KLARA G. ROMAN
V'
r;;}fandwriting
A KEY TO PERSONALITY
Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd.
Broadway House, 68-74 Carter Lane
London, E. C. 4
By kind permission of author and publishers,
fig. #16 is reproduced from an article by
Werner Wolff in Collier's, May 22, 1948; figs.
242, 243, 245 are reproduced from DIA-
GRAMS OF THE UNCONSCIOUS, by
Werner Wolff, Grune (j Stratton, N. Y., 1949.
MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Designed by Lucian Bernhard
•
First published in England by
ROUTLEDGE & KEGAN PAUL LTD.
1954
PR E FA C E
A book on graphology is likely to be accorded a more appreciative
reception today, both from the general public and in academic
circles, than would have been possible a few years ago. The in-
creasingly widespread acceptance of the dynamic theory of per-
sonality has laid the groundwork for a fuller understanding of
grapbology in America. Yet it is of interest to note that in Europe
grapbology is among tbe oldest psycbological approaches for the
study of personality, and was widely used before the advent of
psycboanaiysi), Gestalt theory, social anthropology; or projective
techniques.
At the present time, the ps-ychologist working with projective
techniques and other tests is well equipped not only by a thorough
knowledge of dynamic psychology but also by specific professiondl
training. Unfortunately, the graphologist still labors in an un-
definable limbo; no specific course of training, no set of academic
standards, no degree or certificate in graphology exists to attest
the scientific background and reliability of the handwriting
analyst. In short, the graphologist is, of necessity, a self-made in-
diuidual, learning more from his own efforts than from those of
others. However, it is important for the graphologist to have dual
skills: he must have specific knowledge, and beyond that a pro-
found understanding of personality, if be is to be capable of
synthesizing the facts as well as the intangibles into a true per-
sonality picture.
The author of this book had the privilege of working for more
than two decades on research projects instituted by government
agencies and clinical institutions in Europe, notably in Budapest.
The present study is, however, not a recapitulation of the widely
v
published results of those years. Rather, it is an attempt to make
a modest contribution toward the many efforts directed to the
study of personality in the United States. As regards data in this
specific field, the author is grateful for the experience provided
by work at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, to which she was
called by Dr. Franz Alexander. Further excellent opportunities
for observation and testing have been afforded her in the give
and take of contact with her unusually mature students at' the
New School for Social Research, New York.
Students of any scientific subject should realize that the es-
sential method is the same for all fields, yet each discipline is
unique with respect to the nature of its data and th'e manner by
which it is derived. Although graphologists have attempted to
objectify handwriting analysis and to treat graphic factors psycho-
metrically, these attempts have thus far provided only limited
information, less valuable than that derived from the composite
impression obtained from the writing pattern when viewed as a
whole. Nevertheless, the need for further work of this sort is
obvious, for there are many long-accepted graphological hypotheses
that still carry an implied question mark. The verified answers
for which we strive can be obtained; but it will take time. To be
scientifically convincing, all conclusions must be checked and
double-checked under adequately controlled conditions. In the
meantime, we have to rely partly on hypotheses based upon sub-
stantial evidence and found to accord with verified psychological
laws and principles.
The method of handwriting analysis presented in this book
rests mainly upon psychometrically and experimentally verified
observations and, further, on generalizations that promise future
validation through use simultaneously with clinical and projective
tests.
It gives me pleasure to make some expression of thanks to those
persons who have helped me in the preparation of this book. I am
especially indebted to my students and co-workers, Mr. Leslie A.
Bebwnek, Mr. Sol Levine, Mrs. Patricia A. Miller, Miss Tess Segel,
VI
Mrs. Sipor« Van Praag, and Miss Dorly Wang. Their extensive
familiarity with the field of psychology permitted them quickly
to attain insight into and appreciation of the principles and po-
tentialities of graphology. Their sustained interest, assistance, and
numerous suggestions have been of inestimable aid to me in the
completion of my book.
Thanks are also due Mrs. Lily Erlanger, Mrs. Ruth Gutt-man,
and Miss Betty Roberg for their technical aid in the preparation
of illustrations, charts, and diagrams.
Mr. John Rewald very kindly put at my disposal his collection
of autographs of famous artists. The handwritings of Manet,
Monet, Ingres, and Jacques Lipcbitz in this book are reprod-uced
from letters in his possession.
Finally, I should like to express my gratitude to two artists,
Mr. Willy Pogany and Mr. Leon Dabo, who supplied me with.
specimens of handwritings of prominent artists. I am also indebted
to Mr. Pogany for his aid and suggestions in constructing the more
complicated charts.
The reader of this book should bear in mind that no re-
production of a handwriting can fully convey the erno-
tional quality and vitality of the original script.
VII

c o N T E N T s
HISTORY: The French Pioneers-German Scientific Groundwork-Advances in
Switzerland-The Hungarian School-American Developments
3-18
Part One: DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES IN HANDWRITING
I SCRIBBLING 21-39
Interpretation of Scribbles (23). The Riddle of the Doodle
(29). Doodles and Psychotherapy (J 6).
II LEARNING TO WRITE 40-59
Association 0/ SPeaking, Reading, Writing (42). Eye-Hand
Control (42). T'be Writing Model (44). Analyzing Chil-
dren's Handwriting (47). Reversals and Left-Handedness
(51). Stuttering (54). The Ungainly Hand (56).
III HANDWRITING IN PUBERTY
AND ADOLESCENCE 60-79
Graphic Rciiectio» 0/ Confiicts (61). Ex periment al and
Statistical Studies (64). The Grapbod yne (64). Develop-
mental Sex Differellces (67). Diagnostic Value of Graphic
Indices (69). Writing Pressure in Adolescence (74). Graphic
Indices of Behavior Disorders (77).
IV PERSONAL STYLE 80-103
The Linear and the Pictorial Pattern (82). The Sbontoneou:
and the Artificial Hand (86). Consistency in Personal Style
(90). bl/luences 0/ Time and Place (90). The American
Hand (95). Professional and voceuonel Patterns (99).
ix
Part Two: ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
V THE STUDENTSHIP 107-112
Intuitive Perception (108). Empirical Generalizations (110).
The SPecimen Collection (111).
VI MATERIAL AND PROCEDURE 113-133
The Overall-Impression (119). Differentiation, Ordering, and
Inter pretation of Graphic Indices (124-130). Synthesis
(132). Ethics 0/ the Graphologist (132).
VII SYMBOLISM OF THE WRITING SPACE 134-146
The Three Zones (137). Direction (140). Direction in
Ancient Writing (14)). The Mythology 0/ Right and Left
(145) .
VIII EXPANSION OF THE WRITING PATTERN 147-183
Proportions (148). Vertical and Horizontal Expansion (150).
Capital Letters (161). The Capital "I" (/63). Projection of
the Body Image (165). Zonal Interpretation of Size (/66).
The Lower Loops (17i).
IX SLANT 184-198
Fluctuations in Slant (/92). Slant a1ld Handedness (194).
X CONNECTIVE FORMS 199-220
The Garland (203). The Arcade (207). The Angular C01l-
neetiue Form (214). The Threadlike Connective Form
(216). The Mixed Connective Form (218).
XI CONTINUITY AND FLUENCY 221-239
Continuit y of Stroke and Unity of Movement (224). De-
grees 0/ Connected ness and their Meaning (228). Fluency in
Speech and Writi1.g (234). Disturbances in Flow of SPeech
and Writing (235).
XII SPEED AND PERSONAL PACE 240-253
The Dynamics of Pace (242). Graphic Indices of SPeed
(247). Factors Affecting SPeed (250).
x
XIII WRITIN G PRESSURE 254-277
Pressure amI Muscular Strength (261). Pressure and Psychic
Energy (263). Displaced Pressure (270). Emphasis Revealed
in Pressure (273).
XIV TENSION AND RELEASE 278-288
Grapbod yne Study of Tension-Release Patterns (279). Psy-
cbosomatic Aspects (282). Expressive Significance (283).
XV ARRANGEMENT 289-310
Spacing (289). Alignment (292). Word Interspaces (300).
Margins (303). The Writing on the Envelope (308).
XVI THE SIGNATURE 311-331
The Development of Self (311). Imaginative Projection
(314). The Roots of Graphic Imagery (315). Congruence of
Signature and Body Script (319). Relation of Given and
Fa11fily Name (J 22). Personality Changes (J 23). Elaboration
and Appendages (326). Plecement (330).
SAMPLE ANALYSES Handwriting of a Young Woman
Applicant for a Secretarial Position
WITH USE OF 335Handwriting of an American Artist 340
WORK SHEETS Handwriting of a Delinquent Girl 345
Handwriting Analysis in a Criminal Case 352
BIBLIOGRAPHY 363
INDEX 371
xl

INTRODUCTORY

HISTORY
Interest in handwriting as an expression of personality is really
as old as the use of writing itself.
Over three hundred years before the Christian Era, Aristotle
observed: "Spoken words are the symbols of mental experience,
and written words are the symbols of spoken words. Just as all men
ha ve not the same speech sounds, so all men have not the same
writing." Another early observer was Suetonius Tranquillus, his-
torian of the first twelve Caesars. Speaking of the handwriting of
the Emperor Augustus, he said: "I have above all remarked the
following in his writing. He does not separate his words, nor does
he carryover to the next line any excess letters; instead, he places
them under the final word and ties them to it with a stroke." A
later Roman emperor, Justinian, records in his memoirs that he
has been struck by the observation that an individual's hand-
writing changes with ill-health and age.
The first known systematic attempts to study and describe the
relationship between handwriting traits and character traits were
made in Italy at the beginning of the seventeenth century, when
Alderisius Prosper published in Bologna a study entitled Ideo-
graphia. A physician, Camillo Baldo, followed him with a treatise
presenting a method for judging the nature of a writer from his
letters." Both of these studies fell into oblivion. However, they
must have attracted some contemporary readers, because subse-
quently it became a practice for itinerant magicians and other
wonder workers to go from castle to castle giving consultations on
character by means of handwriting interpretation.
3
In the eighteenth century, CUrIOSIty about the possible revela-
tions to be found in handwriting began also to stir the minds of
poets and philosophers. They were fascinated at discovering the
intimate link between handwriting and character, and in studying
scripts they came Up with sharp observations and personality
portraits of startling accuracy.
THE FRENCH PIONEERS
ArQund 1830, a strong interest in the disclosures to be obtained
from handwriting arose in France. The Abbe Flandrin and his
disciple, the Abbe Jean-Hippolyte Michon of Paris, spent their
lives in studying handwritings. Their successes in interpretation
soon became known throughout the country. Michon possessed a
methodical mind, an extraordinary gift for observation, and a
photo gra phic memory. He collected thousands of hand writing
specimens and studied them with attention to each of the minute
details that he designated as "elements of the handwriting." He
regarded each of these graphic elements as a "sign" to be inter-
preted as an outward index of an inner attribute.
After thirty years of intensive concentration on the subject,
Michon published his system of handwriting analysis. He coined
for itthe name of "graphology," which became widely known and
accepted after his publication of Les mysteres de I'ecritureI06 in
1872 and La methode pratique de graphoiogie107 in 1878. These
books intrigued people in general and attracted artists and scholars
to the study of handwriting. From the ranks of his disciples grew
the Societe Grapbologique, which flourished up to the time of the
second world war.
Michon was branded by later graphologists as a mere "inter-
preter of signs." He is said to have ascribed to each sign adefinite
and fixed meaning. Moreover, the absence of a given sign in a
script was held to indicate a quality opposite to that which would
be indicated by its presence. On the other hand, he formulated a
"law of balance," stated in La methode pratique de grapholog;e as
4
follows: "One sign does not cancel the significance of another. The
counterweight of opposing signs must be considered."
It is true that Michon's interest was focused mainly on the
meaning of forms, in contrast to the orientation of those later
graphologists who came to regard handwriting purely as "crystal-
lized" expressive movement. Modern graphology, however, con-
siders both movement and form as expressing and projecting the
writer's inner life. Thus Michon's contribution in relation to the
interpretation of graphic forms will have to be revised.
One of Michon's successors, J. Crepieux-jarnin, broke away
from the "school of fixed signs," as this system was later called. He
shifted emphasis from the elements of handwriting-such as the
forms of t bars, i dots, hooks, and flourishes-to the over-all
aspects. "The study of elements," he said, "is to graphology as
study of the alphabet is to the reading of prose." He stressed the
point that a handwriting must be perceived as a whole, to which
each trait contributes in: varying degree and with differing empha-
sis. This concept-in its approach much akin to the gestaltist point
of view-lead him to a theory of "resultants" produced by the
combination and interaction of many elements, i.e., traits,zz
Crepieux- Jamin persuaded Alfred Binet, the founder of modern
methods of intelligence testing, to examine into the realiability of
handwriting analysis. The first problem was to test the assumption
that specific character "traits correlate with specific handwriting
traits. The affirmative results with respect to the graphic indices
of honesty and intelligence brought new esteem to graphology,
which Pierre Janet hailed as a "science of the future." A further
crucial aspect of the investigation turned on age and sex differ-
ences in handwriting, and it was demonstrated that neither the
chronological age nor the sex of a writer can be ascertained from
his script." Crepieux-jamin explained that it is the psychological
and not the physiological personality that is revealed in handwrit-
ing, and ever since the time of these decisive experiments, graph-
ologists have always requested information about the sex and age
of a subject before undertaking a handwriting analysis.
