Sybil

Schreiber opens the book with an in-depth account of Sybil’s awakening in Philadelphia, an episode she returns to again from the perspectives of Dr. Wilbur and the Peggy’s halfway through the book. What is the significance of the Philadelphia episode, and why do you think the text is structured around it?

Schreiber writes that Dr. Wilbur conceived of having Schreiber write the book because she thought it would be “not sufficient[…]to present this history-making case in a medical journal, because in addition to great medical significance, the case had broad psychological and philosophical implications for the general public” (xiii). Discuss the writing choices Schreiber makes that support seeing Sybil as being in the spirit of a medical report, and the writing choices Schreiber makes that craft the story as entertaining and thought-provoking literature. How do the two sources of inspiration either complement or conflict with each other in the writing style of the book? 

How does Schreiber use free indirect discourse? Contrast the moments in which Schreiber decides to use free indirect discourse with the moments she is either narrating the character’s thoughts directly, fully immersed in their