Salvador Dali - A Personality Profile

Salvador Dali: A Personality Profile

Salvador Dali (1904-1989) has been the subject of numerous literary endeavours, complicated autobiographical publications, and videos and interviews gathered throughout his lifetime. Although recognized as one of the most influential painters in the world, his unusual behaviour has been linked to his great need for fame and attention. Salvador Dali has been analyzed and continues to be analyzed indefinitely; however, this analysis attempts to illustrate a Dali personality profile using Urie’s (1979) Ecological Systems Theory (EST) to review the relevance of his biographical/autobiographical content precisely. Furthermore, utilizing Benjamin’s (1996) interpersonal perspective, Bandura’s (1977) social learning theory, Kohut’s (1971) theory of narcissism and a brief description of personality temperaments (Feist & Feist, 2009) will significantly aid in producing a personality structure for Dali. As there is a link between personality and personality development, as well as personality and personality disorders, this essay will utilize a descriptive analysis of autobiographical and biographical information, as well as theory, to explain different aspects relating to personality development to explore the evolution of Salvador Dali’s persona and personality style.

Method

Biographical Information

This analysis will involve a thorough biographical analysis of Gibson (1997), Etherington-Smith (1992a, 1992b), Goff (2008) and Dali's diary (1993). Salvador Dali's biographical and autobiographical information is compiled using these sources. Each contributor incorporated details, often exaggerated in Dali's diary, which were relatively balanced and consistent. Dali's biography has often been explained through his art, vividly orchestrating the complex mind and intricate abstract surrealism that represented Dali.

Theoretical models

Urie's (1979) Ecological Systems Theory (EST) was utilized to draw similarities between Dali's diary and his biographical details. Urie says an individual's development is determined by a pattern of four relatively mutual systems: 1) microsystem, 2) mesosystem, 3) exosystem, and 4) macrosystem. Firstly, Urie's (1979) microsystem pertains to an individual's immediate influences (school, peers, neighbourhood, family, and school).

These direct influences are significant in developmental and personality psychology, often regarded as antecedents of unusual, extravagant, or degenerative behaviour. Secondly, Urie's (1979) mesosystem is a layer that describes the connections and structures beyond the microsystem. Essentially, Urie theorized that the mesosystem describes the impact of a child's teacher/mentor, neighbourhood and the church. Thirdly, the exosystem is the layer that indirectly influences the child; for example, the decisions of the church he/she attends and her/his parents' work schedule. The mesosystem layer interacts with the microsystem to establish a connection between the child's inner self and those beyond his/her control. Lastly, the macro system pertains to the broader influences of that child's place in society. This includes ideologies, religion, cultural values, and laws. Urie described the macrosystem layer as a top-dominating layer with a relatively cascading effect on the rest of the system. Using the EST presented by Urie (1979), this essay will conduct a systematic approach to Dali's development.

Results

Salvador Dali was significantly influenced by Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theories, namely his classic piece The Interpretation of Dreams (Goff, 2008). His detailed theoretical work regarding conscious and unconscious mind states (specifically the cold) was the basis of his Surrealist adventures. Goff (2008) says Surrealism is a literary and artistic movement originating in the 1920s that involved exploring the mind's inner workings through art and writing. Through Surrealism, Dali expressed visual imagery without conscious control to free him from reason (Masters, 1995). Dali regularly recorded his waking dreams on canvas to justify and theoretically explain Freud's dream concepts (Etherington-Smith, 1992b).

Born on May 11, 1904, Salvador Dali was named after his brother, also called Salvador Dali; consequently, Dali was preoccupied with being his brother's reincarnation (Goff, 1998). Salvador Dali's father was a strict, successful free thinker with agonistic views and frequent temper outbursts (Etherington-Smith, 1992b). Theories regarding the death of the earlyDali include gastroenteritis, meningitis (caused by his father beating him during his early developmental stages), andvenereal deformity (may have been passed onto the child by his father) (Etherington-Smith, 1992a). Furthermore, Dali's father was frequently away from work and joined the family on weekends (Gibson, 1997).

