Personality Disorder Theories Essay Example

justify">A rigid, controlling, seemingly emotionless woman who is both beautiful and well-regarded socially, the movie and novel both suggest that the son who was drowned, Buck Jarrett, was, in fact, Beth's favorite child. It is further suggested that Beth's humor and her capacity to love have been forever impacted in a negative way by the loss of Buck. Beth Jarrett In this regard, Beth Jarrett can be said to be suffering from Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder in that she must have everything from her dishes to her carpets in immaculate condition and each member of her family must also be perfectly mannered and dressed.

Behind Beth's obsessive-compulsive behavior is her paranoic-critical concern over what her social circle and her family will think about the scandal of her son's attempted suicide and also the loss of her "perfect" world. In this sense, Beth's larger personality disorder is a Narcissistic Personality Disorder but even this is not the full extent of Beth's troubles. She also seems to suffer from a Paranoid Personality Disorder and this borderline disorder is shown clearly during the scene in the movie when Beth has a breakdown while visiting with her brother and her sister-in-law.

Though Beth Jarrett's complex personality disorders are the most formidable of those presented in the movie, their relative importance is not over that of the personality disorders which afflict the other primary characters. Instead, the movie shows very capably how the issues of interpersonal relationships are shaped and influenced by personality disorders and vice-versa, how personality disorders can sometimes arise out of our associations with particular people and situations.