5
GERMAN SCIENTIFIC GROUNDWORK
During most of the nineteenth century, French investigators
held the foremost place in theoretical and applied graphology.
Toward the end of the century, German scientists took over the
leadership. Though they based their first steps upon the work of
Crepieux- Jamin, they later minimized the part he had played in
founding scientific graphology. German treatises did not mention
his name, though the standard German work, Handschrift und
Charakter, by Ludwig Klages, even borrowed its tide from the
Frenchman's popular work, L'ecriture et le caracterer?
The first penetrating insights regarding the phenomenon of
writing came from the work of physiologists and psychiatrists,
who instituted methodical investigations. Wilhelm Preyer, a pro-
fessor of physiology at jena, demonstrated the similarity of the
writing patterns produced by use of different body members-the
right hand, the left hand, the mouth, the toes.126 Figure #1 shows
the fluent and legible script of a man who had no arms or legs, and
who, in Preyer's presence, used his mouth to direct the pen. The
concept that handwriting is really "brain writing," a centrally
organized function, was formulated by Preyer in 1895. His publi-
cations met with an unreceptive attitude on the part of his aca-
demic colleagues, who thought it pathetic "that a scientist of merit
6
should lose himself in the field of dangerous sciences, among which
hypnosis and graphology belong."
Georg Meyer, a psychiatrist, made a further important contribu-
tion by undertaking to analyze writing movement.l'" One of his
conclusions was that the character of a handwriting is determined
not by the anatomy or the strength of the writer's hand but by his
"psychomotor energies." While underlining what he considered
the three main factors of writing movement-extension, speed,
and pressure-Meyer regarded unity of expression as the decisive
feature of psychomotor functioning. To demonstrate the relation-
ship between writing movement and emotion, he conducted ex-
periments with psychotic patients in states of mania, elation, and
depression.
Furthermore, Meyer recognized that problems of expression can-
not be treated apart from what he called the "character" of the
writer. Graphologists, he believed, needed the help of a new sci-
ence, "characterology," and a common vocabulary for the two
fields, e.g., terms for denoting those intangible properties or traits
of personality which almost defy definition. His suggestion was
fully developed later by Klages" and also independently by Theo-
dor Lessing. S8
The new scientific perspectives opened up by Meyer and Preyer
gave the impetus for the founding, in 1896, of the Deutsche gra-
phologische Gesellscbajt . Among its members were Hans H.
Busse;" a criminologist, and Klages. To promote graphological
theory and practice, the Graphologische Monatshe/te were issued.
Through the untimely deaths of Busse and Meyer, Klages, then
known as a brilliant young philosopher, became the leader of
German advance in graphology. He stamped his personality on
every phase of the new science.
THE METAPHYSICAL ApPROACH
The essential findings regarding the writing process, as linked
with characterology by Preyer, Meyer, and D. Erlenmeyer.i" were
7
combined by Klages into a single system representing a "science of
expression." The array of his books includes, besides Handscbrijt
und Charakter,82 such works as Die Probleme der Graphologie,77
Grundlegung der Wissenschaft des Ausdrucks, Ausdrucksbeweg-
ung und Gestaltungskraft.78 He established "laws and principles"
of graphology, characterology, and expressive movement, based
largely upon his own metaphysical theory of personality.
The basic law of expression, Klages holds, is that each expressive
bodily movement "actualizes" the tensions and drives of the per-
sonality. He points out that there is correspondence in the dif-
ferent realms of movement-speech, facial expressiori, and hand-
writing. They have a common "form level" (Klages' term is
Formniu/o, and the strange spelling is his own), which is adjudged
according to the general "rhythm" of the individual's movement.
Rhythm in Klages' sense is an "indefinable something" that can be
understood only by "intuition." The form level of a script is the
criterion of its qualities as a whole. It is a leading precept of
Klages' that a handwriting pattern should be evaluated on the
score of its form level before any scrutiny of its various features
is undertaken.
The doctrine of form level, faithfully followed by the German
graphologists, was rejected in other countries. At the present time,
evaluation of handwriting primarily on the basis of the intangible
phenomenon of rhythm is no longer an acceptable procedure; in
the eyes of modern graphologists, it is "the evaluation of yester-
day," as L. Kroeber-Keneth puts it.8s
Klages' books were enthusiastically received in Germany. They:
were also highly rated abroad, though understood by few. Their
pompous style and not invariably clear formulation of ideas con-
fused and disaffected readers not attuned to the Teutonic roman-
ticism of his philosophical speculation. His magnum opus is Der
Geist als Widenacher der Seele,80in which he develops his "biocen-
tric" doctrine. Here he advocates a kind of anti-intellectualism that
became one of the cornerstones of the biological-mystical ideology
8
of the Nazi creed." As Andras Angyal" points out, Klages' theory
exaggerates the conflict between what he calls Geist [conscious.
mental function, spirit] and Seele [feeling life, soul]. The two
are, for him, antagonistic forces. The Geist, according to Klages,
penetrates from the outside into life like a wedge, causing ...
a fundamental split .... Klages ... regards the mind as a factor
which disturbs living, as a Lebensstbrung,
A whole generation of German graphologists grew up under the
leadership of Klages and his Zeitscbriit /iir Menschenkunde, with
its supplement, the Zentralblatt Jiir Grapbologie, Through his
personal influence Klages succeeded in curbing the graphological
mercenaries who were legion in Germany at the time. He helped to
give graphology a scientific standing; at the same time, he found
ways of suppressing points of view and investigative trends that
ran counter to his own.
At the beginning of the present century, much experimental
work was devoted to the study of handwriting by Emil Kraepelin,
a widely known German psychiatrist, and his co-workers.t" Using
the Kraepelin scale, they attempted to measure writing pressure
and speed in norrnal/" and mentally disturbed persons.?' Klages,
who was antagonistic to experimental psychology, claimed that
graphology should be dealt with as a science apart, and studied by
"psychologically minded" persons. Induction based on clinical
observation, no less than the use of psychometric techniques,
seemed to him an inadequate approach. He enjoined other graphol-
ogists not to participate in clinical and experimental work. The
result was that co-operation between graphology and medicine
ceased for a considerable time, and graphology was surrendered to
metaphysics and armchair speculation.
*This development is traced by Lessing in his autobiography, Einmol "nd nie
wieder.89
9
PROGRESSIVE CONCEPTS
Fortunately for graphology, however, progressive forces were at
work giving new impetus to experimental investigation and clini-
cal procedure. Rudolf Pophal, a neurologist, undertook to study
the physiology of the writing movement on the basis of findings
made earlier by Kurt Wachholder158 and Anton Rieger.':" The
purely somatic aspect had up to that time not been included in the
field of inquiry. Pophal published several books on the subject of
motor-physiological graphology,120 dealing particularly with ten-
sion phenomena in handwriting.P" After the second world war,
when he was appointed professor of neurology at the University
of Hamburg, he published a treatise entitled Die Handschrift als
GebirnscbrijtP?
Pophal established a typological system, classifying personality
types on the basis of essential differences in types of motor behavior
as reflected in the motor patterns of handwriting. He differenti-
ates two essential types: the one is found in persons whose motor
processes show a functional dominance of the phylogenetic ally
younger part of the brain, i.e., the cortex or pyramidal area, while
the other denotes persons whose motor activity is mediated pre-
dominantly by older parts of the brain, i.e., the extrapyramidal
area.
Despite the depression conditions of the postwar period, the
study and application of graphology has continued to gain impe-
tus in Germany. Handwriting analysis is regarded as a branch of
applied psychology, and graphologists are frequently consulted in
the vocational and medical diagnostic fields. Courses in graphology
are an integral part of academic curricula in psychology and are
also pursued by many students of medicine. Robert Heiss." W. H.
Mueller in collaboration with Alice Enskat.U? and Bernhard
Wittlich,164 have published manuals ·on graphological theory and
the interpretation of handwriting for the use of medical students,
psychologists, and criminologists.
10
ADVANCES IN SWITZERLAND
Since the middle twenties, Swiss graphologists have been making
significant advances under the leadership of Max Pulver and his
co-worker, Oskar Schlag. Pulver has elaborated his theory of the
symbolic meaning of the writing space in a study entitled Sym-
bolil: der Handschrift,128 in which large consideration is given to
the concepts of depth psychology. Schlag has specialized in com-
parative studies of the findings of analytical psychology and
graphology. Rejecting the form-level theory, Pulver has stressed
the study of the biological self, which is ignored and desexualized
by Klages' metaphysical precepts. Pulver has pointed to new possi-
bilities in the interpretation of graphic features and done pioneer-
ing work in demonstrating how both conscious and unconscious
drives are projected in the writing patrern.P?
The high regard in which graphology is held in Switzerland,
where it is used more frequently as a test procedure than the
Rorschach and other projective techniques, is due to the thorough
training provided for students of graphology in that country.
Pulver has for many years been conducting courses and seminars
in graphology at the Institute for Applied Psychology in Zurich,
and has also been lecturing at the University of Zurich.
In 1939 three Czech graphologists, Otto Fanta,36 Karl Menzel.l"!
and Willy Schonfeld.P" launched a journal called Die Schrift,
which published the studies of graphologists in various countries
who had been working independently of Klages or who had broken
with his school. Although the journal quickly won recognition and
was hailed as a significant undertaking, it was short-lived because
of the political turmoil that soon engulfed all of Europe.
THE HUNGARIAN SCHOOL
In Hungary the study of graphology began about 1920. Al-
though Hungarian investigators were familiar with both French
and German graphological advances, their work followed an inde-
11
pendent path of development. It is significant that in Hungary
psychologists in university positions as well as clinicians furthered
the study of handwriting. 130 They used graphological analyses to
supplement information obtained by clinical methods and by
means of other psychological techniques.i? Scientifically trained
graphologists collaborated in clinical practice and in research.I"
Thus controlled observation facilitated the validation of grapho-
logical findings. 57
In 1920 the Hungarian graphological association (Magyar Irds-
tanulmanyi Tarsasag) was founded, and subsequently an institute
of handwriting research was set up in Budapest, under the auspices
of the ministry of education. Efforts of individual graphologists
were correlated and guided by the graphological associaricn.? so
that the results obtained had a collective significance.v' The need
of objectifying graphological procedure, and of dealing with inves-
tigative data in terms of measurement, led the present author to
construct a device known as the graphodyne'", this apparatus has
been used in large-scale investigations.P especially in the study of
writing development in school children. This led to establishment
of standard values that can be used as indices of maturation and
mental growth.!' The practical value of these standards was
demonstrated in testing abnormal children, whose writing per-
formances were found to deviate from the norm in proportion to
the degree of their abnormality.
Dezso Balazs and Richard HajnaF introduced psychoanalyti-
cal concepts into Hungarian graphology and published several
treatises and a textbook on the subject. Chief Justice Peter Nemeth
used handwriting analysis for the better understanding of juvenile
delinquents. lIZ In a biographical study of Hungarian classical
poets, Erzsebet Goldziher-" matched graphological findings with
available biographical data. The present author participated in a
research project concerning the handwriting of twins, carried out
at the medical school of the University of Budapest." The results
of this work were published in papers and textbooks, shortly be-
fore the outbreak of the second world war. Political events have
12
put an end, for the time being, to graphological endeavor in the
countries behind ehe "iron curtain."
AMERICAN DEVELOPMENTS
Investigation of handwriting in America received. most of its
impetus from advances made in France and Germany, at a time
when graphology in these countries had already established its own
traditions and schools of thought. One of the first American
experimenters with handwriting analysis was June Downey of the
University of Iowa. She became fascinated by the challenge of
handwriting as an aspect of expressive movement, at a time when
"trait psychology" predominated, and concentration on measure-
ments of single traits-intelligence, for example-tended to pre-
clude a broader outlook. Downey realized the difficulties inherent
in observation of expressive movements, especially in the absence
of any standard criteria. She approached the problem using the
matching method, comparing judgments based on writing with
findings based on gait, gesture, carriage, etc. In 1919, in Graphol-
ogy and the Psychology of Handwriting,27 she published the results
of her investigation of the "assertion frequently made, that graphic
individuality is but a specific example of a pattern that is impressed
upon all the expressive movements of a given person."
