Shirley Ardell Mason

Encyclopedia : S : SH : SHI : Shirley Ardell Mason

Shirley Mason, known as Sybil

Shirley Ardell Mason (January 25 1923–February 26 1998), the woman whose life was documented in the book and film both released under the name Sybil. The book was penned by Flora Rheta Schreiber and published in 1973. The movie was made for TV and was broadcast in 1976. The name Sybil Isabel Dorsett was used in the book and movie to protect her identity.

Sybil told the story of a woman who was treated for multiple personality disorder (since renamed disassociative identity disorder) with up to 16 alternate personalities.

History

Shirley Ardell Mason, was born in Dodge Center, Minnesota, to Walter Mason and Martha Alice Hageman Mason. According to the book Sybil, as a child Mason suffered from extreme abuse at the hands of her mother. While this is impossible to verify, childhood friends have confirmed in interviews that her mother was extremely dominating and controlling.

According to Schreiber's book, Mason moved to New York City in the early 1950s to pursue graduate studies at Columbia University. Plagued by blackouts and breakdowns for many years, she began seeing a psychiatrist, Dr. Cornelia B. Wilbur, who eventually diagnosed Mason with multiple personality disorder. Wilbur discovered 16 different personalities within Mason and believed they were a result of severe child abuse. During 11 years of therapy, Wilbur and Mason worked to integrate these personalities into one complete self, and afterwards Mason found she was reasonably content and well-adjusted.

Schreiber wrote Mason's story with input from both Mason and Wilbur, and it was published in 1973. In the book, Mason's name was changed to "Sybil Dorsett" to protect her privacy, and other names, places, and facts were changed. The book Sybil was hugely popular and was made into a TV movie in 1976 starring Sally Field as Sybil and Joanne Woodward as her therapist. Field won an Emmy for her performance, and the story of Sybil deeply influenced both pop culture and the mental health profession.

After the book was published, Mason moved to Point Pleasant, West Virginia and later to Lexington, Kentucky. Wilbur taught at the University of Kentucky, and the two remained close friends for the rest of their lives. Mason was an art teacher and a prolific painter. She lived a quiet life in Kentucky, going to a Seventh-day Adventist Church, taking care of her pet poodles and cats, and playing Scrabble with Wilbur and a few close friends. She never married or had children. In 1998, Mason died of breast cancer at the age of 75, and it was not until after her death that she was publicly revealed by psychiatric historian Peter Swales as the "Sybil" who had been made famous by the story.

In recent years, doctors and other pundits have debated whether or not multiple personality disorder really exists. Some claim that Mason's 16 personalities were created by Wilbur's suggestions during therapy. Both Mason and Wilbur are deceased (Wilbur died in 1992), so we may never know more about this unusual story. Swales is said to be researching the facts for a book on Mason's "real life."

References