An Examination of Alcohol Use Disorder Among the Characters of Patricia Highsmith

Abstract

Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is a chronic disease with specific traits that connect to behavior, psychology, and physiology. This disease is especially prevalent among those within creative professions, which prompted further study into the effects of AUD on an alcoholic’s creative work. An examination of the incorporation of AUD within a female alcoholic author's work, particularly through the lens of Patricia Highsmith’s fictional characters, to cope with behaviors associated with AUD has yet to be accomplished, leading to this study’s purpose. A content analysis was conducted utilizing four indicating behaviors of AUD–codependency, neuroticism, binge drinking, and alcoholic terminology usage–that served as coding categories for 30 short stories analyzed. Data analysis showed that AUD was noticeably projected onto the fictional characters of Patricia Highsmith, with a total of 270 indicators identified. Implicit indicators–codependency and neuroticism–were projected within general written situations, and explicit indicators–binge drinking and alcoholic terminology usage–were projected within written situations that naturally trigger alcoholic behavior. Thus, it was suggested that AUD was projected onto the fictional characters of Patricia Highsmith in varying ways so as to cope with her alcoholic tendencies.