An investigation closely resembling Downey's was conducted by
Gordon Allport and Philip E. Vernon in 1930 and 1931 at the
Harvard Psychological Clinic." These authors based their investiga-
tion upon three assumptions: (a) personality is consistent; (b)
movement is expressive of personality, (c) the gestures and other
expressive movements of an individual are consistent with one
another. These assumptions constitute a foundation for all prac-
tical attempts to diagnose personality on the basis of external
movements.
Allport and Vernon made use of experimentation and statistical
tools, but did not overlook the fact that "consistency of expressive
activity lies not only in the correlation of measures, but in their
13
meaningful interrelation as well." They utilized comprehensive
experimental records pertaining to speed, size of- script, and pres-
sure of movement; many of their experiments were carried out
with the subject using both the right and the left arm and also
both legs. Most of them were repeated, so that several hundred
measurements were obtained. The results led to two major conclu-
sions: first, a considerable degree of uniformity appears in a repeti-
tive performance, just as manifestations of habit or repeated ges-
tures are consistent; second, there is an internal consistency in all
of the movements of an individual-that is, an identical quality
marks the performance of several tasks with different limbs or
muscle groups. If an individual is inclined to a rigid, inhibited pat-
tern of behavior, it will be as evident in his manner of walking as
it is in his writing, and no less in the way he holds his head, and
in the facial expressions and the gestures that accompany his
speech. It is interesting to note here that Rudolf Arnheim's! as
~ell as Werner Wolff's earlier and more recent studies'P have led
to the same conclusions.
Allport and Vernon collaborated with professional graphologists
such as Edwin Po.wers125 and Robert Saudek in conducting hand-
writing experiments. At the time prejudice against graphology was
at its height. Psychologists had been unfavorably influenced by
inconclusive experiments based on copying exercises instead of
spontaneous writings. The experimenters had measured in these
scripts some of the elementary "signs" of older graphologists, and
judged the subjects according to the supposed meanings of these
indices. Finally, their judgments had been compared with person-
ality ratings made by students untrained in either personality re-
search or graphology. Allport and Vernon and their collaborators
tried to explain that an isolated trait as such has no fixed meaning,
and that the resulting evaluations were as invalid as the criteria
and conditions of the experiments in question.
Saudek realized that in order to overcome the adverse attitude
of academic psychologists, he would have to replace the speculative
trend of European graphology with objectivity, and rely more
14
heavily upon quantitative methods. Proceeding experimentally.V
Saudek used microscope, pressure board,139 and slow-motion pic-
tures to examine handwriting movement.l " He carried out experi-
ments with the handwritings of persons of all nationalities and
classes, analyzing the effects of different types of penmanship
training; in this he was following a suggestion of A. S. Osborn's.U"
He compared the handwritings of disabled persons with those of
normal individuals.P? and studied the observable differences be-
tween the natural and the artificial handwriting of a subject-as
when, for example, an individual who normally makes letters of
minute size is asked to write in large letters.
Saudek's emphasis on the significance of speed as an index of
personality led him to develop a table listing fourteen traits "re-
lated to the law of movement.Y'! He also listed some ten general
traits, any four of which, when occurring together in a script, were
said to reveal dishonesty in the writer. Saudek founded Character
and Personality, the first journal of graphology to appear in Eng-
lish. His publications aroused the interest of British psychologists
and gained for graphology at least a limited recognition in the
United States.148 The impression in Germany was, however, that
he was essaying problems beyond his scope, and overplaying experi-
mentation in his attempts to measure and express intangibles in
terms of ounces and split seconds.
After Saudek's death, and up until recently, there was a taper-
ing off of interest in graphology in both Great Brirairr'P'' and
America, although a number of books''? and papers''! dealing with
the subject appeared in this interval.V By and large they offered no
new contributions, no original concepts, nor any innovations in
technique. Endeavoring to explain and popularize the theories of
modern European graphology;" these investigators tried to anchor
their practical knowledge in the harbor of some accepted method
of personality analysis.l'" such as psychoanalysis, projective tech-
niques, Gestalt theory, clinical psychology in relation to pathologi-
cal indices in handwriting.P: 92 or the simple rationale of measure-
ments and statistics. They even tried to combine several of these
15
approaches and to impose upon them the speculative psychology of
the German school.
A decisive step toward the introduction of a more objective
method in graphology was taken in 1942 by Thea S. Lewinson in
collaboration with Joseph Zubin.?' These authors addressed them-
selves to "the ·problem of finding a common denominator for
evaluating the quantitative and qualitative aspects" of handwrit-
ing. Their method, according to their own exposition,
is based on the work of Klages in so far as it utilizes the concepts
of contraction and release of the graphic factors and the concept
of rhythmic balance as the norm. However, its point of depar-
ture from Klages' theory of rhythm rests on the premise that
rhythm is the midpoint between contraction and release, i.e.,
rhythmic balance is the central point between the contracting
and releasing tendencies. Every handwriting movement in the
vertical, horizontal, or depth direction might be expanded or
contracted. The balanced handwriting movement lies in the
middle between contraction and release.
In accordance with this concept, the authors developed a system
of scales, which they applied in a clinical manner to the handwrit-
ings of normal and abnormal individuals. The enormous labor
entailed in establishing ratings and taking measurements with
especially devised instruments does not permit of the use of more
than a small part of a given handwriting specimen. It is a question
whether single words can suffice to reveal the "differentiation pat-
tern" of a handwriting.
Rose Wolfson, after participating in the Lewinson-Zubin exper-
iment, applied the scales in an independent approach. In 1949, she
published her Study in Handwriting Analysis,170 which deals with
handwritings of delinquents and nondelinquents. Wolfson ana-
lyzed four lines of each writing specimen, scaling movement ten-
dencies as reflected in twenty-two factors. She found significant
differences between the delinquent and the nondelinquent group.
16
The most important outcome has been that a possible "delinquent
constellation" emi!rges from her work.
Among the most recent contributions is that of Wolff, one of
the contemporary authorities in the field of experimental graphol-
ogy, whose Diagrams of the Unconscious is the result of twenty
years of research and, observatiori.P" This author is endeavoring to
found a so-called experimental depth psychology based on grapho-
logical experiments. He has created a method of his own, based on
intensive study of the signature. He measures the elements of the
signature, seeking to demonstrate an inherent relationship in their
length, position, and form, and proceeds to show that "graphic
movements are not accidental, but a fundamental expression." He
demonstrates that certain qualities in the signature persist through-
out the life of the individual. Wolff's significant contribution lies
in this postulation of the consistency of the graphic pattern. He
has cleared much ground through both his theorizing and his
experimentation. There is, however, some doubt as to how conclu-
sive such measurements of the signature can be, and whether a
signature in itself can actually yield a "diagram of the uncon-
SCI.OUS. "
A still more recent publication is Ulrich Sonnemann's Hand-
writing Analysis.150 This volume is a contribution to clinical
psychology.
The foregoing brief review of the history of graphology has
surveyed the successive efforts that have been made to utilize hand-
writing analysis as a key to personality. The distinctive nature of
the handwriting function, together with the fact that every hand-
writing is unique and never duplicated by another, has led psychol-
ogists to concentrate observation upon it, sensing that it offers
clues to the hidden regions of human nature. These are the regions
of personality that intuition has so often recognized, but, that
psychological science-up. to recent years-has noted so little.
From the nature of the material sought and the techniques and
devices that have been developed so far, it is obvious that it is no
17
easy matter to establish validity and reliability in handwriting
interpretation. But similar difficulties beset all fields of personality
research. Graphology took its start under the spur of "hunches"
and naive "common-sense" explanations. Then came various at-
tempts to make it scientifically convincing through collection and
organization of empirical data. The scientifically minded workers
in the field have endeavored to base theory and method of inter-
pretation upon evidence obtained through controlled observation.
Their striving for satisfactory answers to the intricate problems of
personality has led them constantly to re-examine and revise
widely accepted hypotheses.
Two major challenges confront the graphologist of our day. The
first is the need of verification of so-called laws and principles,
which can be accepted as valid only after they have been checked
and rechecked under the broadest possible control. The second is
the need for development of new devices to further more adequate
research along the lines of modern psychology.
The problems are before us. Many promising leads for future
advances are at hand.
18
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I
PART ONE
Developmental Stages
In Handwriting
I - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

( I )
SCRIBBLING
Children delight in scribbling. They enjoy wielding a pencil and
marking up clean sheets of paper with a jumble of lines. Their
random movements over the paper are the graphic equivalent of
babbling-spontaneous motor play, engaged in for its own sake.
In its swing and speed, in its release of force, the child experiences
what French psychologists call joie du mouvement.
As the child goes on with this play, the random movements soon
fall into a sequence; this sequence of movements is performed in
the child's own individual way. One child may use loose, circling
movements that produce whorls; another may propel the pencil
with a tense and angular motion, producing zigzag strokes. In
some children the movement is free and sweeping, in others it is
restrained. Some make forceful strokes, others exert only slight
pressure, covering the sheet with weak, diffuse strokes.
The given pattern, once found, will be repeated again and again.
It is the child's own, his achievement and acquisition, and he is
filled with pleasure at feeling himself the ruler of his own move-
ments and master of his tools and thus of his environment. It gives
him a new sense of self-and also a new means of expressing self.
Ind~ed, each of his moods and emotions can find its own expres-
sion within the relatively stable pattern of his scribble. Cheerful-
ness expands his line pattern, anxiety constricts it. Sadness reduces
its size and gives the stroke a downward slope. Aggressive feeling
shows itself in increased angularity, and rage in an outburst of
vehement strokes. In figure #2, specimen a records the broad,
springy curve of a good-humored scribbler, specimen b reflects a
21
#2
(a) (b) (c),
burst of dynamic activity, and the angularity of specimen c
represents a release of aggressive feeling,
The by-product of this movement-e-rhe scribble itself-does not
impress the child, who abandons it quickly. To the trained ob-
server, however, it is a visible record of the child's self-expression
-a manner of speaking for himself shaped prior to and independ ,
ently of any teaching. Because of its individual execution, and
because any given child makes all of its scribbles in the same way,
the scribble of one child can readily be distinguished from that of
another.
Repetition is characteristic of every kind of primitive pattern
making. Performing a given movement over and over induces a
pleasurable feeling, because it is a return to something familiar,
which makes for a sense of security. The repetition moreover estab ,
lishes a certain symmetry, which becomes apparent also in the
scribble pattern. The sense of symmetry appears not only in
humans but also in other primates. Paul Schiller, of the Yerkes
laboratory, trained a female chimpanzee named Alpha to scribble
with a pencil on sheets of paper. Alpha was fond of this activity
and showed a remarkable sense of symmetry. When given a sheet
of paper bearing a dot polygon with one dot missing, she would
22
complete the figure. When she was handed a sheet with some fig-
ures already drawn on it, she preferred to scribble in the dear
spaces on the paper. When dots were set in a cluster on one side,
she would draw on the other side, producing a fairly well-defined
symmetrical pattern.
Although psychologists both in the United States!' and abroad'"
have studied scribbling, only graphologists have recognized that
it expresses fundamental personality traits.V Free expression is
curbed while the child is learning to write under school methods
that force him to imitate copybook letters. But once he acquires
ease in writing, there is a return to free expression, and thus the
graphic individuality that marked his scribbles will reappear in his
handwriting.
INTERPRETATION OF SCRIBBLES
The persistence of these early revealed traits Was first observed
some forty years ago by Minna Becker, a German schoolteacher.
Her ingenious interpretations of scribbles were based upon grapho-
logical principles that have since been developed and broadened.
Just as in the analysis of handwriting, the graphic features of
scribbles are examined under the three aspects of movement, form,
and arrangement (p. 124).
The characteristics of the movement are reflected in the stroke."
The latter is judged according to (a) size, i.e., whether the stroke
is long or short; (b) direction, i.e., whether it is drawn from left
to right, from top to bottom, or vice versa; and (c) pressure, i.e.,
whether it is forceful or weak. In addition, there are other, more
subtle qualities of the stroke that are likewise determined by the
dynamics of the movement.V'' We may get a hint of these if we
compare a writer tracing a stroke with a violinist drawing a bow
across the strings of his instrument. Just as each violinist has his
individual, unique way of bowing, which determines the essential
quality and expression of his tone, so each individual has his unique
Jllanner of tracing a stroke. It may be heavy or light, smooth or
23
jerky, full or flat, rigid or flexible, sharp or fuzzy, dark or pale,
tense or slack, etc., according to his specific bodily equipment, his
emotional make-up, and various other attributes of his person-
ality.129
In respect to form, we look to see (a) whether the strokes are
integrated into a whole or into groups, or remain unrelated j (b)
whether the pattern consists of whorls and loops or angles and
zigzags j and (c) whether the pattern is well formed or shapeless,
clear or vague.
In judging the arrangement, our attention focuses on -the man-
ner in which the child uses the available space-whether the pat-
tern is (a) centered or scattered, (b) compact or spread out,
(c) large or small, and (d) whether the page is filled up or barren.
