The detective novel and its bibliotherapeutic potential
Introduction
In accordance with the assumption that “every autonomous choice of a literary work by a reader has a compensatory, and therefore in a certain sense therapeutic, character, whose purpose is to restore some cognitive or emotional deficit” (Štubňa, 2017, p.13), we present in the following text a view of the therapeutic and bibliotherapeutic possibilities of a specific literary genre—the detective novel—through the lens of a relatively modern interdisciplinary discipline called the psychology of literature. A basic assumption of its existence is the fact that psychology is concerned with observing and explaining patterns and motivation in human behavior, and that literature is able to vividly illustrate and justify specific manifestations of human behavior, demonstrating a person’s conduct in interaction with others, with the life environment, and in relation to himself or herself (Štubňa, 2016, p. 74). In this sense, the psychology of literature studies psychological types of human personality and tracks causal connections between characters’ thoughts and experienced emotions on one side and their manifestations in real actions on the other. Another constitutive assumption of this boundary discipline is the thesis that works of fiction, as artistically rendered multi-layered theoretical models of human thought, feeling, and behavior, have an inherent potential to fulfill multiple psychological needs of the human being.
1 Bibliotherapy
The basis of bibliotherapy (from Greek biblio ‒ book and therapia – healing) is the purposeful use of books to improve the client’s (patient’s) psychological condition. It is a psychotherapeutic method that uses primarily the healing and supportive effects of reading. The effectiveness of this approach derives from the very mechanism by which the reading process acts on the human psyche (bibliopsychology) as well as from the many functions fulfilled especially by literary works, because in the reading process they update in an engaging way important themes of human existence—philosophical and ethical questions, various perspectives on an individual’s emotional life, interpersonal relationships, aesthetic needs, and more.
The effectiveness of bibliotherapy as a significant instrument of psychotherapeutic treatment was also recognized by logotherapist Elisabeth Lukasová. In her book Auf den Stufen des Lebens (Na schodoch života) she listed five factors by which literature is therapeutic: first is silence and the possibility of “going inward,” the second is the re-appropriation of inner values, the third is examples from other people’s lives, the fourth is conscious distance from the problem (Lukasová notes that repeatedly focusing thoughts on the source of psychological burden only deepens the difficulty), and the fifth is “sharing the inexpressible” (the psychological content of the human mind) — directing our attention to the ultimate questions of human existence (Lukas, 2001, pp. 103–108).
1.1 Clinical Bibliotherapy
According to Czech psychologist Jaro Křivohlavý, the psychologically relevant functions of reading are as follows: a) informational function – it increases the level of knowledge and therefore potentially reduces fear of an unknown factor or situation in which an individual has found themselves (e.g., illness); b) educational function – it presents attitudes and opinions that can expand the reader’s educational base and serve as role models for future action; c) mirror function – the reader compares the author’s views with their own, which can subsequently lead to their reevaluation or reactivation; d) identification function – identification with one of the characters in a work can be therapeutically or philosophically very effective; e) cathartic function – it brings the potential for psychological purification (catharsis), relieving current psychological burden; f) aesthetic function – it is primarily connected to the human desire for beauty and harmony; g) relaxing function – literature brings rest and relaxation (Křivohlavý, 1987).
Clinical, explicit bibliotherapy is intended for patients in healthcare facilities and psychiatric institutions. For these purposes, bibliotherapy primarily relies on the informational and relaxing functions of literature.
In its role as an information source, books provide readers with basic information about their specific health problems. A possible benefit for the patient, in this context, is, for example, understanding the mechanism of onset and course of illness (or treatment), which can reduce anxiety about the situation, as well as pointing to the possibility of recovery or providing useful information about convalescence regimens.
