International Journal of Advance Study and Research Work (2581-5997)/ Volume 3/Issue 7/July 2020

Paulo Coelho’s Women Characters Viewed as the

Alter Ego of the Protagonists in his Select Novels
R,Maheswari1 & Dr. Sushil Mary Mathews2
Department of English, PSGR Krishnammal College for Women, Coimbatore, India
Email Id: maheswari@psgrkcw.ac.in, sushil@psgrkcw.ac.in

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3973428

Abstract

Going beyond the Freudian tripartite analysis of the workings of the mind – the Id, the Ego and the Super Ego, which
determines and validates the actions of people there is some element present in everyone, which drives people towards
achievement. That is what is termed as the alter ego. When the Ego rationalises every thought and action according to the
standards directed by the society, the alter ego tries to work towards the fulfilment of the dreams by channelizing the
energies. Paulo Coelho’s novels are stories of people, a few are autobiographical, and who are able to achieve their heart’s
desire. Though the situations that they find themselves in and the other characters overlay the way, the women characters
help them achieve their goals. The paper analyses how some characters prove to be the alter ego of the protagonist/other in
the novels chosen for study- the trilogy- Veronica Decides to Die, The Devil and Miss Prym, By the River Piedra I Sat Down
and Wept,and The Alchemist.

Keywords: Ego, Alter Ego, dreams, rationalization.

Introduction
Paulo Coelho is one of the living novelists whose works have impacted the reading world very decisively. His novels are stories
of people who have a dream and the recourse that they take to appreciate the dream. Behind the intricate singularities of the
conscious and the subconscious mind, a complex phenomenon works at every individual‟s thoughts and actions (Cherry).
Individuals try to create the „other‟ (Maria) who will be able to do those things which consciously they are not able to. This need
not necessarily be the surge of the repressed, unsocial desires like Mr Hyde‟s but can be the ones like the batman or the
superman who take a demigod stand to help people in distress. This „other‟ can be termed as the alter ego which aides us in
doing whatever we want to. It can also be our idealised self, which we want to be. It can also be a different version of oneself
created intentionally for the purpose of utilising all the resources available to realise the life expectation.

Discussion
In the stories the hero/protagonist is on the road to realisation of his dream both real as in the case of Santiago of The Alchemist
or Paulo Coelho of The Pilgrimage and the other heroes. In all these stories they are helped or in sense shown the direction by
the other characters. The paper tries to claim how this happens.
The Alchemist is the story of the shepherd boy Santiago who dreams of a treasure in a distant land. As a shepherd, he was not
able to understand the recurring dream of a child telling him of the treasure at the Egyptian pyramids. He decided to get the help
of the old woman at Tarifa who was famous for interpreting dreams. He sought her advice. It is strange that the woman only said
that he had to go to the pyramids in order to find the treasure and she added, “…if it was a child who showed them to you, they
exist.” (Coelho, “Alchemist”15)According to Freudian psychology ego is that which initiates action.Simon Boag in his article
Ego, Drivers and the Dynamics of Internal Objects states the id acts as a stimulus tothe ego. The woman is sought by Santiago
driven by his id and accepted by his ego. The stimulus here is wellreceived by the ego of the person and there is a synthesis. If
this synthesis has to materialise there should be an externalisation of this synthesis. That is what is projected in the form of the
woman. If the shepherd boy has to discover the treasure, according to the dreams he has to find the pyramids. This is definite
situation. But for the woman Santiago could not have fixed on his future course. So the woman becomes the alter ego, the other
personality, who instils hope in him and sets him to go in search of the treasure. This is further authenticated when she demands
for one tenth of the treasure when he returns. This demand is to make sure that he goes on his adventure. As according to Freud,
ego is a structured and organised entity, the creation of the alter ego helps in this objectification of the rational ego and