Dali grew up in a house dominated by women—his grandmother, mother, aunt, nurse, and younger sister. Being the only male in the house, they adored him (Etherington-Smith, 1992b). Dali was spoiled and prone to temper tantrums (Goff, 1998). At an early age, he developed one of many phobias, the fear of grasshoppers, and only his mother, whom he loved and trusted, could soothe him (Goff, 1998). Dali idolized his mother, who forgave his erroneous behaviour and was often over-protective; consequently, his father became his most grave enemy because he caused her unhappiness (Etherington-Smith, 1992a). In 1929, when Dali was in his late twenties, he drew a picture entitled "The Butterfly Chase" (1929) (Appendix A, pg. 15) depicting two naked women, one of which was his mother, leaning over a giant butterfly net, and a bearded man embracing them both with three children (Etherington-Smith, 1992b). This image symbolizes Dali's belief in his father's promiscuous and adulterous second life.  

Dali was wealthy. His father believed he should attend a local communal school (Etherington-Smith, 1992a). His parents would dress him in fine sailor suits, quite different from the clothing worn by the less fortunate children resulting in intense bullying (Etherington-Smith, 1992a). Dali's grasshopper phobia began when his classmates tortured him with grasshoppers abusively until grasshoppers were banned (Etherington-Smith, 1992a).

When Dali's mother died of cancer in 1921 (Goff, 1998), his father married his mother's sister. Dali could never accept his mother's death and was appalled by his father's upcoming marriage (Goff, 1998). At an early age, Dali feared blushing, making it difficult to form relationships (Gibson, 1997). Dali was highly timid and self-conscious, frequently blushing and appearing uninterested in girls (Gibson, 1997). Furthermore, speculation exists that Dali may have developed a crush on his classmate, Joan Butzaques—developing a fascination with his rear end (Gibson, 1997; Etherington-Smith, 1992b). As an adolescent, Dali seemed troubled by sexual ambiguity—being attracted to but anxious about others' sexual interests (Goff, 1998). Although the notion of heterosexual relations troubled him, he was drawn to strong women, including his mother and wife, Gala (Goff, 1998). As a teenager, Dali dressed as a woman (Etherington-Smith, 1992a). In his autobiography, The Secret Life, he writes that he would stand in front of a mirror and push his private parts back and between his thighs, to look like a girl (Dali, 1993). He also wrote about his desire to be beautiful like a woman (Dali, 1993).  

Dali also feared female genitalia (Gibson, 1997). "The Great Masturbator" (1929) (Appendix B, pg. 16) depicts Dali's obsession and fear of impotence and sexual contact—the head represents Dali as a compulsive masturbator, the closed eyes represent a concern only with erotic fantasies in his mind, oblivious to external reality—the grasshopper seemingly represents the fact that he was troubled by his phobias of the female body (Gibson, 1997).

In 1923, Lorca (Dali's best friend and colleague) and Dali met in art school 1923 and continuously maintained a strong professional and personal admiration for each other; biographers state that there may have been a highly charged atmosphere of erotic attraction for each other; however, there was never a physical relationship (Radford, 1997). Dali and Lorca wrote letters back and forth for several years, revealing their intense emotions for each other and suggesting a warm relationship. During this period, homosexuality was considered taboo, resulting in Lorca's assassination (Radford, 1997; Gibson, 1997). In 1929 Dali met Gala and Paul Éluard. They were married then, but Dali soon had an affair with Gala, who was ten years older (Radford, 1997). During that period, Gala had a twelve-year-old daughter; however, she mistreated and ignored her for most of her life. Gala left her husband and child for Dali the following year, living with him (Radford 1997). Although Dali adored her, Gala's friends Ultra Violet, Amanda Lear, and Prince Jean-Louis Lucinge (an individual she met briefly) knew her extreme aggression. Her physical and sexual abuse of Dali and her superstitions led to complex encounters with Dali (Ades, 2005).

Ultra Violet says Gala punched Dali in the eye (Ades, 2005). However, Dali worshipped Gala in his diary, referring to Gala as "the most visible star, the most clearly outlined and the most finite" (Dali, 1964; pg. 99). Dali attributes a lot of his success to his wife, Gala, who was often recognized for disciplining and organizing Dali. Further, Gala's character issimilar to a parent's since Dali admired her personal qualities, which he nurtured greatly (Taylor, 2008). Dali (1993) knew Gala had several affairs with random men, including her ex-husband Éluard. Furthermore, Gala had experiences with her ex-husband and several other men, and Dali wasn't bothered by it—he never consummated their relationship (Etherington-Smith, 1992b). Furthermore, Gala had a strong sexual attraction to younger men, constantly venturing intosexual encounters that Dali was too knowledgeable about. During one of Dali and Gala's surrealist sessions, Gala invitedyounger men and often made love to them in front of Dali, once with Éluard (Etherington-Smith, 1992a). While with Gala, Dali met Amanda Lear in 1965, who became his second muse and girlfriend for over fifteen years; however, when Dali asked Lear to marry him, she declined to oppose polygamous marriages (Ades, 2005).