The relaxing function of literature is primarily realized through literary works. In essence, these can be divided into two basic groups: a) fiction in the strict sense (literary fiction with symbolic meaning), b) (mainly novelistic) biographical or autobiographical work (stories inspired by real events). Regarding the first category, we can generally state that psychoanalytic interpretation is the most common form of literary interpretation in bibliotherapy, because the patient (client) usually compensates a deficit through reading—searching for support, help, a model, and the like. The therapeutic goal is not necessarily to discover the symbolic meaning of the work, but primarily to activate psychodynamic processes in the client and allow them to discover and understand unconscious parts of their own self. In this sense, Lesňák distinguishes six main reader types (In: Haman, 1991, p. 7): a) rational (critical) type focuses on the cognitive perspective while reading; b) aesthetic type focuses on the artistic rendering of the text; c) utilitarian type is limited to the practical use of gained knowledge; d) sociative type—reading influences their behavior; e) ethical type evaluates reading in terms of its educational effect; f) emotional type identifies with one of the characters or the environment.
Biographical and autobiographical writing mainly aims to provide readers with emotional support, show different angles of seeing a given situation, offer an example worthy of imitation, indicate an exit from apparently unsolvable situations, and suggest the perspective of successfully overcoming a problematic situation. The relaxing role of literature in recovery is also important because it can redirect the patient’s attention (from illness to other topics and activities), relax the body, and thereby create conditions for faster bodily regeneration.
In practical bibliotherapy, the therapist or a designated librarian should have available a list of recommended literature focused on the relevant issue. In selecting a book, age, sex, education, intelligence, emotional maturity of the client, current crisis situation, and so forth are considered. The characters and plot should be realistic, and the present conflict should be constructively resolved. A literary character should be credible so that the client can identify with their difficulties.
As for the practical application and effectiveness of this therapeutic approach, for example, Salmansová in her book on depression (1995) reported among her findings that bibliotherapy proved to be a clinically effective psychotherapeutic tool, and its use led to marked symptom reduction in depressive patients. Long-term research in this field has also been pursued by the authors of Three Year Follow-Up of Bibliotherapy for Depression (Floyd ‒ Jamison ‒ Scogin ‒ Smith, 1997). Similar durability of therapeutic outcomes through bibliotherapy was also confirmed for many other diagnosed mental illnesses and disorders (especially in the addictions field): Mentální anorexie – příčiny, průběh a nové léčebné metody (Leibold, 1995), Co a jak číst se sluchově postiženým dítětem (Červenková, 1999), Biblioterapia pre nemocničnych pacientov (McMillen – Pehrsson, 2004), Korekcia detskej a adolescentnej agresivity pomocou biblioterapie (Shechtman, 2009), Biblioterapia a znížená sexuálna túžba: dôkaz o efektívnosti (Mintz – Balzer – Zhao – Bush, 2012), Biblioterapia ako alternatívny prístup k deťskym emočným poruchám (Akinola, 2014), and others.
As mentioned, in addition to books with primarily informational, educational, and advisory functions, there is a large number of literary works that address specific psychological diagnoses through biographical, autobiographical, and fictional stories. In Slovak and Czech bookstores, translated novels by English author Mark Haddon (autism, Asperger syndrome, depression, empty-nest syndrome, etc.) and by American existential therapist Irvin Yalom (cancer, meaning in life, suicidal tendencies, inferiority complex, and others) are now largely available in translation.
1.2 Popular Bibliotherapy
In a broader sense, bibliotherapy (implicit) is meant for everyone who finds themselves in a borderline psychological situation and seeks support and necessary information in books.
In other countries, bibliotherapy is also commonly used in schools. It focuses on expanding knowledge of various life situations (parental divorce, death of a close person, severe illness, adolescent problems, etc.) and socially problematic phenomena (drug addictions, excessive aggression, racism, and others). Positive psychological effects of reading literary works have also been fully recognized in education and upbringing in schools. In addition to literary education, which is mandatory in basic and secondary school curricula, discussion literary clubs, recitation competitions, talks with notable writers, and other activities help students develop a relationship with books.