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 International Journal of Advance Study and Research Work (2581-5997)/ Volume 3/Issue 7/July 2020

synthesise into action. So it is necessary that the old woman should not know the meaning of the dream. Had she been able to
decipher the dream there is no necessity for the alter ego to take control over the situation. The next woman that Santiago meets
is the merchant‟s daughter. She is fascinated by the stories that Santiago tells about his travels. Her world is confined to the
small city. She had met the passers-by but she hadn‟t listened to their stories. She is surprised to see him reading a book as he
was waiting for the merchant to buy his wool. When she asks him, “Well, if you know how to read, why are you just a
shepherd?” (5) she becomes his alter ego. Though the ego rationalises everything, it does not take the initiative sometimes. He
realises that everything has a purpose I life, even his jacket. The jacket served the purpose of protecting from the cold. “The
jacket had a purpose, and so did the boy.” (8) He has to identify his purpose. This is what the girl does. His ego knows that he is
a shepherd and the duty of the shepherd to tend the sheep. If his ego stops with this purpose, the greater purpose would not be
served. When the girl puts that question to him, she drives his ego to find ways to initiate the action. He tells his father about his
urge to travel and becomes a shepherd, a vocation which will take him to different places and thus gain experience which is the
alchemy of life. So the girl becomes his alter ego at one end of the tunnel of life. At the other end is Fatima who he meets in the
desert and she teaches him the real alchemy of life. When he reaches the desert with the caravan he meets Fatima the girl of the
desert. He wanted to ask her about the alchemist who is supposed to be in the desert. When he saw her, he understood the
language of the world. “It is love.” (97) He considered this meeting with Fatima and his love for her as a good omen and it
turned out to be so. His ego has understood the love. But the quest for the treasure which is the purpose of life has not been
fulfilled so far. Santiago‟s love for Fatima cannot change the course of his journey. She says, “I am a part of your dream, part of
your destiny, as you call it.” (102) The ego finds some agency to fulfil its dream. Santiago has to move on. Fatima is created as
the alter ego, which pushes forward the legitimate desire. As an “executive agent”(Boag, Simon) the ego has created the alter
ego in the form of Fatima. She will let him go to find his treasure.The alter ego has to substantiate ego‟s decision and so Fatima
says, “I want my husband to wander as free as the wind that shapes the dunes. And, if I have to, I will accept the fact that he has
become a part of the clouds, and the animals and the water of the desert.” (103)When he sensed impending danger in the form of
war, he thought of Fatima and went to tell the chief of tribes about it. Finally, he meets the alchemist. He understands the
alchemy of life is to live. The alchemist directs him to the pyramids and parts his way.As he movesahead and reaches the
pyramids he thankedGod for His mercy and also for bringing Fatima into his life for she said, “love would never keep a man
from his destiny.” (169)When he started to dig, he encountered two men and one of them directed him to the place where the
real treasure lay. He could feel the levanter brush his face along with it the perfume from the desert. Thus for the dream which
has to be realised the ego finds the alter ego. These three women act as alter egos in order that the hero realises his dream.