To the criteria of movement, form, and arrangement we may
add that of the over-all aspect, or the general appearance of 'the
scribble-whether it is unified or amorphous, monotonous or
~I~_-'--->-C-:.;~-->,------_.•_-.--_-'-.----.~.__--.'.-:".'::.......-.,."._j
(
!
\
#3
24
varied, original or banal, neat or smeary. The qualities that playa
part in the total impression are interpreted just like the correspond-
ing qualities in handwriting.
Becker'? described the scribble of a boy of four and a half years
(fig. #3). He would begin by bordering the sheet with a neatly
drawn wavy line. Then he would suddenly pounce on the paper,
concentrating heavy lines in a patch. His energetic strokes cut
deep into the paper; his movements were vigorous but controlled.
Thus his first step was to outline or delimit his field of activity;
then he would act impulsively, at the same time concentrating
his energy. Becker relates that he manifested a similar action pat-
tern when he became an adult. His sister, at the age of five and a
half, would spread strokes all over the sheet (fig. #4). These scat-
tered fine strokes were not combined into any definite pattern.
This child grew up into a flighty girl with many talents and
interests, which she was not able to integrate or to cultivate.
1----·--·---"·· - --" "
t
I
I
#4
25
#5 6> q
I -r
~
.' •'~
• 1# •
Figures #5 -8 present specimens from the author's own collection
that point up striking similarities in the graphic expression of a
child and her grandfather. Figure #5 shows the scribble of a girl of
four and a half who belonged to a highly intellectual family.
Figures #6 and #7 show doodles made by her sixty-year-old grand-
father. It is quite unlikely that the child ever saw her grandfather's
production; it was made absent-mindedly while he was engaged in
a telephone conversation in his office, which the child never en-
tered. The resemblance between the child's scribble and the adult's
26
Le.LP:2.t}
~e...'t i.:
~\A.d rLp~5 r
lctrd.S
"B'tu.)(elles
W~~N'
VLNe. ~l~
T, ft.e.NZe
'R 0 \"\'\, ~
doodle is apparent in the similar grouping of strokes, in the analo-
gous proportions of the large and the small patches, in the simila'r
construction of the big patches by means of intersecting straight
lines, and in the tendency of both subjects to use black dots.
That this resemblance is due neither to chance nor to imitation
becomes clear in subsequent scribbles produced by the child (fig.
#8). They consist of intersecting strokes (spec. a) eventually de-
veloped into triangles emphasized by dots (spec. b), or integrated
into complicated, flower-like patterns (spec. c). These configura-
(b)
27
tions show a high degree of mental development in relation to the
girl's age level, for, according to Arnold Gesell,43a child usually
cannot even copy a triangle until it reaches the age of six. Hence
ability at the age of four and a half to construct a triangle spon-
taneously and to mark its angles with dots represents an early
manifestation of abstractive and logical capacity. This suggests
that a child's scribbles may foreshadow special mental traits that
will be characteristic of the fully developed personality.
At about the age of five, scribbling is generally abandoned in
favor of drawing. Having discovered the world around him, the
child begins to draw the objects he sees. lie shows greatest interest
in drawing a man, and, as Karen Machover?" has pointed out, he
assimilates his body image into his drawing.
In his scribbling and his drawing, the child creates and con-
sistently uses his individual movement pattern. In learning to
write, however, he must temporarily suppress his spontaneity. He
is obliged to adapt himself to a symmetry and rhythm that are not
his own. This means a repression, and the urge thus thwarted seeks
another avenue of release. Without realizing why, the child will
underline or adorn letters and words that are emotionally mean-
ingful for him. This stressing is to be interpreted as a regression to
an earlier mode of behavior. Breaking through the constraints of
acquired, conventional symbols, primitive "signs" and images go
down on the paper, or scrawls and curlicues serve to revive the
function of scribbling as an outlet for emotion.
We know that habits of expression formed in early childhood
may persist into adult life, revealing themselves in "symbolic ges-
tures." This is evidence, as Allport has pointed out, that adult
expression is not free of its early ties." The finding applies also to
graphic expression. We have all seen signatures characterized by
odd line elaborations, especially notable because of the contrasting
simplicity of the writer's ordinary script. Such signatures seem
strikingly to recall the scribble patterns of childhood.
How the urge to playful movement that is expressed in scribbles
may persist into adulthood, even In the case of very mature and
28
highly cultivated individuals, is shown in the two signatures re-
produced in figures #9 and #10. These are the autographs of two
men of high professional standing. A more detailed discussion of
the signature as such appears in chapter XVI.
#10
THE RIDDLE OF THE DOODLE
It is not only in the flourish on a signature that the adult seeks
unconscious release by reverting to the scribbling impulse of child-
hood (fig. #11). Another outlet of this kind is doodling-the
scrawling of nonsense pictures by letting the pencil play while
one's attention is elsewhere. However, doodles differ essentially
from children's scribbles in that they are not a direct discharge of
feeling into movement. Rather, they are symbols, like those of
dreams, standing for latent emotional contents or disguised wishes.
Doodles have been described by one psychoanalyst as "fugitives of
the unconscious." In scribbles, the movement is the salient factor;
29
in doodles, the form is the essence.Doodles may be static construc-
tions, such as dots, geometrical figures, simple line patterns, or they
may contain animated forms, such as human faces, animal
shapes, or enigmatic grotesques. Doodles, like dreams, are not easy
to decipher, but it can be done with the help of the doodler him-
self. His associations must provide the clue to the emotional ex-
periences that underlie the masked and fragmentary evidence of
the doodle.
In discussing some specimens of doodles, we shall begin with
those of the intellectual grandfather mentioned above (figs. #6, 7) .
His doodles were made while he was discussing some scientific
project that had no relation whatsoever to an overseas plane trip
he was planning. In figure #6, which is a later specimen, the pattern
has evolved into a design suggesting an early model of a dirigible.
In his childhood, this man had been deeply thrilled by the experi-
ence of riding in a Montgolfier balloon at a fair. In figure #7, a list
of cities appears alongside the doodle pattern. The word "Paris,"
the name of the city he longed above all others to revisit, is formed
and placed in such a way that it plainly takes on a special signifi-
cance. His forthcoming trip was to take him to an opposite part of
the world, but his long-repressed desire to see Paris again found its
unconscious expression in the doodle. It is clear that without the
help of relevant data from the subject's life history, the riddle of
this doodle could hardly have been solved.
There are, however, certain common symbols whose meaning
seems so obvious that they can be interpreted without the help of
the subject's associations. Among such symbols are squares and
other geometrical forms, which seem to indicate ability to handle
complexities. Triangles are indicative of a rationalistic bent of
mind; dots, of tension and concentration; spiderwebs, of expand-
ing associations. Dots marking intersections are seen in the doodles
of individuals who think precisely.
It is more difficult to ferret out the hidden meaning of such
seemingly simple pictures as that in figure #12, which required the
use of psychoanalytic method to reveal its significance. The sub-
30
j
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CD
~
~ I '
~ ~;_ ~~
\j ~ d
L.. CO
<-
()' G 1 j
?
d
~
'::I tI
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~cJ ;'_d
t:D C£)\l d~
C)..J_ ~ ~1'p1 CJ~ C;; ~
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CI
#12
ject, a woman, who had been drawing the same picture for thirty
years, became aware of its emotional content through the process
of free association, and having gained this insight, stopped repeat-
ing the doodle without even becoming aware of having dropped it.
The drawing invariably consisted of one big treble clef followed by
two small ones; by means of a few added strokes, these would be
transformed into a big duck followed by two little ducks. Analysis
uncovered associations pointing to the big duck as the subject's
mother and to the two little ones as her sister and herself-the
one nearer to the mother being the sister. The clef referred to an
emotional experience of the woman's sixth year.
The designs in figures #13 and #14 cannot be fully elucidated,
since the help of the subject has not been available. However, using
symbol interpretations accepted in analysis of dreams and Ror-
schach responses, we can attempt a partial solution. We may safely
deduce a compulsive tendency in figures #13 and #14, from the
repetitive, meticulous application of the checker motif to fill out
an imaginative form. This impression is supported by the fact that
# 13
32
#14
the subject made six doodles of the same kind in the course of an
hour. Similar evidence appears in a fence motif superimposed on
handwriting (fig. #15). The doodles here discussed were shown to
a large number of persons, who, with one exception, all said that
the image in figure #13 looks like a male animal and that in
figure #14 like a snake. A snake is most frequently interpreted as a
phallic symbol. In other cases, as in the plastic creations produced
by children in the course of play therapy, a snake may stand for
overbearing parents or siblings.F!
# 15
33
#16
'. v.JJ,
. _:_. __ A:.... •. .
. ~/~'kf')_le_tM_f ...
Some years ago Henry Brandon " collected doodles made by
some noted diplomats while attending an international conference.
Eventually he asked Wolff to analyze these "diagrams of the un-
conscious." The motif in figure #16, Wolff says,
is the continuously repeated picture of a snake .... Although the
snake is a traditional symbol of danger and aggression, the
broad, resting posture of this snake is suggestive of a swan's
curved neck. It reflects a desire to be friendly and relaxed. It is
interesting to note that the author writes on the reverse side of
his sheet the words "conciliatory" and "not retreat." He seems
to be reminding himself to be conciliatory but not to back
down.
Figure #17)~shows a doodle made by a negotiator at a conference
'Courtesy of Joost A. M. Meerlow, M.D.
34
between representatives of an influential labor union and officials
of a large manufacturing corporation. It was shown to a psycho-
analyst, who, though unwilling to analyze the personality on the
basis of such partial evidence, discussed a few obvious inferences.
He felt that the doodle had been made by a man reacting "in the
context of a changing situation." He pointed out that at times the
doodler was quite unaware of what he was doing, while at others
his full attention was concentrated on his drawing. He added that
#17
the subject was using the drawings as an outlet-"projecting his
hostilities through his pencil, as it were." The man seemed to have
"the feeling of being overpowered ... caught in a maze .... His
consciously drawn figures show aggression, suspicion, hostility, and
menace. Normal reactions for a man who thinks himself lost in a
labyrinth. ''''
* Business Week, Mar. 11, 1950.
35
Knowing little about the drawing in figure #18 except that it was
made by a woman writer, we can nevertheless recognize that it has
a highly emotional quality, while the structure of the book pile,
precariously balanced on pin-point feet, plainly reveals instability.
# 18
DOODLES AND PSYCHOTHERAPY
Some analytical psychologists, especially C. G. Jung and his fol-
lowers, make extensive use of doodles as an aid to insight. Anja
Mendelsohn has published a set of doodles that illustrate the suc-
cessive stages of recovery in a case of compulsive neurosis.l'f The
patient, a forty-year-old professor, was reluctant when first asked
to produce doodles and drawings, but soon became accustomed to
the idea and scribbled spontaneously. His first doodles were made
at the very beginning of treatment. At this time he drew mainly
straight lines bunched together, or single lines that he then crossed
through, as if to nullify what he had done (fig. #19). This pattern
36
# 19
~,\\
·"'···'···l···))I; ....·.·~~:I~
11 ~ ,(~1\~~~~I~~t
recalls the fence motif in figure #15. Mendelsohn concluded that the
pattern expressed the patient's opposition to his environment and
also his self-destructive feelings. At later stages in his treatment,
the fence motif predominated, signifying the barrier of compul-
sive ideas that was imprisoning him. Subsequent drawings became
more lively. Spirals whirled in the fence as the patient's thoughts
spun around (fig. #20a). At a still later stage, the pattern expanded
and the fence disappeared (spec. b). At this point the subject
began to use colored pencils and shaped the individual spirals into
flowers, hearts, etc. When asked what he was thinking about while
drawing circles, he replied that he associated them with women's
breasts.
37
#20 (aJ (bJ
The last of the numerous "psycho grams" was drawn just before
treatment was terminated. It shows a quite different, well-con-
ceived Gestalt (fig. #21). The circles have disappeared and the
familiar fence pattern is transformed into upswinging lines drawn
in red and blue that suggest a Gothic cathedral window. Mendel-
sohn applies the Jungian interpretation of colors here: red stands
for love of life, freedom from compulsions (as the feeling func-
tion is symbolized, according to Jung, by red) ; blue means libera-
tion of the mind from compulsion (blue standing for the thinking
function). The graphic production as a whole is interpreted as the
creative projection of an integrated personality.
To regard doodles as projections of repressed emotions and
thoughts, and to seek out their meaning through graphological
interpretation, seems reasonable. The procedure conforms with
other accepted analytical techniques. But the student of graphol-
ogy must be cautioned that doodles have multidetermined mean-
ings, and can be interpreted only in the light of the associative
38
content. As yet we do not have sufficient objective data to check
the validity of our findings. In view of the need of accumulating
an adequate body of observations, the study of scribbles and
doodles might well be made a special angle of graphological
research.