In many public libraries, professionally prepared bibliotherapeutic lists are currently available for the general public. The main reason is that many “affected” people are either unable or, for various reasons, cannot visit a professional and therefore seek help in books or on the internet (e.g., victims of domestic violence). In an ideal form, bibliotherapeutic lists are organized in a database containing annotations for each book and allowing easy searching. Books are typically classified by themes, for example: serious illness, mental disorders, addictions, bereavement, domestic violence, living with disability, and so on (Hándlová, 2006, p. 19).
As for the general public, sociologist Elizabeth Long already observed in 1986 in public reading courses—primarily aimed at middle-class women—a notable increase in self-awareness and self-confidence (Long, 1986).
Another field where the educational and pedagogical potential of fiction became especially evident was correctional care. In 1997, Roger Jarjoura and Susan Krumholz, during the pilot phase of a project with 72 repeat offenders, found that less than 20% of participants who attended their literary seminar committed a new offense (18.75%). In contrast, the number of participants in the control group (who did not attend the seminar) who committed reoffending reached 45% during the pilot phase. In 2004–2005, a debate on the possibilities of bibliotherapy as an educational tool in correctional care culminated between Professor of English Literature Robert Waxler and Judge Robert Kane through a pilot project called Changing Lives Through Literature (Trounstine ‒ Waxler, 2005). They agreed that some offenders should be offered a suspended sentence with participation in literary seminars about model roles, rather than an unconditional sentence.
A similar educational program was created in Chicago for adolescent single mothers. The first cycle of the seminar Literature for All of Us was attended by 4500 people under the leadership of Karen Thomson. Findings after completion of the study showed a “significant increase in participants’ abilities in critical thinking and problem-solving.” School staff also recorded marked improvement in their behavior and attributed these changes to skills developed in the book group meetings (Oatley ‒ Mar ‒ Djikic, 2009, p. 14): “...significant developments in the use of critical thinking and problem-solving skills. School staff also noted improvements in participants´ behaviour, which they attributed to the skills learned in book groups.” A follow-up control survey also showed that “over 65% of book group participants reported reading more often on their own after joining book groups” (Ibid.).
Among specific forms of bibliotherapy used for educational purposes is also the reading and interpretation of the Holy Scripture (in domestic or church settings). In some countries, so-called biblical counseling exists, in which Scripture is understood as a parable about the human being, containing precise guidance on how to behave in different life situations. This form of therapeutic work is especially common in the United States. In the European context, the Bible is more often used as a source of inspiration for living rightly in everyday life and moral conduct. Through biblical stories and parables, a person seeks to understand themselves—their own feelings and diverse (unexpected) events in their life. From a psychological perspective, deep and existential methods of analysis are mainly used (Remeš ‒ Halamová, 2004, p. 64).
The most widespread and spontaneous form of popular bibliotherapy remains, of course, the visit to bookstores by the general public, and reading specific literary works often based on recommendations from someone close to the reader (naturally depending on the situation in which a person in difficulty is situated).
2 The Detective Novel
Current literary studies in essence distinguish two basic types of detective (crime) literature, which differ from each other in the presence and extent of two primary compositional principles—reflection and action. In the detective novel, reflection (analysis, deduction, etc.) predominates, while in the thriller action (plot dynamics) does.
Unlike the thriller, whose main purpose is to create and sustain suspense, detective novels often also use humor and satire—expressive stylistic means that change mood and create relaxation and good spirits in readers.
2.1 Thriller – Psychological Aspects
Compared with the detective novel, which primarily appeals to the reader’s intellect, a thriller mainly tries to evoke intense emotions.
