Characters in literature do not have identity crises
Philosopher Amélie Rorty argues that literary characters lack a core unity, making them immune to the internal conflicts that define modern selfhood.
In her 1976 study of human identity, philosopher Amélie Rorty identified seven distinct layers of personhood rooted in literature. She argued that the most basic layer, the character, is defined by a specific set of repeatable traits rather than a unified inner soul. Because a character is simply an assemblage of these qualities, they are incapable of having an identity crisis. They do not wonder who they truly are; they simply manifest different traits depending on the social context they inhabit.
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