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Alexa Razo-Lomeli
Professor Erin Black
Abnormal Psychology
March 1st, 2024
Abnormal Psychology in Movies:
The Three Faces of Eve (1957)
The Three Faces of Eve is the story of a woman named Eve White who, over the course of two
years, discovers that she has multiple personality disorder with the help of Dr. Luther, who is a
psychiatrist and a neurologist. She originally presents with blackout spells and splitting headaches which
are eventually revealed to be the result of one personality switching out for the other. This is when Eve
White’s second personality is revealed; a woman named Eve Black who is the opposite of Eve White’s
timid personality and instead, fancies herself a nightclub singer and dancer. As time passes, Eve White’s
condition seriously affects her family. Eve Black, who hates Eve White's husband and child, regularly
goes out dancing and flirts with many men. Eve Black trying to strangle Mrs. White's young daughter
already put tension on the marriage, but her continued promiscuity is what pushes her husband to leave. A
few days following the separation, Eve White attempts suicide and is stopped by Eve Black. Miss Black
tells Dr. Luther that she is worried about Eve White and further discloses her own recent symptoms of
splitting headaches and blackout spells. In an effort to discover the source of the problem, Dr. Luther puts
Eve White under hypnosis. Before he can begin asking questions, a brand-new personality emerges. At
first, she doesn't know her name and says she has only recently become aware of her existence although
she is aware of both Eve White and Eve Black. This personality names herself Jane and seems to be the
best traits of both Eves combined; soft spoken, firm, and polite. The next year consists of all three women
trying to adjust to their situation. Eve White is depressed and struggling to keep up with her job but stays
alive for the sake of her daughter. Eve Black continues to go out at night and flirt with men in dance
clubs. Jane is in love with a man who wants to marry her, however, she refuses his proposal as she feels
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it's unfair for him to have to deal with all three personalities. There comes a time during a routine
appointment with Dr. Luther, that Eve White discloses that she feels she is going to die soon and that she
is okay with it as long as Jane is the one to ‘make it out.’ Disturbed by what she said, Dr. Luther asks to
speak to Eve Black who expresses that she also feels she will die soon and is scared. Trying to get to the
bottom of the issue, Dr. Luther seeks out Jane. During their conversation, Jane reveals a hint as to what
Eve White’s initial trauma was that caused the personalities to split. At this discovery, Dr. Luther puts Eve
White under hypnosis again. It is in this state that Dr. Luther discovers that Mrs. White’s trauma
happened at six years old during her grandmother's funeral where her mother made Eve kiss her
grandmother's corpse. It is from this moment that Eve Black begins to come out whenever Eve White
doesn't want to do something, almost in a protective manner. At the end of the hypnosis, she appears calm
and reminiscent of her childhood. Dr. Luther, who has been documenting the flashback, asks if the trauma
made her think of death often. In response, the woman recites a line of poetry of which the meaning is
that death will come for us all and there is no point in stopping it as if she takes comfort in the idea. Dr.
Luther, feeling something is off about her, asks where she heard that line of poetry. Without hesitation,
she answers that she learned it in high school from her English teacher Mr. Montgomery. Prodding
further, Dr. Luther asks her to recite all her teachers from the very first to the very last. The woman does
as told and the further she gets along the more she realizes she has all her memories and there aren't any
gaps in time. Still feeling something is off, Dr. Luther asks directly to speak to Eve White. This time she
hesitates but again obeys and tries to make Eve White come forward with no result. At the request of the
doctor, she tries again but with Eve Black only to reach the same conclusion: both personalities are gone
and only Jane is left with all the memories from all three personalities. The story ends with Dr. Luther
reading a letter from Jane two years after this incident saying that she is remarried and is raising Eve
white’s daughter with her new husband, living happily ever after.
From the summary, it is clear that The Three Faces of Eve is a story about a woman with what is
now called dissociative identity disorder. Eve white fits all five of the diagnostic criteria for the disorder.