#21
39
( I I
LEARNING TO WRITE
A child's scribble has no deliberate design. It is not intended
to represent any specific thing. Hence there is no concern with
position or direction, and the scribble as such can be viewed from
any angle. In the scribbling movement, however, the child shows
well-defined directional trends. The large majority of children
trace their vertical strokes downward; they make horizon tal
strokes from left to right, and circular strokes in a clockwise
direction. A mixed trend, or a tendency to work in the reverse
directions, may serve as an early indication of left-handedness or
of some other deviation in laterality and orientation.
As' the child advances in age, scribbling is superseded by draw-
ing. The product of the four- or five-year-old takes on form and
intentional meaning. The child finds his greatest challenge in
drawing a man. He makes the figure on the paper right side up;
upside down or lateral representation is rare. Significantly enough,
such drawings usually show no differentiation of details. A child
of four or five years has "global" perception-i.e., he sees a thing
as an over-all unity, a Gestalt, and he is as yet unable to fixate
parts while maintaining his grasp of the whole.i"
Educators like Montessori and Decroly realized that teaching
methods must take into consideration the "enveloping" perception
of the preschool child. They taught children of only four or five
to write words as wholes before ever learning about letters. The
child would copy the configuration of a word without knowing
about its parts, the single letters." He perceived the word as a
unit pattern and drew it as a picture. Although this method
proved effective, it won no followers.
40
Today, standard practice the world over is to postpone the teach-
ing of writing until the child is at least six years old. Yet many
children manifest interest in writing at an earlier age than this;
they draw oscillating strokes, making believe that they are writ-
ing. The more alert ones try to print their names, copying the
letters from book pages, display headlines, etc. Indeed, name
writing marks a developmental stage. Gertrude Hildreth'" found
that if a child of six can write his name, he will be found also to
have reached a level of mental maturity adequate for his age
(figs. #22, #32, #26). Both of the specimens in figure #22 reflect
such development; yet even at a glance we can see in the writing
of young Franklin D. Roosevelt (spec. a) an accuracy of con-
struction that is quite precocious. This child is remarkably dear
about what he is doing, and the sample demonstrates his ability
at an age between six and seven to recall a form and to reproduce
it exactly. It is to be noted that in the precisely shaped P, the
Ih.WM
(a)
r
rRAN K LJ N
(b)
#22
41
horizontal bars extending from the vertical letter stem form almost
perfect right angles.
ASSOCIA nON OF SPEAKING, READING, WRITING
When the child enters school, his fundamental understanding
of language is essentially complete. He speaks in relatively correct
sentences. However, this ability to communicate certain thoughts
and denote states of being has been acquired in a rather haphazard
way, while reading and writing demand more systematic learning
-although both will be conditioned by the previously developed
ability to use language. The basis of the entire process of reading
and writing, as well as speaking, is nothing more than the as-
sociating of conditioned symbols. To the child, the sight of a par-
ticular round object means the anticipated pleasure of play. After
further appropriate conditioning, the spoken word "ball" comes
to have the same significance. This association is then extended to
a specific sequence of four conventional symbols, the characters
b-a-l-l. Thus associative conditioning is the route by which the
child learns to speak, read, and write a language.
In the first year of learning, the two relatively new acquisitions
of reading and writing are as a rule still not fully associated with
the more familiar function of speech. Thus the first-grade child
reads the printed word with no understanding, in a monotonous,
dull voice. It is the same with his writing; he just traces letters,
without taking in the sense of the word. It is a help to his under-
standing, however, to utter the word while writing it, because in
this way he sees, hears, and writes it simultaneously.
EYE-HAND CONTROL
Everyone has noticed the unsteady or cramped movements of
very young children as they propel the pencil over the paper in
trying to copy a letter of the alphabet. Only gradually does a
child acquire enough eye-hand control to trace the strokes prop-
42
erly and to copy a model accurately.t! In this effort the swing
earlier displayed in scribbling is lost. The child must now con-
centrate his attention on the letter form, following its outline with
his eyes while tracing it with his hand. Often his whole head
participates in following the contours. Through practice, he later
becomes able to detach himself from the model at intervals, bring-
ing his eyes back to the paper and focusing on the writing itself.
When this eye-hand interdependence becomes less imperative, he
does. not look at each letter separately, but covers two or more
letters in one fixation span, and ultimately a group of letters
or a whole word.
The most pressing problem in teaching a child to write is to
make the process simple and easy for him. Many an adult re-
members his penmanship lessons as an ordeal of boredom and
discomfort. He reveals the frustrations of his childhood in his
embarrassment on having to allow his handwriting to be seen. He
will take an apologetic attitude and try to explain why his writing
at some moment or other is not as "nice" as he would like it to be
--owing to the handicap of a poor pen, or of having written in a
hurry, or in a subway train, etc.
The modern approach is to let the child begin writing with
letter forms known as printscript. This "simple script" was intro-
duced in Great Britain by Gladys Hardwick, although it is less
used there than in the United States. It appeals to the child be-
cause of its simple forms, which are the same as those he deals
with in reading. Each letter is pieced together stroke by stroke,
most of the strokes being straight, and traced downward. This is
helpful, since a downward stroke, which bends the fingers toward
the body, is the easiest to make in writing. The upward stroke,
made by stretching the fingers, imposes more strain. This sig-
nificant distinction between the two kinds of finger movement
arises from differences in the development of motor functions:
in the human infant, the ability to contract the muscles for grip-
ping or grasping appears long before the ability to extend the
muscles in order to stretch the fingers.
43
When the child gains some facility in writmg, the movements
once set off proceed almost automatically. From that point on, it
is possible for him to withdraw his attention in part from the
motor act, centering it on the verbalization of his thoughts. At
this stage of maturation, he is occupied with writing in tenus
of its social function, communication. The visual, auditory, and
motor functions involved in speaking, reading, and writing are
now fully co-ordinated and work intimately together. Gradually
this association grows so close that reading, writing, and speaking
become interchangeable, and a subvocal talking or "silent speech"
develops. This process is identified by many behaviorists with
thinking.
THE WRITING MODEL
It may be in place here to point out that although printscript
is very useful in the initial stages of learning to read and write,
no child should be taught to use this type of letter exclusively;
at a later stage, a transition from print characters to cursive writ-
ing is desirable. Printscript is made up of detached letters built
by means of choppy strokes. Because the writer is confined to a
#23
44
sequence of short, abrupt motions, he cannot drive the pen at
full speed across the paper; the frequent interruptions, the stops
and starts, waste both time and energy. Conversely, tracing letters
in one sweep, slurring them together within the word, gives the
movement continuous momentum and carries the pen from one
letter to the next. Even a child who at the outset learns to write
a printscript hand (fig. #23) tends, as his speed and skill increase,
to transform it into a running or cursive hand (fig. #24). The
word cursive is derived from the Latin currere, "to run," and was
already in use (Latin cursivus) as early as the first century A.D.,
to denote the speedy and fluent hand used by Romans for routine
purposes.
Printscript has recently been introduced into most of the private
and some of the public schools in this country. For cursive writing
many schools use the Palmer system, which makes for a version of
the "business hand" developed in American commercial schools.
Figure #25 reproduces a sample of Palmer copybook writing. This
system advocates a "muscle moving" mode of writing, and the
teaching method stresses drill by means of stereotyped exercises
performed with the forearm. The student is directed to use only
his arm and hand down to the wrist, and is rebuked if he uses
the finger muscles. It is expected that the advantages of this kind
#24
~ ... ein ~",p.J-
So ~ f"4"OJ...'~ I.e. Udx.
~.,u. .J., ~ ~~.!J
"1' ~ ""t ~
45
C1eegcy~~J
ft ?C'L?l( '?( o:ff .:2--t:{
_J_r-1( 1r 11-Z 'f- J
a/-? C/ £_.e/--IjI-_/{", -t/?~
_L~ /n/ o-? cr:_.v ~ -d/_b_,I--«/
/V-"'-w-'/Z/7?- / ~ .3 ~.5~ 7.Pfo
#25
of penmanship are two. In the first place, as mad~ with relaxed
fingers, it avoids cramping. In the second place the rolling move-
ment of the arm upon the muscle pad of the forearm produces
firmness and evenness of tracing. But this system of teaching does
not take into account that arm movement is a gross motor ac-
tivity while handwriting is a highly developed skill and, as such,
demands the modulation of general gross movements to specific
fine movements. Therefore fluency and excellence of writing.can-
not be achieved without the adaptive use of our fingers.
Another particular feature of the Palmer script is its lack of
shading, i.e., downstrokes and upstrokes are traced with equal
pressure. Shading results from regular alternation of intensity in
writing pressure, corresponding with changes in muscular tension
and release during the act of writing. This interplay is the founda-
tion of a natural, flowing writing movement that does not tire
the writer. '
Palmer writing is also slowed down by superfluous additions-
pothooks, hangers, and certain initial and terminal adjustments.
46
Sudden changes of direction-as in the capital I-break the flow
of the writing movement by a prescribed full stop. The ideal in
cursive writing is continuity of movement and streamlined forms
dispensing with those ornaments which hamper fluency and in-
dividual rhythm.
ANALYZING CHILDREN'S HANDWRITING
It is a popular notion that a child's handwriting cannot be
analyzed, because it does not represent a free expression of per-
sonality. Nevertheless, analysis of child handwriting is possible,
though not by the procedure employed in that of adults. We must
take the school-model letters as a base, and the deviations from
this standard as the criteria of evaluation. Ability to copy model
letters is expected of the average child. Obviously, when he ac-
quires some degree of skill, he will no longer slavishly follow these
models. As his speed increases, conscious design and regularity be-
gin to break down. In the course of trial and error, modifications
are made; simplifications and elaborations, additions and omissions
occur. The writing pattern of each child embodies a unique com-
bination of such deviations from the standard letter forms, and
this gives a clue as to the direction of development of his in-
dividual graphic expression.
The degree and quality of these deviations in any given case-
whether they are above or below expectation-serve not only as
an index of the developmental stage the child has reached in
writing. They may also be informative in regard to his motor
co-ordination, emotional balance, mental growth, language attain-
ment, etc.
The deviations in a given handwriting specimen become much
more revealing when studied comparatively. This means examin-
ing a child's handwriting side by side with specimens produced
by other children of his group-his school classmates, for example.
In such comparisons, differences in maturity and intelligence can
readily be recognized.P?
47
The letter forms reveal, in each case, what degree of visual
form perception is present. Perceptive intelligence comprises many
factors. One is the capacity for pattern vision, i.e., the child's
ability, on looking at a thing, to get an over-all image of it. A
second factor is visual acuity, i.e., the capacity to distinguish small
objects or forms and the separations between them. In writing,
this means the capacity to differentiate, in a block of letters, the
single letter forms and the spaces between them. A further de-
terminant is discrimination of brightness, the capacity by which
the child recognizes the difference between figure and ground-
i.e., filled-up and blank space-and the difference between light
and dark strokes, and thin and thick strokes. An all-important
element of perceptive intelligence is recall, which enables the child
to recognize the letters and the pattern he sees, and also to bring
them back to mind when they are not before him. Finally, there
is the factor of capacity for attention, which focuses all the other
capacities on the task, so that the child can perceive wholes and
their details, discriminate between the qualities of these, and re-
member and reproduce the form he sees. He becomes able to copy
letters, then words: he learns to write.
The samples of children's handwritings shown in figures #26-
#30 all represent an exercise in copying one model, written on the
blackboard in the first-grade classroom in a public school. Fred,
the writer of the specimen shown in figure #26, manifests very
Fred #26
WQ·We.h+· +0
Ahrl {l_ x-I,
48
clear perception. Putting dots between the words is his deviation
from the model. It emphasizes his understanding of the separate-
ness of the words and demonstrates his recognition in a definite
way to others. This deviation indicates well-developed mental
faculties and social maturity. The copy produced by Allan (fig.
#27) reveals that the functions of eye and hand are not yet suf-
ficiently co-ordinated; the child can see what the letter should look
like, but cannot draw it accordingly (as indicated by the n m
"Annex"). N or does he always catch the word units (as seen in
"W ewent").
A( I #27Q
W ewe \1 t fo
A If'll f'!€x \
The handwriting of Sandra (fig. #28) IS disorganized. The
deviations are qualitatively below expectation. The child does not
understand the structure of the letters and how the parts are
fitted together (as revealed in the x); the letters are dispro-
portionate in size and overlap between lines. The girl who pro-
#28
49
#29
duced the bizarre pattern seen in figure #29 shows a manual skill
beyond her age; at the same time, a severe aberration appears.
Paying no attention to the model, the child presents an inappro-
priate, mannered pattern consisting of a few stereotypes that
correspond in no wise with the common letter forms. In this per-
formance there is a suggestion of schizophrenic behavior. The
teacher, however, rejected this interpretation of the girl's hand-
writing, saying that she was a model child-always quiet, never
talking or creating a disturbance.