Veronica Decides to Die is the story of a passive girl Veronica, who decides to die because there was nothing interesting in life.
Her two reasons were she could not bear to think of growing old and the ensuing suffering, and everything was wrong in this
world and she could do nothing to change it.The ego of a person operates on the reality principle that is to consciously respond
to situations and try to understand logically. Veronica‟s decision to die cannot be right for no one has the right take away one‟s
life, be it our own. Here the ego does not gratify impulse of the id because it is irrational and against the Christian faith of which
Paulo Coelho is an ardent believer. This is endorsed by the quote that the author gives as the preface,“Behold I give unto you
power to tread on serpents… and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10:19). These irrational feelings have to be
overcome. They are not the outcome of fear as Veronica says she does not want the world to know the reason for her decision.
This is the story through which the author wants to show the real madness of sane people, who cannot empathise. It is a kind of
the story to emphasise the hand of God in the lives of human beings. Veronica doubts God‟s existence. If He was the one, who
created this world it was He who created this confused world with poverty and every other ailment. Her statement,“He doubtless
had the best of intentions, but the results have proved disastrous;” (Coelho, “Veronica” 7) gives the reader a clue. With a strong
Catholic background, the author tries to prove “God‟s in His Heaven and All‟s right with the world.” The future course of events
in the story leads to this end. Veronica finds herself in the mental asylum for the cure because suicide attempts are made by the
insane –people who cannot fight the vagaries of life in spite of the Lord‟s promise as said in Luke 10:19. The ego of Veronica
has to create a suitable channel in order to placate id‟s desire in socially appropriate ways. So the ego creates the characters Mari
and Zedka. They are also the inmates of Villete and they become the alter egos. The person Zedka was in Villete because her
behaviour became queer and was diagnosed to be lacking in a chemical that balances the mental states on humans. She was
supposed to be in chronic depression. She goes on astral journey to see the world outside.Trauma and illness can be the trigger
for astral projection and Zedka‟s is intentional.Zedka engages in this Out of Body Experiences to satisfy herself. She was
depressed because of the uninspired life that she was leading. After going behind the Impossible Love she found everything is
the same. Veronica too found nothing worthwhile to be inspired. But the astral journeys of Zedka gave her the freedom to think
and conclude. Zedka as the alter ego makes Veronica realise that she has the freedom to choose. She had confined herself to not
only to a small geographical place of Slovenia but also to a small-circumscribed mental space. She chose a room in the convent
because she could not stay out late night. She was expected to return early in the convent. That would save her giving excuses to

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 International Journal of Advance Study and Research Work (2581-5997)/ Volume 3/Issue 7/July 2020

her boyfriends. She did not know anything outside Slovenia. But the Astral projections of Zedka gave her a glimpse of what the
world is. She realised that it is the freedom to be that gives meaning to life. Outside Villete life is not that easy. But to live a life
of acceptance without succumbing is what is necessary. Because God has given us the promise that the serpents would not harm
us (Luke 10:19) unless we let it. Another character Mari, a lawyer by profession found herself in Villete because she had black
outs. As a successful lawyer she knew how law could be manipulated. She raises a very thought provoking question why did
God let Satan tempt Eve. More than the criminal the person who prompts the crime deserves a more stringent punishment.
Finally she decides to offer herself to social service – to the service of the needy. Veronica‟s ego needed to come out of the
mundane life. An alter ego is created who will find out the meaning of life inservice of the needy. Looking at Zedka and Mari,
Veronica gained courage to do what she would not have done otherwise. When she is given only seven days to live, she wants
to live the rest of her life. She wants to feel everything, the cold wind, the rain on her face. The alter ego in the form of Zedka
and Mari, make Veronica understand that life has to be lived only according to individual‟s choice. This is what she learns and
she decides to move out of Villete with Eduard who also wanted to escape from the suffocating, demanding life and live a life of
his own.

