THE PERSONALITY OF MALE CHARACTERS: A STUDY BASED ON PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACHES

Abstract

This research aims to: 1. analyze the personality traits of male characters in the novels Frankenstein, The Queen’s Confession, and The Railway Man, and 2. examine and compare readers’ perceptions of these characters’ personalities. The study employed a mixed-methods research approach, incorporating qualitative analysis based on three psychological frameworks—Personality Theory, Psychoanalytic Theory, and Social Psychology Theory—along with a quantitative survey conducted among 181 participants. The reliability coefficient of the opinion survey was 0.981. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including mean, percentage, and standard deviation, as well as inferential statistics, such as t-tests and one-way ANOVA.

The findings indicate that: 1. the male characters exhibit both positive and negative personality traits, resembling real human behavior. The positive traits are predominantly seen in King Louis XVI, who is portrayed as calm, rational, family-oriented, and devoted to his people. In contrast, Frankenstein’s creature, the unnamed monster (The Queen’s Confession), and Lomax display repressed emotions, passivity, blame-shifting, aggression, and destructive tendencies. 2. King Louis XVI demonstrates an extroverted personality, characterized by openness, composure, and logical reasoning, whereas Frankenstein’s creature, the monster, and Lomax exhibit introverted personality traits. The hypothesis testing revealed that readers' perceptions of male character personalities significantly differ based on gender, age, and academic year, with statistical significance at the 0.05 level.