Figure #30 shows another kind of variation. Here there is indi-
cation of perceptive intelligence but likewise of lack of organiza-
tion and concentration (seen in the omission of "to the," the
extra-large space between "we" and "went," and the running
together of "Annex" and "1"). But the striking feature of this
specimen is the pictorial supplementation. Apparently the child
felt the inadequacy of his writing performance and tried to com-
pensate with a picture illustrating the content of the graphic
communication.
50
#30
REVERSALS AND LEFT-HANDEDNESS
Other deviations pointed up by the comparative procedure may
reveal difficulties in word recognition, even in children with rather
good perception. Such children tend to change the order of letters
or syllables in a word, or to reverse letter forms-e.g., to mix up
their printscript P's and q's, or their d's and b's. Figure #31a illu-
strates such reversal in the case of an intelligent boy of eleven,
#31 (a)
51
/
1 '~M~f ~ II
OT ~nmY (~.
#31(b)
who had difficulties in reading and writing. Fig. #31b shows the
letter u upside down. Most investigators agree that this shows an
inclination to left-handedness.s'' or confusion in left-and-righr'"
or up-and-down orientation.I" There may be a preferential use
not only of the left hand but also of the left eye62, 109 and leg.83 In
general, these children need outside help and special training in
reading and writing, in order to overcome their difficulties with-
out suffering too much setback,117though some will of their own
initiative hit upon a way of adjusting to the conventional mode
of performance.
An illustrative instance is the following. The two best writers
among the second-grade pupils in a convent school were Veronica
and Dennis. Veronica (figure #32 a) was right-handed. Dennis
was left-handed-but he wrote with both hands, using two
pencils. He had found this two-handed movement useful even
when he was still only at the scribbling stage. In writing, he
worked on the left half of the page with his left hand, and on the
right half with his right hand. The slant of a letter shows which
hand was used in making it (fig. #32 b).
It is easy to understand that efficiency in writing depends to a
great extent also upon a special aptitude known as motor intelli-
gence. There are children who attain the necessary degree of
ease and co-ordination later than others. Even teen-agers may
show inferior motor development. Such a child will contract and
move his tongue, head, and trunk as he traces a letter. The entire
body participates in what should be an exclusively manual per-
52
(b) #32
formance. According to developmental standards, a child by the
time he is eight years old should be using only those muscle groups
which are especially trained for the skilled movement of writing.
A criterion of great value for detecting differences among
children is the writing speed they acquire. Although writing
speed increases with practice, the development of speed is de-
termined and governed by the basic disposition of the writer, i.e.,
his personal pace (p. 240): the person who responds quickly by
virtue of physiological speed, responds especially fast in the specific
manual movements in which he has been trained. The author's
experience in her study of identical twins confirms this assump-
tion. In such pairs the two partners were found to have almost
equal rates of speed in writing57-actually to within a fraction
of a second--even though in many cases one of them was handi-
capped by left-handedness. S5 An individual's characteristic tempo,
whether it is quick and decisive or slow and sluggish, is manifested
early. The investigation brought out the fact that the child who
53
•
shows superior speed in the first grade will be a fast writer as an
adult.
Inferior motor development does not necessarily imply mental
retardation. Figure #33 presents the handwriting of a very in-
telligent child with marked scholastic ambition. Although there
is good performance in the structuring of letters and the forming
of words, the tracing of the stroke (as in "talk") shows poor
co-ordination. Any expression of motor inadequacy appearing in
a child's handwriting should be followed up by observation over
several years, since it may indicate an incipient disorder, or cast
light on inadequately recognized difficulties arising from delayed
or defective development of language function.
STUTTERING
The stutterer's handwriting reflects his defective somatic and
psychic adaptability.:" In such a child, almost any stressful situa-
tion will induce immediate heightening of tension, often followed
by total blockage of the intended acrivity ." How this dysfunction
manifests itself in handwriting, and how the graphological find-
ings can be put to practical therapeutic use,146is explained in
chapter XI.
54
#34
In figure #34, the straggling word shows the unco-ordinated,
broken strokes of a seven-year-old stutterer of normal intelligence.
His manual skill is quite adequate in other activities. Figure #35
#35
evidences the writing disorder of a twelve-year-old girl stutterer.
The writing is not only ungainly and confused, it also reflects
defective articulation (as in "tetter" for "letter," the omission of
the; in "finish," etc.), Figure #36 presents the improved hand-
writing of this child after treatment for her speech defect; the
script is neat and clear, and misspellings are fewer. That her co-
ordination is still disturbed can be seen in the tremulous and
broken connecting strokes between letters, indicating points at
55
I
which she was temporarily stuck (as between the rand t and the
hand d in "Birthday," and between the t and m and the e and I
III "Westmoreland").'~
THE UNGAINLY HAND
Despite all educational effort, there is always a small percentage
of children whose handwritings are untidy, deficient, ungainly
by any judgment. Teachers and graphologists are basically in dis-
agreement about this problem. Teachers, relying on the value of
formal training, attempt to correct a displeasing hand by means
of forced practice. Graphologists claim that coercive exercises
never produce successful results and may even do harm.
Poor penmanship-and the ugly handwriting is merely an ex-
treme instance of this-is not necessarily a serious economic
handicap in our typewriter-minded world. But we must not over-
look its possible symptomatic significance. It may indicate an
emotional maladjustment, neurotic negativism, or a developmental
disorder. A disturbed handwriting always calls for special attention,
often for a study of the social background of the child, as well
as physical and psychological examinations, supplemented by a
graphological profile. In the author's own work, such procedures
• Specimens courtesy Deso Weiss, M.D.
56
I
have in many cases led to the uncovering of underlying emotional
conflicts and thereby to improvement. The range of problems that
may appear in such situations is suggested in the following outline
histories.
A boy of ten, who showed good intelligence and remarkable
skill in drawing, had a handwriting that was literally an offense
to the eye. His letters were distorted and badly proportioned, the
strokes were jerky and overran the lines; odd little pictures were
scrawled in his margins. Despite suggestions offered as a means to
improving his handwriting, he did not change. In school he also
acted as the class clown and was a disciplinary problem.
We invited the boy to come to the handwriting research labora-
tory, asking him to help us with some drawings. He came gladly,
and drew what we requested. Asked to label his drawing, he pro-
duced a rather attractive and ornate heading. We repeated the
experiment, and while the boy was drawing we used a mirror to
observe his behavior and facial expressions. Once we caught a look
of great emotion. He had just finished one of his odd little pic-
tures, a Mickey Mouse driving a car, when he suddenly stopped
short, stared at the paper, and then wrote in tiny letters at the
bottom of the page, "Why did I do it?" But he instantly pulled
himself together and wrote his own answer, smacking of his usual
clownishness: "Because the sky is green and the lawn is blue."
To get at just what that meant, we probed into the boy's family
life, and at the same time analyzed his handwriting in its con-
secutive stages back through the years. We discovered that
originally he had had a fairly pleasing hand, which changed sud-
denly for the worse. We learned that the boy was living with
his father, but only making visits to his mother, who had separated
from the father and remarried. Each parent would question the
child about things occurring in the home of the other. Not wish-
ing to turn informer, because of previous unpleasant experiences
in conveying information, the boy began to act in a silly and
clownish way. By this behavior he was trying to posture as too
childish and irresponsible to be able to report or even 'notice any-
57
thing. But once he slipped: he told something that was damaging
to his mother. Ensuing repercussions made him feel guilty and
unhappy. We established the fact that the change in his hand-
writing set in at that time.
It was clear that the situation called for a change of environ-
ment for the child. With the aid of the school medical advisor,
we magnified the importance of a minor lung ailment and per-
suaded the parents to send the boy to Switzerland for his health.
He stayed there for a year. As he regained his emotional balance,
his handwriting improved.
A girl of eight had an ungainly hand that was steadily be-
coming worse. An indignant teacher made the child write a hun-
dred times, "I will improve my handwriting." This did not help,
of course; actually the chief trouble, lack of co-ordination, be-
came more marked. The teacher misconstrued the girl's behavior
as a form of aggression. Wherl we examined the writing, we
promptly suggested a neuropsychiatric examination. This resulted
in a diagnosis of chorea, a serious nervous disorder, the unco-
ordinated writing being One of Its symptoms .. The little patient
58
underwent treatment and returned to school after six months of
rest. Her handwriting became more normal, but the doctor ad-
vised the teacher not to overtax the child with writing.
Figure #37 shows the laborious writing of a boy who was
clinically classified as schizophrenic, The characteristics of this
monotonous, crowded handwriting, with its stereotypic letters,
fall into what is called the schizophrenic pattern. In figure #29
we have a similar pattern produced by a first-grade child, and
figures #59 and #326 show s~<;hwriting patterns in an adolescent
and in an adult.
•
59
I I I
HANDWRITING IN
PUBERTY AND ADOLESCENCE
Handwriting develops steadily during the primary-school
period. The child generally acquires sufficient facility and pre-
cision to write a firm and controlled hand, at a pace that suits
his ability and temperament. Individual differences in display of
force and speed, in neatness, and in aesthetic organization of the
pattern, become more and more apparent. An orderly and tidy-
minded child strives to write as "nicely" as possible, and this slows
his speed. But he feels compensated for the curb on his natural
pace by the merit of his performance (fig. #38). Another child,
•
•
being less careful, will write as fast as possible; he is unwilling to
brake the rush of his ideas, though his hand cannot keep up with
it. Thus he moves over the page with haste, producing somewhat
distorted, clipped letter forms. The indolent or lazy or less able
child will give a poorer performance, marked by inaccurate,
sloppy, or incomplete letters even when he is writing at a slow
pace (fig. #39).
The process of development toward graphic individuality varies
in different children, though it must be recognized that, for all
60
their differences, all handwritings of children up to the age of
puberty bear the common stamp of school-imposed forms. As de-
velopment proceeds, the fairly well-balanced handwriting of the
prepubescent undergoes marked changes. It is normal to find a
picture of temporary confusion at about the twelfth year. The
script becomes less pleasing and less regular. It grows labile both
in slant and in shading, and shows extravagance and looseness in
regard to loops and stems, which may encroach upon the writing
line above or the one below. Some writings at this stage are
splotched and smeary in spite of all of the teacher's emphasis on
neatness.
These flaws foreshadow the developmental stage of puberty and
also the personality changes brought about by this process. At
puberty, when sex characteristics develop and the organism reaches
a mote adult stage, new needs arise. Erotic urges become more and
more pronounced and often conflict with environmental !e-
straints; this leads to emotional tension and aggressive impulses.
GRAPHIC REFLECTION OF CONFLICTS
The conflicts arising from the child's attempts at adjustment
are reflected in his handwriting. There are certain graphic peculi- ,
arities that are of symptomatic significance. Youngsters brimming
over with vigor, and unable to control themselves, write with
sudden bursts of pressure. We find preposterous exaggeration in
size, as an attempt to compensate crushed self-esteem. There may
61
#40
----- ._ -.--.-.--~--
be fluctuations in slant, or an extreme backward slant, concealing
and at the same time revealing inner insecurity, exaggerated emo-
tional responses, or defiance or withdrawal (chapter X).
Figure #40, showing the handwriting of an English boy at the
height of the puberty crisis, presents a composite picture of all
the disorders noted above. Strokes of great tension and aggressive
expression, exaggeration in size, and a fluctuating slant, all add
up to an expression of the writer's problem-the conflict between
a growing sense of independence and the weight of parental
62
#41
authority. The boy is in rebellion against family restraints. In the
reduced size of the salutation ("Dear Grandpa") and the over-
emphasis of his signature, he minimizes the standing of his grand-
father and accentuates his own importance. This self-enlargement
in order to overcome inferiority feelings is literally underlined in
the slight, sparing stroke under the salutation and the sweeping,
forceful line under "Peter."
The boy's handwriting at a later date attests the degree of
emotional balance he had by then attained (fig. #41). It is easy to
recognize the difference between the two scripts. The change lies
63
not only in the size and organization of the pattern and in the
quality of the stroke; it appears above all in the emotional expres-
sion of the writing. The narcissistic attitude displayed in the
earlier hand has disappeared; adjustment and some subdued
frustration are apparent, while aggressiveness has given way to
sensuous warmth (p. 265). Despite the differences, however, the
two specimens have certain basic qualities in common. Both reflect
superior intelligence, most obviously in the integrated and original
formation of certain words (as the "not" in both scripts).
These specimens serve to show that the exaggerations and dis-
tortions found in the writing pattern of the pubescent are
temporary manifestations. They must be regarded as expectable
symptoms of normal processes of change.
EXPERIMENTAL AND STATISTICAL STUDIES
In order to obtain precise data as to how the changes of puberty
and maturation affect writing development, the Institute for
Handwriting Research of Budapest in 1931 instituted an eight-
year research project, under government auspices.f ' More than
two thousand normal school children, ranging in age from ten
to eighteen years, were tested, the majority of them twice a year
for eight years. Several hundred maladjusted children, such as
left-handers, stutterers, and deaf-mutes, as well as children of
known asocial behavior, were also studied for comparison.P
THE GRAPHODYNE
The tests were centered particularly on the factors of speed,
pressure, and continuity, and the measurements were obtained
by use of a newly devised instrumen't called the graphodyne.I?