By the River Piedra I sat down and Wept is a resonance of Psalm 137 By the Rivers ofBabylon, where the Israelites lament the
loss of their promised land of Jerusalem. It is the story of how to recognise and experience love as the author in his preface notes
“as what Saint Paul called “the madness of saintliness…”. And true love is an act of total surrender.”(Coelho, “River” ix)The
hero/protagonist invites Pilar his childhood friend to Madrid. The story is from Pilar‟s point of view. She reminisces their
relationship. She had been in love with him from when she was a child. He is about to take up a missionary life. Pilar is in love
with him. Both of them have to charter their future. In this process each of them are alter egos of the other. At the conscious
level, Pilar seeks her childhood friend who had dreamt of going out into the world, “and his dreams lay beyond the fields of
Soria.” (3) She had received letters from him stamped from different places. She tries to satisfy her ego by accepting the
insignificant life that she had been living. But her love deep down in her heart struggles to find a meaning for life. But as Id is
primarily primitive and slanted towards fantasy, she looks for an ideal home with husband and children. That is what she
expected when she received the letter. But she has to understand the real meaning of love. So he becomes the alter ego to make
her understand, “those who love conquer the world and have no fear of loss.” (ix) Throughout her journey with him to Madrid,
to Bilbao, to Saint Savin she had that persistent fear of losing him as she knew he was in the seminary for some time and at any
time he would take that recourse. He was also talking about Our Lady, The Immaculate Conception which she had not heard
people talk in such length. That‟s what pulled crowds to his meetings. “He is giving us back what was ours.” (5) the lady seated
next to her in the meeting remarked. Further, the lady, Brida, as she introduced herself, was so exhilarated that she started
dancing on the road and invited Pilar also to experience this feeling and she adds , “… he is important….he recognizes the Great
Mother. Don‟t let him lose his way. Help him.”(17)When Pilar knew that he had intended to go to the seminary she felt lost. But
the „other‟ which he had taught her to keep at bay tried to come near. But now she knew how to because she loved him. She was
ready for the sacrifices as she understood the meaning of sacrifice is love. “I was recovering my faith in God. All because of
love. I will not to mydarkness anymore, I promised myself, closing the door on the other. A fall from the third floor hurts as
much as a fall from the hundredth.”(127). As hesearches for love he becomes the alter ego which helps her to find herself and
the meaning of life. “I want to go with you, to be with you in your struggle. I want to be the one of those who does something
for the first time… You‟ve given me back my faith.”(Coelho 193)He, on the other hand, while trying to balance between the
higher calling and a settled life, has to overcome the dilemma.He with his faith in the Mother Goddess, The Virgin and the
Immaculate Conception has to take this conviction across the world. Pilar becomes his alter ego. When she responds to love, it
becomes the magic moment for both of them. “Our magic moment helps us to change and send us off in search of our dreams.”
(8). In his struggle to balance his love for Pilar and his commitment towards his faith, he takes the wrong decision to give up his
blessing of curing people. Even the Padre wants Pilar to intercede with his conviction of giving himself up to suffering and
sacrifice, performing miracles which people don‟t understand. But his ego‟s decision to walk the path chosen by the Virgin, as
he believed, is an arduous one. Pilar, his alter ego, decides to walk along with him, because this is not a conflicting ego. The ego
only needs the right direction to be shown. By definition the alter ego is the personality which we adulateand can also be a
trustworthy friend (Mario & Mario), Pilar is his childhood friend and he had nurtured a beautiful love towards her. He had
waited for her for so long and for the right moment. When he saw the house with the senior Priest he felt the time had come to
convey his love and start a new life. His „other‟, the religious side of him wanting to serve and cure people suddenly poses a
conflict. His alter ego is raised and becomes evident when Pilar reciprocates his love with complete understanding. But when he
says that in order to live with her, “I would give up what I want most in the world: you.” (Coelho, “River” 192) she felt, “God
hides the fires of hell within paradise.” (193) But whatever the conscious ego truly wants, it creates the alter ego (Mario &
Mario). He goes in search of her, finds her in the church and thus his wish to serve humanity is fulfilled. They found their path

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 International Journal of Advance Study and Research Work (2581-5997)/ Volume 3/Issue 7/July 2020

together. They became the alter egos of each other to accomplish their heart‟s desire to live a meaningful, spiritual life where
every day is a miracle and they do recognise it by the blessings of the Virgin Mary.

