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Commentary on Braude's “Dissociation and Latent Abilities

Stephen Braude’s title is apposite: the case of Patience Worth is indeed strange. As Braude presents it, this case forces us into a classic dilemma–choosing between a pair of equally unpalatable, incompatible hypotheses. The ‘‘spiritualist’’ hypothesis is that a seventeenth century Englishwoman named Patience Worth once existed as real a person and later, as a disembodied spirit, was able to communicate through the St Louis housewife Pearl Curran. The alternative, more naturalistic, hypothesis is that, in Braude’s words, ‘‘Patience represents a set of latent creative talents unleashed dissociatively in Pearl.’’ That is, there was never an independent person named Patience Worth, and despite all the countervailing evidence, we must suppose that the literary achievements of ‘‘Patience Worth’’ are attributable to some part or aspect of Curran herself. These alternatives are as unpalatable to Braude as they will appear to most readers. The hypothesis that someone can exert influence of this kind from beyond the grave presupposes a metaphysics which most people today would find next to incomprehensible. Moreover, as Braude’s research demonstrates, there is no documentary evidence to suggest that any such person fitting the description of ‘‘Patience Worth’’ ever existed. On the other hand, the sheer virtuosity of the Patience Worth writing and performance stretch credulity when understood as the latent talents of ordinary Pearl Curran. There was nothing in Curran’s previous life to suggest she possessed the intellectual,