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According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th edition (DSM-5) written by
the American Psychiatric Association, Eve White presents with a disruption of identity caused by two or
more distinct personality states in which the disruption of identity involves a marked discontinuity in
sense of self in the sense of agency accompanied by alterations and affect behavior consciousness
memory perception and cognition (American Psychiatric Association, 292). She also has, “…recurrent
gaps in the recall of everyday events and traumatic events that are inconsistent with ordinary forgetting,
(Americans Psychiatric Association, 292)” with none of her symptoms being attributed to the effects of a
substance, a medical condition or a cultural/religious practice. Eve white fits best with a case of
possession form of dissociative identity disorder as defined by the DSM-5 and her presentation can be
identified by the second cluster of symptoms associated with DID, that being recurrent dissociative
amnesia both in eve white and eventually eve black. Mrs. White presents with all three primary
manifestations of dissociative amnesia with dissociative identity disorder according to the DSM-5. She
has gaps in remote memory of personal life events, lapses in dependable memory, and found evidence of
tasks that she had no recollection of doing (American Psychiatric Association, 293). What adds to this is
Eve White’s lack of control at the beginning of the film over the other identity, Eve Black, taking over
and became incredibly distressed as a result, no longer being able to properly function as a wife and a
mother. Dissociative identity disorder is also typically present with depression, anxiety, self-injury, and
suicidal thoughts, all of which were present in Eve White. Throughout the film, there are only a handful
of times in which she is aware of one of the other identities taking control, but a majority of the time Eve
White retreats and another personality comes forward when she is in significant distress. Eve White also
fits with the diagnosis as she experienced a trauma in childhood which, according to the DSM-5, can be
the foundation for dissociative identity disorder. The only abnormality is that she had a singular traumatic
event during an otherwise normal and happy childhood which is not common with DID as prolonged
abuse is typically seen as the cause.
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As mentioned before, Eve White presents with all three primary manifestations of dissociative
amnesia coupled with dissociative identity disorder according to the DSM-5. One of the first major
examples of her gaps in remote memory and personal life is her inability to recall significant moments
from her childhood or adult life. This is seen near the beginning of the movie when Dr. Luther is
interviewing Mrs. White to try and find the initial trauma that caused her personalities to split. This goes
into her overall lack of remembering everyday events which is the second and third primary
manifestations of this disorder and its associated amnesia. Her husband witnessed and Eve experienced
this at the beginning of the movie when Eve White's husband comes home to find $218 worth of dresses
and shoes that he knows he did not buy. He confronts his wife, and Eve says that she assumed he bought
them and was going to make him return them once he got home as they were so expensive. He doesn't
believe her, and she is incredibly confused, so Mr. White investigates and calls the boutique where the
dresses are from to confirm who bought them. The saleswoman on the phone tells Mr. White that it was in
fact his wife who bought the dresses and the shoes. Eve White is distressed by this news as she has no
memory of going to the boutique, trying on the dresses, buying them, and having them shipped to the
house. This causes a major argument in which Mr. White walks away to pack up the dresses and return
them. The moment his back is turned, Eve White experiences a splitting headache right as their young
daughter comes from the backyard looking for something to eat. It's at this moment that we assume as the
audience Mrs. White has had a change in personality as she attacks the young girl and has to be thrown
off of by Mr. White who heard his daughter screams. Mr. White is obviously enraged as he believes his
wife just tried to kill their child, but Eve White only came to consciousness again when she hit the floor
and had no recollection of hurting her daughter. Both experiences are examples of all three primary
manifestations. Eve white had no recollection of harming her daughter which would be considered a
major event, she has no memory of going to the boutique and buying the dresses which would be a lapse
in dependable memory, and lastly, she found evidence of tasks that she did not remember doing that being
having the dresses shipped to the house. Finally, one of the most damning pieces of evidence as to why
Eve White has dissociative identity disorder is the presence of two or more distinct personalities. If we are
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assuming Eve White was the primary personality until the end of the movie, then both Jane and Eve
Black are stark contrasts to Eve White. Mrs. White is described as a mousey housewife who has trouble
speaking up for herself and is incredibly modest. This is immediately contrasted by Eve Black who by
name and personality is her complete opposite. Eve Black is promiscuous, socially outgoing, and
disregards the traditional social expectations of the time; essentially a true eccentric. Jane is a bit harder to
define personality wise as we don't see much of her until the end of the movie, but it seems as if she, like
Eve White, is soft spoken and conforming to her role in the society of the time but like Eve Black is
confident and personable, all of this being seen through her interactions with Dr. Luther and the man she's
in love with. Although cliche and written for film, Eve White does seem to present with dissociative
identity disorder.