Dali's colleagues strongly commented on his work and character during his professional career. Dali (1993) describes his involvement with a surrealist group in his diary, constantly provoking them by deliberately superseding their rules. In his journal, Dali explained that they would enforce restrictions on him and thereby had to conquer unreasonable logic and irrationality (Dali, 1993). Dali was motivated by absurd rules, mocked themes, and created abhorrent metaphors. In his painting, "The Enigma of William Tell" (1933) (Appendix C, pg. 17), Dali illustrated an artwork about Lenin, in which he described "I want to paint him with one buttock 9 feet long and propped on a crutch. I'd paint my Lenin with his lyrical appendage even if they throw me out of the surrealist group" (Dali, 1964; pg. 26). Throughout his career, Dali was known for his intense competitive edge, constant questioning of dogmas, and a strong interest in science, psychology, and mathematics.

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Discussion

Dali’s personality is complex, heavily investigated and thoroughly complicated. Personality theories are abundant; however, one common denominator is the consequences of difficult, anxiety-inducing and relatively disastrous childhood development that may lead to psychological problems throughout adolescence and adulthood.

To understand Dali’s personality, it will be helpful to utilize Benjamin’s (1996) interpersonal perspective to explain his histrionic personality traits. According to the DSM IV-TR (2000), histrionic personality disorders are characterized by: 1) using physical appearance to draw attention to oneself (Appendix E, pg. 19), 2) theatrical individuals, and 3) individuals who are uncomfortable when they are not the centre of attention. Histrionics have an insatiable appetite for attention; often, their behaviour is excessive and attention-seeking (DSM IV-TR, 2000). From the interpersonal perspective, Benjamin (1996) argues that personality develops through interpersonal interactions. Bandura’s social learning theory (1977) is widely recognized as a theoretical approach to explaining early childhood learning behaviours (Feist & Feist, 2009). According to Bandura (1977), parents need to engage in disciplinary action to teach their children adequately and reinforce behaviours on a scheduled basis; however, Dali was overly pampered, quite often forgiven very easily and soothed by his mother instead of being punished when he had temper tantrums. Once behaviours are not appropriately reinforced, Bandura (1977), a child’s unacceptable behaviour is likely to escalate to get the parent’s attention. Dali and his father had a profoundly unhealthy relationship that, according to Benjamin’s (1996) perspective, was symbolically terminated for Dali to achieve a harmonious relationship with his mother. This pseudo-nurturance rewards appearance and attractiveness. Dali learned that physical beauty, charm, and entertaining features would give him the attention and control he desperately needed. His family was highly fragmented. His father hardly visited his growing son. This led him to depend entirely on his mother and, once she died, rely on Gala and Amanda Lear for his success.

Dali’s psychopathology is heavily layered, including his extreme narcissism. Kohut (1971) says healthy narcissism is a positive regard for oneself; however, pathological narcissism emerges from the dysfunctional development of healthy narcissism. Kohut’s (1971) theory of narcissism heavily relies on the development of parent-child relationships, characterized by the development of the self-object. For a child to develop healthy narcissism, the self-object must provide the following: mirroring (genuine encouragement), imagining (the child’s strong affiliation with the self-object), and twinship (similarities found within the self-object) (Kohut, 1971). Dali’s mother showed little genuine feelings towards him for fear of dying like his older brother and became overprotective and obsessive about his health; furthermore, she provided him with little coping strategies to deal with disappointments, constantly pampering his every need (Radford, 1997). Dali continued to idealize his mother even after her death because he could not gradually ascend; also, Dali was heavily influenced by women—developing feminine traits and relatedness. He did not idealize his father, for he knew his father’s adulterous behaviour and could not trust his father. Twinship occurs between children and parents of the same sex; however, his father’s absence leads Dali to rely on and relate to his mother’s experiences, complicating his future development as a male character.