A thriller is generally characterized by an atmosphere of tension, excitement, anxiety, anticipation, and surprise. From a psychological perspective, anxiety and anxious expectation as well as hope for a “happy ending” are inevitably added to tension. This is especially true for readers with highly developed empathy, which they also unconsciously apply to characters in literary works. Readers who primarily experience tension tend to move through the plot toward the final surprise. For them, the conclusion of a thriller represents mainly mental relief and, so to speak, the “fulfillment of hopes” for the protagonist’s rescue; therefore they often feel more exhausted than enriched after reading a thriller.
A characteristic psychological constant in thrillers is the feeling of helplessness that comes from the reader’s inability to intervene in the plot and save the protagonist’s life. This is even stronger when, from the narrator-observer perspective, the reader knows exactly how threatened the protagonist is and what options for rescue exist.
Compared with the detective novel, thrillers are more associated with scenes (feelings) of violence, immediate life-and-death threat, so readers of this subgenre typically develop greater tolerance for violence and greater resilience. Their empathy may be less strongly activated.
2.2 The Detective Novel – Psychological Aspects
During reception of a detective novel, the reader’s attention is distributed more or less evenly across the entire plot line.
The final surprise (the solution of the mystery) is usually only the natural closure of the reading process, in which the recipient is motivated by curiosity rather than extreme emotional states.
The traditional detective novel primarily appeals to the reader’s cognitive abilities and to the premise that they will be able to “solve the mystery” together with the detective.
In a survey of reader preferences in fiction genres conducted in 2017 using a questionnaire and random self-selection on a sample of 219 adults (18–72 years old), 61 respondents who identified the detective novel as their preferred genre were selected for this study. This sample consisted of 41 men and 20 women, mostly with completed higher education and originating from the Bratislava region, from which we found that readers prefer the crime genre for various reasons.
A fundamental motivation shared by most respondents (72%) was a fondness for mysteries and clarifying them. The detective genre presents mystery in many aspects. At first, readers’ attention is focused on the victim’s character. The reader, based on available information and their own imagination, may reconstruct their previous life. They may also consider why this person met a similar “fate.” As reading progresses, the identity of the perpetrator is gradually revealed—their social environment, personality traits, and motives for the act.
The second major motivation for preferring the detective genre (59%) in our survey was the investigator character. A favorite detective is usually someone whose intellectual and personality traits readers admire, and since they usually do not possess these traits themselves, they establish contact with them through reading. They perceive the protagonist as a model they can not only draw inspiration from but also learn from (for example patience, thoroughness, analytical ability, etc.). On the other hand, attachment to specific fictional characters in many cases (about 36% of respondents) arose from similar, or even identical, personality traits or mental dispositions whose real-life expression and use are limited by readers for various reasons (e.g., being too busy, different current professional orientation, and the like) or are directly rejected because they are considered socially undesirable, insufficiently developed, or unrecognized.
The protagonist usually embodies a worldly and broadly educated professional who possesses knowledge from diverse areas of human understanding: “A wide outlook is an indispensable prerequisite for our profession, Watson” (The Valley of Fear, Doyle, 2011, p. 279). At the same time, he is able to combine this knowledge into surprisingly creative and distinctive theories whose validity is eventually confirmed. A significant factor for readers is also the detective’s ability to apply theoretically acquired knowledge in practice; sometimes this even takes the form of curiosities, such as information that stress can significantly slow alcohol absorption in the blood.
Almost all fans of the detective genre said that reading represents a form of relaxation for them—a diversion in which their attention is redirected from everyday concerns of real life to a fictional story where they carry no responsibility. Readers perceive the genre as “safe” adventure, in which they can maintain control over the situation (the conditions of the plot) and over their own emotions. A detective novel (or a thriller) offers them a unique and exciting experience that is often in sharp contrast to the routine and uninspiring events of their everyday life. Moreover, mysteries in this simulated reality are, unlike real life, ultimately clarified in the end, and this fact has a calming effect on many readers and gives them a sense of security.
