Nanda Kaul: An Introvert Neurotic in Anita Desai's Fire on the Mountain

The term Neuroticism has its roots in Freudian Theory. The modern concept of neuroticism was introduced using a range of methods from personality psychology, including psychophysiological and lexical studies. The personality trait of neuroticism describes people who frequently are troubled by negative emotions such as worry and insecurity. People high on neuroticism can be described as those who worry, who are emotionally unstable, often anxious and have low self esteem. People who score low on this factor report being much happier. A character can be said Introvert Neurotic when depicts a behavior suggested for Melancholic (Introvert + neurotic) in Eysenck trait theory of personality. Such characters are moody, anxious, rigid, sober, pessimistic, reserved, unsociable and quiet.