This apparatus (fig. #42) is so constructed that it affords a me-
chanical transmission of writing pressure from a movable stylus
to a recording device, by means of two tambours. The stylus con-
sists of a metal tube, slightly heavier than a fountain pen, con-
taining a lever. A pencil lead is affixed to the shorter end of the
64
#42
lever, and one tambour is attached to the longer end. While the
subject is writing, the variations in his writing pressure affect the
air-filled tambour. These pressure changes are transmitted through
an air hose and a second tambour to an ink writer arranged to
inscribe a tracing on a paper tape moving at a uniform rate of
speed. The tracing thus obtained shows the time consumed and
the intensity of the pressure exerted in the writing movement.
The time factor is represented by the horizontal co-ordinate
(abscissa), whose length in millimeters, converted to seconds,
shows the time consumed in the writing. The height of the vertical
co-ordinate (ordinate) at any given point, converted to grams,
shows the intensity of the writing pressure at that point (figs.
#43, #44).
#43
65
Thus the tracings afford quantitative and qualitative measure-
ments of the dynamic components of the writing movement, such
as pressure and speed, interruptions of flow, and variations of
emphasis, all of which are constituent parts of the supposedly
intangible phenomenon labeled rhythm. The findings thus far
obtained with the use of the graphodyne have quite justified Jean
d'Udine's definition of rhythm as "the result of the relationship
between the phenomenon of duration and the phenomenon of
intensity."
I
\}~r0-
~~u~~~'!I_f=i'\J~
#44
In the graphodyne tracing shown in figure #44, we can analyze
the four units of the pattern that correspond to the four words
of the phrase "United States of America" as follows: The first
word was written without a break, the two final crests showing
the pressure exerted and the time consumed in making the i dot
and the t bar respectively. In the second unit the first broad crest
is the result of the movement that produced the letter S; the points
at which the curve falls to the base indicate the breaks in the
flow of movement, and the tall crest at the end represents the
coupled t bars. The "of" was produced by a single, uninterrupted
movement. The fourth unit records the writing of the word
"America," which was done with two major breaks in the move-
ment, the last crest representing the i dot.
The data accumulated in this investigation were subjected to
statistical analysis. This afforded a basis for the establishment of
a scale for comparing any child's writing performance with the
norms for its age and sex.
66
._
I
DEVELOPMENTAL SEX DIFFERENCES
In regard to sex differences, it was found that speed and pres-
sure are respectively about equal in boys and girls around the
age of eleven. With the termination of childhood, however, the
average girl writes more quickly than the average boy. Qualitative
differences in neatness and aesthetic aspect are pronounced, and
girls were found to surpass boys of the same age in attaining a
mature handwriting. This fully accords with the known fact that
physiological maturation, with respect to both sexual and skeletal
development, sets in and is completed earlier in girls than in boys.
In general, girls mature about two years earlier than boys. It
may be pointed out in passing that this fact is not sufficiently
taken into account in co-educational school policies, though it
Writing Speed of Thirteen-year-old Boys and Girls
150
40
30 .M
V ¥<,
;/~ \ ..............<,
10 - -,V ~ I"---+ ~ 6 7 e 9 10 II 6CC
Min. Max. Mean St'd. Dev.
133 Boys -- 3.70 sec 11.30 sec 7.50 sec 1.66 sec
140 Girls -- 4.10 sec 10.90 sec 7.00 sec 1.05 sec
#45
67
•
I
is at the root of many of those difficulties arIsmg in the course
of further development which are popularly laid at the door of
mother fixation, etc.
The investigation showed that sex differences in speed and
pressure are greatest at the time of onset of puberty, which gen-
erally occurs at thirteen in girls and at fourteen or later in boys
(fig. #45). The difference in handwriting development found at
this time reflects the difference in rate of sociosexual maturation
as between the sexes. As adolescence proceeds, the difference
gradually diminishes, and at about the age of eighteen there are
no longer any significant differences in speed and pressure between
the two groups (fig. #46).
Writing Speed of Eighteen-year-old Boys and Girls
!So
!.
Mil
30
1/ ~
~ 'r\ I
[~
II/ \\
10
/
2. 3 4- 5 6 7 8.-:.
Min. Max. Mean St'd. Dev.
183 Boys -- 3.40 sec 6.74 sec 4.94 sec 0.90 sec
136 Girls -- 2.52 sec 6.40 sec 4.70 sec 0.98 sec
#46
68
DIAGNOSTIC VALUE OF GRAPHIC INDICES
Educators and others concerned with the guidance of children
ought to realize that the changes that appear in handwriting
during pubescence are highly informative. They indicate whether
the child is passing through the pubertal period smoothly or with
some ups and downs, and whether the process is gradual or precipi-
tate, normally timed or retarded.
Figure #47 presents two specimens of the writing of a normal
boy, produced six months apart; the more fluent and integrated
quality of specimen b reflects a normally timed maturation.
69
Figure #48 shows the handwriting of, a twelve-year-old boy
with a medical diagnosis of obesity and retardation of genital
development. After six weeks of glandular therapy, definite evi-
dence of pubertal changes appeared. Handwriting specimens were
obtained both prior to and after the first six weeks of medication.
The pretreatment script (spec. a) is neat, slanted to the right, and
fairly conformable to school norms. An observer trained to esti-
mate writing speed will easily discern slowness in this performance.
As evidence, the outlines of the 1 loops are tremulous; there are
large gaps between words, indicating that there is no flow in the
writing, and similarly no flow in the train of thought; the motion
is particularly slow at the ends of words. The writing pressure is
heavy, although within the standard limits for the boy's age level.
All told, this is the hand of a school child, submissive, careful,
concentrating on penmanship rather than on fluent communica-
tion of thought.
After the six weeks of treatment, the boy had lost seventeen
pounds, pubic hair had appeared, and the genitals had developed
to a fairly normal size. Specimen b was written after these changes
had occurred. The most obvious changes in the writing may be
pointed out as follows: The pen is now driven at full speed, with
medium pressure; the rhythmic alternation of thick and thin
strokes indicates smooth writing movement. The formerly tremu-
lous outlines of the loops have become firm, and the letters, which
70
#48(b)
formerly slanted rightward, are now upright. This uprightness
is an expression of control and independence (p. 192). In forming
his letters, the boy deviates from copybook standards-he omits
details, leaves loops unfinished, gives them exaggerated size: the
writing has become a casual, spontaneous, and expressive longhand.
Thus the boy's development in handwriting during the six-week
period of treatment kept pace with the precipitate maturation
of both his body and his personality."
A contrast to this story of retarded pubescence is offered in
the plight of a fourteen-year-old school boy who experienced a
rather sudden pubertal development. One of the best students
in his class, with a high LQ., he wrote clever compositions and
had a fast and fluent handwriting. Although his letters were
clearly formed and purposefully simplified, they were childlike
in quality. When after a three months' summer vacation he re-
turned to school for the new term, his first homework composition
drew from his teacher the accusation that it had been written by
his father. Despite the boy's protestations, the teacher remained
incredulous, since the handwriting as well as the contents of the
paper were as mature as those of an adult. A test of the boy's
handwriting on the blackboard finally convinced the teacher that
a sudden change had indeed taken place both in the handwriting
and in the personality of the pupil.
• Case history and specimens, courtesy Max A. Goldzieher, M.D.
71
Disturbed handwritings may reflect functional disorders
accompanying the process of maturation. The physiological pro-
cess of pubescence depends primarily on the maturation and func-
tioning of the endocrine glands. The interrelations of the glandular
system are highly involved; hence a variety of factors contribute
to the onset and completion of puberty. The response of the body
as a whole, and especially of the central nervous system, to
hormonal influences, must also be considered. In view of the enor-
mous complexity of the processes involved, it is not surprising
that physical, emotional, and intellectual maturation may not keep
pace with one another.
Certain definite kinds of graphic irregularities and defects are
specific indices of the imbalances of the pubertal period. Uneven
pressure produces inappropriate swoops and swells (fig. #49).
#49
Lack of firm control causes the stroke to skid. When the move-
ment deviates from its intended direction while shaping a letter,
it creates jerky, tremulous, or broken forms, e.g., a crooked or '
o/'7/'m~/ d -_/.!
....I ~J :£,. .r~ 7>P
# 50
twirled loop in an t (fig. #50), or a lopsided, twisted, or broken
stem in a t (fig. #51). Changes in direction induced by inhibition
block the nib of the pen as it moves over the paper; the writer's
effort to overcome this blockage causes the pen to scratch and
spatter ink. When the free flow of the movement is temporarily
halted and the hand weighs heavily down on the pen point, a
72
black spot may result. Such spots, called nodules, appear as the
graphic expression of emotional disturbance; they may also indi-
cate circulatory, menstrual, or other disorders.
The bizarre handwriting shown in figure #50 is that of a
sensitive, introspective girl whose menstrual periods began at the
early age of ten and a half. Her emotional and mental growth
lagged behind her precocious physiological development, She was
harassed by feelings of obviously sexual origin, which she could
neither understand nor fully control. She was attending a convent
school, and tried to rise above the conflicts through religious de-
votion. The repression of her impulses led to inner tension, guilt
feelings, and anxiety. Her handwriting shows elongated, over-
shooting, twirled loops (h, l, g), with the upstroke covering the
downstroke. \'Vhere the bend of the stem forms the head of the
# 51
loop, there is a nodule. These loop anomalies pantomime the
constriction and inhibition of the girl's movements, arising from
anxiety and defensive passivity. The graphic gesture reveals an
attempt to conceal something of which the writer is ashamed.
It has been pointed out above that the various graphic peculiari-
ties and defects associated with pubertal development are not ab-
13
normal. They are pathological symptoms only when they persist
late into or beyond adolescence (figs. #127, #297).
WRITING PRESSURE IN ADOLESCENCE
The investigation referred to above yielded some rather im-
portant observations concerning the variability of writing pressure
in adolescence. Pressure phenomena are difficult to judge by eye;
hence it was necessary to develop a procedure that would afford
a more accurate estimate. It was primarily to meet this need that
the graphodyne was devised. Measurements made with the help of
this instrument disclosed that as children advance in age, their
writing pressure shows a progressive decline, which finally levels
off with the onset of puberty. This level is maintained through
the adolescent years, except for a short crisis period, in which a
remarkable break suddenly occurs. Pressure drops to an un-
precedented low; within less than a year, however, it jumps back
to the writer's former level. This postpubertal phenomenon occurs
abruptly in boys at some point around the seventeenth year. The
graph in fig. #52 shows measurements of three adolescents. The
disturbance is less pronounced in girls, and seems to set in earlier.
# 52 oza.
14 _,I.
A Y'
12. \
B
10 )..-_ '\ •l
\ I
\
8 c. /.. '\\ , \ I-r,
6 , ,<\:' I
\
\ I, ,/
4
IS 16' 17 Ie YeA"
74
It is particularly to be noted that this extraordinary drop in the
intensity of pressure is a unique phenomenon in the writing life
of the normal individual. Such a low point is never again reached.
It would seem that a lessening of tension occurs at about the time
when a generally relaxed behavior pattern replaces the high-strung
reactions of puberty.
It is logical here to ask what is going on in the writing subject
during such a sudden breakdown of pressure. Does it mean a
temporary slackening of vital energy, or only a reduction of
tension owing to the fact that he has come to a less critical, more
relaxed acceptance of life? Could statistical analyses perhaps
furnish clues to a correlation between this temporary state and
the incidence of nihilistic moods, accidents, or attempts at suicide?
Freedom, abandon, and release from tension appear in the script
reproduced in figure #53. It is the handwriting of a healthy,
extraverted adolescent,. a highschool student, who still lacks nhe
balance and control of a fully matured personality. The four
handwritings shown in figures #54-#57 are those of other healthy
-». # 53
~L::_L~~
75
~-f&-~~~~
~4>'t- ~ f~ "'I~-
~~~,W~
#54
adolescents, in this case college students. The writer in figure #54
was an alert, clever boy, quick of temper and slightly lacking in
maturity. The script of figure #55 was penned by an intellectually
mature, soft-spoken, very cautious boy, who was totally unin-
terested in athletics. Figure #56 shows the writing of a girl of
~ti~~~~
#55 ~ t- h/~: 7'--4cnt', hr,
~4~, ~. h·/It w
sixteen, brought up in a typical Southern milieu; she loves music,
and her graphic expression reflects inner harmony and good ad-
justment to her environment. The script in figure #57 is that of a
girl who was popular in her circle, and interested in boys; she
settled conflicts by "smiling pretty."