Reading detective fiction represents a relaxing activity for many readers particularly because, unlike other types of fiction, the compositional elements of a detective plot are fixed and predictable, allowing the reader to know what to expect: the mystery, a perceptive detective using specific investigative procedures, “bluffing” witnesses, an uncooperative police and its wrong identification of the culprit, exoneration, revelation of the true perpetrator, and clarification of motive.
Many respondents (24%) especially highlighted—especially in the case of “classics” of detective literature such as Agatha Christie—the historical and cultural aspect of this type of novels: depictions of the period, social conditions, customs, morality, references to real historical figures, monuments, and events.
A portion of respondents (21%) strongly emphasized the cognitive aspect of reading detective novels related to developing analytical, deductive, anticipatory, comparative, categorizing, and other thought operations. These respondents also believe that detective novels help them develop creative thinking and problem-solving ability (problem solving), because reading allows the reader to formulate initial (and ongoing) hypotheses and then evaluate them as correct or incorrect. They also claim that, unlike other fiction types, detective readers are allegedly active, continuously mentally stimulated, and encouraged to think—investigating the offense “in collaboration” with the detective. It is therefore not surprising that this genre is popular among professionals connected with “solving mysteries,” in forms of work involving detection, evaluation, or checking, such as criminologists, physicians (diagnostic specialties), computer analysts, risk managers, HR professionals, human resources specialists, and various technicians.
16% of respondents emphasized the importance of not missing seemingly insignificant detail (during the examination of a crime scene or while investigating), on which successful case resolution depends.
46% said they read detective novels as a challenge—they play a game with themselves of whether they can correctly analyze and evaluate the circumstances of a crime and estimate the killer. Some readers even return to earlier pages while reading to verify whether a character truly performed or did not perform the activity they claimed as an alibi for the detective.
Other respondents perceive detective stories as an opportunity to complete a started process—to bring it to a successful end.
18% of readers are fascinated by the coordinated teamwork of investigators, who support one another; each has some specific, irreplaceable role and each is distinctive and appealing in concrete ways (a personality trait, behavior, and so on).
A part of respondents (12%) stated as motivation for reading detective fiction a desire for justice and catharsis from the perspective of the innocent victim or the victim’s close relatives. A convicted criminal symbolizes the restoration of disrupted social order for them (murder as a violation of moral and civic norms) and the securing of safe life for all members of the community. From a psychological viewpoint, resolving the crime can also be seen as restoring the reader’s inner psychological integrity, which was disrupted by the initial chaos (the crime).
Women, in their responses, emphasized especially the relational dimension of serial detective stories—the emotional life of the protagonist and their various relationships with their environment.
Traditional female readers (the study included multiple literary genres) do not generally highly favor the detective genre. Likely influenced by empathy, which they typically exhibit more than men, and by scenes of violence—completed or threatened—they perceive this too personally and sensitively. Similarly, most women are less able to perceive from a detached perspective the theme of death, which is characteristic of this genre. Perhaps this is because women are more closely connected than men with specific bio-material aspects of human life (and its possible end) through biological cycles, possibilities of creating new life, and a continual concern for preserving it.
If women do end up liking a detective series or author, it usually happens for a specific motivation stemming from the theme, setting, or historical period in which the novel takes place, but most often because of particular personality traits of the protagonist.
A portion of respondents (14%) in our study also pointed to the social side of reading, because in many countries well-established reading clubs are a common phenomenon in which members regularly meet and exchange impressions and opinions about works they have read.
3 The Detective Novel and Psychotherapy
In line with the foundational assumption of the psychology of literature that fiction represents artistically rendered multi-layered theoretical models of human thinking, feeling, or behavior, we conclude this study by identifying those psychotherapeutic approaches that, in our view, best mirror the compositional principles, narrative structure, style, and (explicit and latent) themes of detective novels.
