　was　little　doubt　in　our　minds　that　Janet　was　giving　the　truth　in　its　main　outlines。　　Undoubtedly　it　was　merely　her　habit　which　always　led　her　to　alter　somewhat　the　details。

We　were　interested　to　note　that　in　her　letters　and　in　her　ordinary　conversation　Janet　took　up　the　topics　that　a　fairly　well　educated　girl　would　naturally　discuss。　　For　instance；　she　would　give　us　some　account　of　her　recent　reading；　or　a　visit　to　an　art　gallery；　telling　us　with　normal　vivacity　about　a　couple　of　pictures　which　had　deeply　impressed　her。　　She　spoke　not　only　of　their　subjective　influence；　but　discussed　the　details　of　composition　and　coloring。　　We　might　mention　that　in　a　characteristic　way　she　interjected　some　remarks　that　she　herself　used　to　be　very　good　at　drawing　and　won　several　prizes　at　it。　　She　stated　that　she　thought　of　going　farther　in　art；　but　that　her　parents　could　hardly　afford　to　allow　her　to　do　this。　　These　remarks　were　found　later　to　be　quite　aside　from　the　truth。

Telling　us　the　story　of　her　school　career；　Janet　insists　her　memory　had　never　been　good　for　learning　poems　or　for　languages；　particularly　Latin；　but　anything　in　the　way　of　a　picture　she　could　recall　with　ease。　　What　she　has　read　she　often　thinks　of　in　the　form　of　pictures。　　Concerning　her　lying　she　denied　it　was　done　particularly　to　cover　up　things；　at　least　since　the　time　when　the　habit　was　first　formed。　　She　feels　that　it　really　is　a　habit；　a　very　bad　one。　　She　hardly　knows　she　is　going　to　prevaricate；　the　false　statement　comes　out　suddenly。　　In　thinking　about　it　all　she　harks　back　once　more　to　that　crowd　of　girls；　everybody　thought　they　were　good；　but　she　knew　they　were　not。

After　a　time　of　quieting　down　in　her　behavior　tendencies；　although　there　was　never　complete　cessation　of　the　inclination　to　falsify；　a　new　exacerbation　of　lying　arose。　　This　time　it　seemed　to　center　about　a　clandestine　love　affair　of　a　mild　type。　　There　was　one　trouble　with　this　case　which　neither　I　nor　any　one　else　was　able　to　clear　for　the　parents。　　It　was　perfectly　apparent　that　the　girl　might　naturally　be　expected　to　marry　at　some　time。　　Now；　when　an　honest　young　man　felt　inspired　to　keep　company　with　this　vivacious；　healthy；　and　generally　attractive　young　woman；　what　were　the　parents　to　do？　　It　was　easy　enough　for　them　to　decide　that　she　must　not　go　with　a　man　of　bad　character；　but　were　they　bound　in　honor　to　inform　any　young　man；　before　affairs　had　gone　too　far；　that　the　girl　had　this　unfortunate　tendency　and　that　she　had　had　rather　a　shady　career？　　It　was　perfectly　clear　to　them　that　she　herself　would　not　tell　him。　　This　was　how　the　matter　stood　at　the　time　we　last　heard　of　the　case；　and　while　the　parents　were　holding　back；　a　young　man's　affections　and　the　girl's　fabrications　were　growing　apace。

Janet　had　been　suffering　from　a　chronic　inflammation　of　the　bladder；　which；　however；　did　not　cause　any　acute　symptoms。　　A　chronic　pelvic　inflammation　was　discovered；　for　which　she　was　operated　upon　in　her　home　town。　　The　surgeon　reported　to　the　parents　that　conditions　were　such　that　they　would　naturally　be　highly　irritative；　although　there　had　been　no　previous　complaint　about　them。　　The　girl　made　an　exceedingly　rapid　recovery。　　It　was　after　this　that　her　last　affair　of　the　affections　was　causing　the　parental　quandary　and　distress。

Our　final　diagnosis　of　this　ease；　after　careful　study　of　it；　was　that　it　was　a　typical　case　of　pathological　lying；　mythomania；　or　pseudologia　phantastica。　　The　girl　could　not　be　called　a　defective　in　any　ordinary　sense。　　Her　capabilities　were　above　the　average。　　She　showed　good　moral　instincts　in　many　directions　and　was　at　times　altogether　penitent。　　Nor　could　she　be　said　to　have　a　psychosis。　　The　trouble　was　confined　to　one　form　of　conduct。

The　lying；　as　in　all　these　cases；　seemed　undertaken　sometimes　for　the　advantages　which　thereby　might　accrue。　　On　the　other　hand；　at　times　the　falsification　seemed　to　have　no　relation　to　personal　advantages。　　Indeed；　this　girl　had　experience；　many　times　repeated；　that　her　lying　very　quickly　resulted　in　suffering　to　her。　　There　were　aspects　of　her　falsifications　which　made　it　seem　as　if　there　was　pleasure　in　the　mere　manufacture　of　the　stories　themselves　and　in　the　living；　even　for　a　short　time；　in　the　situations　which　she　had　created　out　of　her　imagination　and　communicated　to　others。　　Frequently　there　seemed　to　be　an　unwillingness　on　her　part　to　face　the　true　facts　of　existence。　　In　her　representation　of　things　as　different　from　what　they　really　were　she　seemed　to　show　even　the　desire　for　self…deception。　　Another　point：　no　student　of　cases　of　this　kind　should　allow　himself　to　forget　the　potency　of　habit　formation。　　There　can　be　little　doubt　but　that　a　large　share　of　this　girl's　conduct　was　the　result　of　her　well　developed　and　long　maintained　tendency　to　trim　the　facts。

As　far　as　we　were　able　to　determine；　and　we　undoubtedly　got　at　the　essential　facts；　this　girl's　falsifying　trait　was　based　on　the　following：　　The　fact　that　she　came　of　neuropathic　stock　would　make　us　think　that　she　possibly　inherited　an　unstable　mental　make…up。　　To　be　sure；　the　only　evidence　of　it　was　in　this　anomalous　characteristic　of　hers；　namely；　her　pathological　lying。　　She　seemed　sound　in　her　nervous　makeup。　　The　idea　that　the　grandmother　passed　on　as　inheritance　her　prevaricating　traits　is　open　to　discussion；　but　we　have　seen　that　environmental　influences　from　this　source　may　have　been　the　only　effect；　if　there　was　any　at　all。　　Very　important　in　this　case；　without　any　doubt；　is