Eve White’s diagnosis however does not speak to the accurate clinical picture of dissociative
identity disorder. To start with, her personalities splitting is attributed to a singular traumatic event in
which her life. This is not common for dissociative identity disorder as according to the DSM-5, there is
typically a basis of repeated abuse or in cases where there wasn't repeated abuse, there was overwhelming
early life events such as painful medical procedures (American Psychiatric Association, 294). Another
inaccuracy is the supposed ‘getting better’ of Eve White’s condition at the end of the movie. Her disorder
is ‘cured’ when the original trauma is discovered and suddenly all three personalities have merged and
she no longer faces any kind of impairment or distress. It's obvious that this is not the real case for people
dealing with dissociative identity disorder. Typically, treatment for this disorder can include both
medication and psychotherapy although developments in pharmacotherapy for dissociative identity
disorder specifically is still in its beginning stages. According to a paper named Psychotherapy and
Pharmacotherapy for Patients with Dissociative Identity Disorder published in the National Library of
medicine and written by Julie P. Gentile, MD, Kristy S. Dillon, MS, PCC-S, and Paulette Marie Gillig,
MD, PHD in 2013, normally medications prescribed are antidepressants, anti-anxiety, and atypical
antipsychotic medications considering the high comorbidity of depression, anxiety and mood instability in
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individuals with dissociative identity disorder but the clinician still has to be careful as some medications
(benzodiazepines) can make disassociation worse (Gentile & Dillon & Gillig, 2013). In another paper
published in the National Library of Medicine under the name Psychological Interventions for
Dissociative Disorders written by Alka A. Subramanyam, Mansi Somaiya, Sunitha Shankar, Minhaj
Nasirabadi, Henal R. Shah, Imon Paul, and Rakesh Ghildiyal written in 2020, when approaching
dissociative identity disorder it is preferable to work through three stages and keep in mind that the
integration of all identities as one may not occur (Subramanyam & Somaiya & Shankar & Nasirabadi &
Shah & Paul & Ghildiyal, 2020). According to this paper, the first treatment phase starts with symptom
reduction through safety and stabilization then going into treatment phase two with confrontation and
walking through an integration eventually leading to treatment phase three which is walking towards
complete integration and rehabilitation (Subramanyam & Somaiya & Shankar & Nasirabadi & Shah &
Paul & Ghildiyal, 2020). Although not an exact road map of how to treat dissociative identity disorder
phase-oriented therapy is the most widely used treatment for dissociative disorders. End goals typically
include an assurance of personal safety, stabilization, internal communication, containment, symptom
management, affect modulation, and stress tolerance with skills trading as an inevitable part of the safety
and stabilization phase. As PTSD is very common in people with dissociative identity disorder, there is
also an element of working through traumatic memories and creating a sense of control and tolerance to
them. Both of these papers present a rough skeletal structure of how dissociative identity disorder can be
treated yet neither of the science they were based in were referenced or used in Eve White’s treatment or
her eventual resolution at the end of the movie. For these reasons, my answer is no, The Three Faces of
Eve is not an accurate clinical presentation of dissociative identity disorder.
As for seeking a diagnosis, that can be difficult. Going by another paper published under National
Library of Medicine by the name of Dissociative Identity Disorder written by Paroma Mitra and Ankit
Jain in 2023, it can be difficult to accurately diagnose dissociative identity disorder as it presents with
severe anxiety and depression symptoms that can be seen as having other causes (Mitra & Jain, 2023). On
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top of this, according both to the DSM 5 and this paper, individuals experiencing blackout spells like Eve
White or dissociative fugues may minimize their symptoms and may not report episodes of memory loss
or disassociation due to embarrassment or fear of consequences (Mitra & Jain, 2023). Even then it is
recommended that a clinician doesn't diagnose someone with dissociative identity disorder until a,
“…disassociation is observed or a change from one personality to another occurs in the room (Gentile &
Dillon & Gillig, 2013). As there's a level of unreliability in someone seeking a diagnosis for dissociative
identity disorder, according to Dissociative Identity Disorder (2023), there needs to be a detailed history
from multiple sources and multiple assessments overtime to properly evaluate and diagnose (Mitra &
Jain, 2023). Some of these evaluation tools include aid dissociative experiences scale, a disassociation
questionnaire, and a difficulties and emotion regulation scale. Still, getting a fast diagnosis would not be
possible as the extensive nature of the evaluation and the comorbidity of other disorders can lead to an
alternate diagnosis.
As a film and for the purpose of normalizing mental illness during a time when it was so taboo to
discuss, the Three Faces of Eve is a wonderful movie with an interesting storyline and complex characters
that’s worth the watch. It is not an accurate depiction of someone with dissociative identity disorder and
not everyone will be diagnosed nor ‘cured’ as easily as Eve White, but still, a lot of the information was
accurate if anything just heavily emphasized and paired with a happy ending for the sake of cinema.
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Work Cited:
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Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5. 5th ed., CBS Publishers
& Distributors, Pvt. Ltd., 2017.
Gentile, Julie P, et al. “Psychotherapy and Pharmacotherapy for Patients with
Dissociative Identity Disorder.” Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience, U.S. National
Library of Medicine, Feb. 2013, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3615506/#seca.i.ctitle.
Subramanyam, Alka A, et al. “Psychological Interventions for Dissociative Disorders.”
Indian Journal of Psychiatry, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Jan. 2020,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7001344/#sec1-14title.
Mitra, Paroma. “Dissociative Identity Disorder.” StatPearls [Internet]., U.S. National
Library of Medicine, 16 May 2023, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK568768/#_article130663_s7_.