The Devil and Miss Prym is the story of the eternal challenge between the good and the evil that humans have to face in their
short time of life. The outcome of the challenge can only be two – either a victory of the good or succumbing to the evil. In
either case, the lessons that are learnt are very significant. In the story of Miss Prym, she is a young woman who lives in a
nonchalant village of Viscos waiting for a change to happen or an opportunity when she will be able to leave this village to see
the vibrant world outside the village. The stranger enters and he is supposed to be accompanied by the devil. Berta, the old
widow, whose only job is to watch the passers-by of the village deem it so and it proves to be true. He has come to the village
for a purpose of testing humanity‟s goodness. This is not a new challenge to humanity. “…it is clear from its very inception the
humanrace has been condemned to exist within the eternal division, always moving between those two opposing poles. So here
we are, afflicted by the same doubts as our ancestors.” (Coelho, “Devil” ix)He was a successful businessman dealing with arms
and ammunition. One day his business and his family were destroyed for no fault of his. It is then that his doubts begin and his
curiosity to test the resilience of humans, again and again getting up fighting against the devil. His ego is disturbed. It seeks an
explanation for the happenings of the world though it knows it is difficult. Here the ego of the stranger has found a new way to
test and to find the answer. Man is gullible and easily succumbs to temptation especially of money. The stranger being a
businessman knows this. This silent village, where people are honest, God fearing, and desire for a change but are afraid to
accept any, becomes the right sample to test. His ego needs a justification for the loss that he suffered. So the village is chosen
and the bait is hooked. He chose Chantal to be the messenger. He shows her eleven gold bars. Ten bars would be to the villagers
and one bar to Chantal if she is successful in convincing the villagers to commit the sin of murder. The gold would change every
one‟s lives. She can go out into the world seeking her future. The village would get everything that it needs. The people can be
happy for their lifetime. But if the stranger finds the answer, the balance of the world will be affected. The world rests on the
balance of the good and evil. It is a tough battle but it is. So the alter ego is created to clarify the stand and the presence of God.
So when Chantal takes the responsibility of informing the people of the stranger‟s proposal she becomes his alter ego. She is the
„other self‟, which lies beneath the outer personality, a consolidation of many sub-personalities because man is made up of both
good and evil. The message is sent across the village. The priest, the mayor everyone is brought into the scheme. Finally the
village decides to sacrifice Berta, the only woman who does not have anything to fall back upon and they will be only doing her
a favour by sending her to her dead husband. The modalities for the event are discussed and finalised. At the appointed hour
Chantal refuses to do as decided. And it is here she becomes the stranger‟s alter ego. She told the story of Midas and “the gold
will slip through your fingers as quickly as it came.” (188)The alter ego slowly takes the better of the ego. “The stranger could
not grasp what the girl was saying, but he willed her to go on; he had noticed that, in a dark corner of his soul, the forgotten light
was once again shining brightly.” (188). In spite of the difficulties and the losses that man suffers, man wishes to be right and
good, the type of personality that we want to be deep down in the heart. The stranger‟s question is answered that man is
inherently good, but strange are the ways of God.

In all the above stories it is found that, the hero or the protagonist is in a curious, inquisitive situation, which needs to be
addressed. He creates an alter ego who will steer him through life‟s meandering ways and finally he sees light at the end of the
tunnel.
References

[1]. Berta, Mario and Saiz, Mario. “The “alter ego” in psychiatry”, December 1999
a. www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(99)90398-7/fulltext
[2]. Cherry, Kendra. “Freud‟s Id, Ego, and Superego.”www.verywellmind.com/the-id-ego-and-superego-2795951
[3]. Coelho, Paulo.The Alchemist, Translated by Alan R. Clarke, Harper Collins 1992
[4]. ---By The River Piedra I Sat Down And Wept, Translated by Alan R. Clarke, Harper Collins, 1997
[5]. --- Veronica Decides to Die, Translated by Margaret Jull Costa, Harper Collins 1999
[6]. ---The Devil and Miss Prym, Translated by Amanda Hopkinson and Nick Caistor, Harper Collins, 2001
[7]. McLeod,Saul.“ID, Ego and Superego” , Oct 25, 2017 simplypsychology.org-psyche.pdf, Europe's Journal of
a. Psychology ejop.psychopen.eu | 1841-0413
[8]. Simon Boag.“Ego, drivers and the Dynamics of Internal Objects.”Front. Psychol., 01 July 2014 |
a. doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00666
[9]. Mindvalley. Alter Ego Definition: Engage In A Creative Play With Your Ego. 12 April 2019|
a. https://blog.mindvalley.com/alter-ego-definition/?utm_source=blog

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