Since Freud’s psychoanalytic theories heavily influenced Dali, he modelled his life to prove the validity and accuracy of Freud’s theories, particularly the Oedipus complex. In his diary, he attests that: “I was banished by my father for having studied too closely and followed too literally the atheist and anarchist teachings of his books—banished by my father who could not tolerate my surpassing him in everything I did” (Dali, 1964; pg. 21). Conflict and competition are hallmarks of the Oedipus complex. This is a desire to conquer his father so he can possess the mother exclusively. Furthermore, in his painting “The Enigma of Desire: My Mother” (1929) (Appendix D, pg. 18), he expressed complex feelings towards his mother; furthermore, biographers say he suffered from castration anxiety because of his sexual tensions.

Dali also suffered from temperament complications; his behaviour was intense as a child. His activity level was low as a child, and his demands were overwhelming (Etherington-Smith, 1992a). According to his sister, he behaved spontaneously and erratically and strongly desired maniacal activity. According to Feist & Feist (2009), an individual has “goodness of fit” once their mental, motivational, and abilities coincide with their demands, expectations, and their resources; however, Dali’s “goodness of fit” is incongruent, constant desiring greater than anyone can achieve, inflating his abilities through his narcissism and overwhelming those around him with demands and expectations (Taylor, 2008). Dali’s approach/withdrawal temperament was variable, constantly shifting to various ideas, revealing inquisitiveness (Goff, 2008). Often, Dali would transition through decisions concerning his future occupation (when he was seven, Dali wanted to be a cook) and constantly escalate his expectations and demands to be more ambitious (as he grew older, he wanted to be Napoleon) (Etherington-Smith, 1992a). His stimuli changed rapidly, resulting in new insights during each painting session. He was not adaptable because of his deep-rooted obsessions and fixations (Gibson, 1997; Murphy, 2009). He was also compassionate, with a small responsive threshold, allowing him to respond quickly, even to minor details. Furthermore, Dali had negative mood qualities since he was prone to frequent temper tantrums. However, he could focus on his career, had high levels of persistence, and was recognized as a high achiever throughout his life (Masters, 1995).

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Conclusion

Dali’s personality is complex, intricate and very attractive to biographers, personality theoreticians, and the public. He was very expressive, sensitive, and driven by the need for his complex temperaments, theatrical qualities, and his robust insatiable appetite for attention. This led him to adventures with Gala, Lear, Lorca, and his colleagues.

References

Ades, D., Lear, A., & Violet, U. (2008). Reminiscences of Dali: A conversation with Amanda Lear and Ultra Violet. In M. R. Taylor (Ed.), The Dali renaissance: New perspectives of his life and art after 1940 (pp. 205-219). London: Yale University Press.

American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders DSM-IV-TR (4th ed.). New York: American Psychiatric Publishing.

Benjamin, L. S. (1996). Interpersonal diagnosis and treatment of personality disorders. New York: Guilford Press.

Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Dali, S. (1964). Diary of a genius. (R. Howard, & G. Snell, Trans.) Great Britain: Pan Books       Limited.

Dali, S. (1993). The secret life of Salvador Dali (1st ed.) Dover Publications.

Etherington-Smith, M. (1992a). Dali, a biography. England: Sinclair-Stevenson.

Etherington-Smith, M. (1992b). The persistence of memory. New York: Random House.

Feist, J., & Feist, G. J. (2009). Theories of personality (7th Edition ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Gibson, I. (1997). The shameful life of Salvador Dali. London: Faber and Faber Ltd.

Goff, R. (1998). The essential Salvador Dali. New York: The Wonderland Press.

Kohut, H. (1971). The analysis of the self. New York: International Universities Press, 1971.

Masters, C. (1995). Dali. London: Phaidon Press Ltd.

Murphy, C. (2009). The link between artistic creativity and psychopathology: Salvador Dali. Personality and Individual Differences, 46, 765-774.

Radford, R. (1997). Dali. London: Phaidon Press Limited.  

Urie, B. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by Nature and Design. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

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Written by Sufi Mohamed

April 5, 2020

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Appendix A:

“The Butterfly Chase” (1929)

Appendix B:

“The Great Masturbator” (1929)

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Appendix C:

“The Enigma of William Tell” (1933)

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Appendix D:

“The Enigma of Desire: My Mother” (1929)

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Appendix E:

Photo of Salvador Dali