The work of psychotherapists most closely aligned with thought operations characteristic of detective work (analysis, synthesis, comparison, abstraction, concretization, generalization, deduction, induction, analogy) are, in our view, those in depth psychology and psychotherapy. In addition, Freud considered Eros (the drive toward life) and Thanatos (the drive toward death) as the main motivational (instinctual) forces in human life. Eros leads to self-preservation and pleasure-seeking (libido). Thanatos is associated with aggression and destruction. “These drives motivate not only social (including antisocial) behavior of the individual, but also large social phenomena such as social development, wars, and revolutions” (Heretik, 2004, p. 64). It seems that in their associative acts (violence, murder), perpetrators in detective novels are likewise led by similar instinctual forces as Eros and Thanatos. Furthermore, with respect to Thanatos, some psychologists believe that when reading detective stories and thrillers—especially passages describing violence and death (for example, descriptions of a disfigured victim’s body)—a (desirable) unconscious contact may occur with destructive force represented by some consciously suppressed aspect of personality, whose expressions in life are limited in various ways. This is a similar psychological mechanism to what is activated, for example, when viewing victims of traffic accidents or watching catastrophe-shaped television news coverage. The latent fear of one’s own death is experienced in substitution through observing the death of other people. This psychological process—catharsis—was already described by Aristotle in ancient Greece as the presumed effect of an intense dramatic experience on the viewer’s psyche during reception of a theatrical tragedy.
Attempts to reconstruct a crime at the scene in order to “find the truth” (correctly diagnose the situation) and to uncover the offender (to correct behavior) resemble most the work of systemic therapists. Besides the adjective systemic, the term systemic is also used in psychotherapy. The systemic approach emphasizes “the importance of language, through which a symptom is formed and which serves as a tool for grasping reality” (Rieger – Vyhnálková, 1996: 16). This approach assumes that “in interaction with other people, what we see appears only after reality is named by language” (Ibid.). This type of psychotherapy is strongly connected to intrapsychic as well as interpersonal dynamics typical of detective stories, because a system can be understood as a group of elements interacting with each other, and patterns of this interaction create a stable context for both individual and mutual functioning. The therapist, like the detective, focuses primarily on interaction patterns among system elements. In psychotherapy, this is not only about detecting these patterns but primarily changing them. There are essentially two options. The first is to remain neutral and identify interaction patterns through circular questioning. Individual system elements clarify (in the form of conjectures) the thoughts and feelings of other elements, e.g., ‘What do you think your wife feels when you spend so much time at work?’ The second option is controlled bias, meaning the therapist temporarily forms an alliance with one element of the system against another element (or elements) to reveal existing interaction patterns in escalated reactions of participants (Kratochvíl, 1976, p. 191).
Conclusion
As follows from the preceding text—knowledge of clinical therapists using bibliotherapeutic methods, an explanation of selected literary-compositional characteristics of detective novels, and our findings on their effect on readers—the primary function this genre fulfills is relaxing. Through a dynamic and enigmatic plot, a detective novel can effectively engage the reader’s attention and redirect it away from “therapeutically undesirable” thought content or emotional states.
An unavoidable contribution of bibliotherapy, however, is its ability to develop the client’s creativity, imagination, abstract thinking, and communication skills, and to strengthen their self-confidence and resilience (Rutter, 1985, p. 610), because the investigating detective is initially also “at a loss” and does not know the answers to all questions, yet gradually works toward them with focused and sustained effort. In this way, they learn to trust their own abilities, becoming persistent, thorough, attentive, and active in seeking answers.
In this sense, the detective novel helps shape in the reader the ability to think logically and critically, prompting them to search for relationships between seemingly isolated phenomena of life reality. On the level of social interaction, it also strengthens trust in the values of social coexistence, such as truth, justice, cooperation, compassion, and understanding.
Author: Pavol Štubňa, Mgr. PhD. The author works at the Faculty of Arts of Comenius University in Bratislava. In recent years, the central focus of his scientific interest has been the intersection of literary studies and cognitive psychology, in the form of an interdisciplinary direction called the psychology of literature. List of bibliographic references
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