#56
76
w i~ Cl>/of2-5 hhJ1~ i/n ~c;.~
~~'r~ Je-T)() sf'~~'i '
d() VJ'Is l.V::>fGt; s
GRAPHIC INDICES OF BEHAVIOR DISORDERS
Figures #58 and #59 present handwritings of emotionally dis-
turbed adolescents, The script reproduced in figure #58 shows
compulsive features. From the report of a clinical psychologist, it
was learned that the subject had developed a system of defense
manifested in contractive gestures; he was relinquishing his elbow-
room. Anxiety was reducing his initiative, causing him to shrink
within himself and to lose interest in the environment. These
states of feeling are clearly reflected in his graphic expression. He
confines his writing to one third of the page. He jams letters
within the words, and his strokes overlie each other, particularly
in the n's. His capital I-the representative of the ego (p. 163)-
approximates a closed circle. This formation suggests the uni-
versally known symbol of a magic circle used to ward off outward
evil. Its repetitive-compulsive use stands for a ritualistic gesture
()~~~
~~~~
# ~~.58
()~~/~
~J~~~' ,
f)~~~~
Q._ A;t ~~~~
77
(p. 327). In the same way, the space limitation the boy imposes
upon himself reflects his introversive shrinking from the outer
environment and even from his own inner self."
Organic immaturity may also be a factor in adolescent behavior
disorders. The boy of seventeen and a half who produced the
specimen shown in figure #59 has registered infantilism and a
#59
bizarre mannerism designed to help him to save face and to resist
anything that would assail his own routine. Although he was of
average intelligence, his school record was poor. He was utterly
lacking in ambition, his main concern being to find an easy way
of getting along andro evade environmental demands. Persisting
infantile self-love prevented empathy and emotional growth, de-
prived him of the competitiveness and initiative of the normal
adolescent, and hindered him in developing normal heterosexual
interests.
Figures #60-#62 present the handwritings of three juvenile de-
linquents." The first boy (fig. #60) committed murder; the
second (fig. #61) went to prison for petty larceny, and had also
tried his hand at safecracking. The third (fig. #62), a weakling
and male prostitute, had run the gamut of asocial behavior. These
three specimens, obtained in the course of a penmanship drill in
• Courtesy Rose Wolfson, Ph.D.
78
#60
#61
a reformatory school, show the inability of the writers to follow
instructions and conform to norms. Their personal impulses and
compulsive images intrude upon and break down the conventional
. symbols. It does not take too much ideographic imagination to
see the ferocious gesture in the lower part of the capital S in figure
#60, or the image of a jimmy in figure #61, or the contortions of
a spineless body in figure #62.
79
I V
PERSONAL STYLE
Writing is a learned performance. For all its range of vari-
ability, its basic forms are imposed upon the writer. After he ac-
quires a degree of manipulative skill, he refashions these forms
in his own individual way. They begin to carry an expression of
the style that characterizes everything he feels, says, and does.
The style is the man, as the saying goes.
When can handwriting be deemed to have a style? And how
much of this style, once developed, is the writer's own? How much
of it is his uniquely contrived mode of expression, and how much
of it has been taken over from a model? We know that the advent
of puberty gives special impetus to individualization and brings
with it a tendency to break away from standard forms. Writing
style therefore develops in step with maturation and after ado-
lescence tends to become personally distinctive.
In writing, there are fundamentally two ways of deviating from
the common modeP43-by simplification, or by elaboration (fig.
#63). Simplification favors economy of time and motion by dis-
~
#63
~
f Y
SIMPLI FlCATION ELABORATION
80
#64
carding of the unessential (fig. #64). It may go so far as to strip
the letter to the skeleton, making it clear-cut and precise, or
approaching an extreme of bareness or carelessness. Elaboration
adds something to the plain form and garnishes it (fig. #65);
the writing then takes on a rich and ample or too ornate or com-
plicated characrer.?!
Aside from these fundamental ways of varying the model, the
writer may encompass a larger or smaller amount of space in
shaping his letters; this results correspondingly in ample or in lean
.. #65
81
forms. The simple yet ample letters of Alexis Carrel (fig. #66)
reflect the way in which this writer's literary style is designed to
put in simple terms the difficult and abstruse subject matter with
which he deals. Figure #67 reproduces the signature of Robert
Koch, pioneer "microbe hunter." His handwriting is lean and
almost stripped.
#66 #67
THE LINEAR AND THE PICTORIAL PATTERN
In looking at handwritings, we can generally discern two types
of pattern making-the linear or functional, and the pictorial or
spatial. The linear pattern carries the movement of the writ-
ing with little concern for form. Straight lines and angles pre-
dominate; loops and ovals are extremely lean. The down- and
upstrokes inscribe a simple pattern, so~etimes almost like the
tracing in a cardiogram (figs. #68, #284). The pictorial pattern,
on the other hand, allows for the play of forms (figs. #69, #286).
Generally, simplification and lean letters associate with the linear
pattern, while elaborate and ample shapes consort with the pic-
torial pattern. This leads to the question as to which type of person
produces the one or the other kind of writing pattern.
Studies of psychological types confirm the observation that the
linear or graphlike pattern marks the motor-minded person, who
82
=:
c:::CfI) - )--fa.- u- jk~Iw:.~·
Q; ~) ~ CL Au.,le_ I C4L,'r/--'
#69
is moved less by visual than by kinesthetic experiences. Such in-
dividuals react to the "inner rhythm" of structure and process.
They tend to abstract thinking, and have a preference for non-
objective modes of expression.
The pictorial pattern is associated with the visual-minded per-
son, who perceives the world predominantly through the medium
of form. His mental processes tend to produce concrete images
supported by what is known as photographic memory. This type
of individual is likely to be dependent upon the stimulation of
visible. form, and will surround himself with pictures and art
#70
objects. In. his handwriting, there is definite emphasis on the
design of letters, tending often to picture-like elaboration.
Another finding is that individuals who ornament their hand-
writing have a liking for the "trimmings" of life. They are at-
tracted by embellishments, by showy, pretentious things. Some
carry elaboration of details to such a point that the core of the
letter form is smothered or lost (fig. #70). There are people for
83
v.:hom there is no cake without 0 0 0
his writing with adornment dlclnhgosuch a person will clutter
0 rs, an t e superfl it f d
comp 1exity and confusion (fis- #71), ui Y 0 etail creates
~~(1t-~~~ ~\~~ ~
cJl~~-~~~
#71
FI,gHuere w#h7o2 lrivepesrodsuimceply and Pfur posefully wrr'tes a simple hand
biiography of Alvin Johsnspoart 0 aid' manuscript page of the auto- '
n, preSl ent, emeritus of the New S h I
#72 c 00
84
for Social Research. On the other hand, simplification down to the
naked core reveals a dry, ascetic nature (fig. #64). Oversimplifica-
tion, carried to the point of omitting essentials, shows a fanatic
focusing of attention upon impersonal interests, to the exclusion
of everything else. An example in point is the signature of Joseph
Goebbels (fig. #73) ; here the letters r, 0, e, and s are reduced to
#73
vertical strokes, and upper loops are entirely discarded-all this
revealing extreme tension and stubbornness of conviction.
An illegible, heedless script may be the expression of a careless
or sloppy person, or of one to whom life means nothing. Figure
#74 shows the handwriting of a young man who, although en-
dowed with a vigorous body and a good mind, gives little concern
o D .....
#74
to his profession, and cares even less about his personal safety. He
never becomes "serious" about girls. A reckless driver, he per-
sistently flirts with death. This small, lax handwriting, with its
half-completed forms, in association with the well-known devil-
may-care attitudes of the writer, may be connected with a disinte-
gration of personality and depressive moods.
Elaboration or simplification, ampleness or leanness, and linear
or spatial patterning are basic criteria of graphic expression. It is
necessary to ascertain whether the resort to the one or the other
85
is genuine or artificial. There are no qualities so highly rated by
graphologists as naturalness and unpretentiousness in writing.
THE SPONTANEOUS AND THE ARTIFICIAL HAND
A formally stylized hand, regardless of its possible artistic
appeal, is deficient in those aspects of individual expression which
for the graphologist supply the key to personality. An artificial
style may stem either from a desire to devise an aesthetic or
sophisticated form of self-representation, or from an effort to
imitate the handwriting pattern of some person of importance.
Thus it may stand simply for a pretense. It may be, on the other
hand, a mask used to cover up the natural mode of expression.
The use of some impersonal, socially sanctioned pattern may be-
come so fixed that it is difficult to determine whether the lack of
spontaneity is due to formalistic emulation or to an attempt at
disguise.
We find artificial handwritings among victims of educational
systems designed to conform personality to rigid molds: such
scripts are impersonal and mechanical. A stilted formal style was
developed and taught for many years in various church schools
and military academies under the old Austro-Hungarian empire
and in Germany (fig. #75). Crepieux-jarnin coined the term
#75
"Sacre Coeur handwriting'F'' to denote a certain mannered,
angular style of feminine handwriting taught in French convent
schools (fig. #76). A similar artificial style of writing taught in
"ladies' seminaries" in this country was derived, according to Os-
born.!" from a pattern once favored in Great Britain and also
used by many women in Canada. Although it was not taught in
public schools in the United States, thousands of women imitated
86
#76
it, consciously or unconsciously, because it was considered fashion-
able. In Europe especially a style of this kind, labeled "aristocratic,"
has long been distinctively the "society hand." Apparently there
are people all over the world who try to possess themselves of a
writing pattern that is believed to be the hallmark of a social class
higher than their own. But the attempt to acquire a style that is
not one's own invariably results in a lifeless combination of out-
lines that lacks the distinctive elan of a natural hand. Such arti-
facts do not mislead the graphologist, for the real features of the
writer always show through the mask (fig. #77).
"/-LL'1l-9S "~/....eu_Ld- L.I. 1<0 'fo
.~ ~ \1 ~Ld_~~ •
#77
There are few personalities strong enough to maintain a style
of life peculiar to themselves alone. Most persons feel secure only
when they are following -a general trend in attitudes and man-
ners, and wearing the styles of hats and neckties that all others
wear. To break away from the pattern of one's group, to be
somewhat different, to follow one's own bent, to write one's own
hand-this calls for the courage of an independent mind and
some creative potential, i.e., originality. At the same time, a per-
sonal style may grow out of an interplay of imitative and creative
forces. These interact to build up special expressive attitudes that,
taken together, we call personal style.
87
(Courtesy of Wildenstein & Co., New York)
88
-
/: ",.,., .,/;-; '"~,_.." . ~.,
• .", -II' ~ ,- ~~ .,,~ •
/I.' ,~~~I , ~~ ",
~
...-.~ II _ I, _ 1''' / .•. '" , I '
4'• ~ Zf •'.1 ." .. "" " ..
89
-
CONSISTENCY IN PERSONAL STYLE
It is a most impressive observation that the same personal
style appears consistently in all the aspects of an individual's
activity-the manner of expression that is seen in his handwriting
is found likewise in his speech, his gestures and his gait, his
thoughts and his creative work." In a study entitled Handschrift
und Zeichnung, Max Seeliger reproduces side by side the hand-
writings and the drawings of many of the great artists of all
times, and shows how the art product and the script are in each
case consistent in style of expression.l'" One of the most significant
demonstrations of this phenomenon of consistency in personal
style was carried out by Arnheim.i Specimens of the handwritings
of Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Raphael, bearing no
identification, were submitted to a group of judges who knew the
works of these artists but had never seen their script. The subjects
were asked to match the handwritings to the personalities they
belonged to. Their pairings turned out correct to the extent of
about 84 per cent, as against the statistical expectancy of 33 per
cent.
Plate I and II similarly demonstrate the relationship between
script and art product. Plate I shows side by side a detail from the
painting Poplars at Giverny by the French impressionist Claude
Monet, and his writing. The technique of his unconnected, loose
brushstrokes corresponds strikingly with his disjointed, "impres-
sionistic" script. Plate II juxtaposes the handwriting of a con-
temporary sculptor, Jacques Lipchitz, with one of his characteristic
sculptures. The same type of curves are evident in both, in
striking fashion. ,
INFLUENCES OF TIME AND PLACE
It is a truism that no matter how independent or individualistic
a man may be, he is marked by his epoch, by the collective culture
of his time and place. As we turn from one historical period to
90
(Courtesy of Curt Valentin Gallery, New York)
91
another, we see how personal styles are conformed to prevailing
cultural patterns. For instance, the contrast between the Ro-
manesque and the Renaissance spirit is exemplified in the difference
between the handwriting of the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa
(fig. #78) and that of Ludovico Ariosto (fig. #79).
)Inl)}~\~R\~~)~\~,~~\\\lI\\~~tit
#78
In addition to the broad influence of the cultural epoch, there
are other general factors that make for stylistic qualities. Just as a
national flavor marks gait and voice, speech and gesture among
the people of a given nation, so national characteristics appear also
in writing style. The differences between the emotional expressive-
ness of Latins, the rigid, disciplined behavior of Germans, and
the traditional restraint of Englishmen, are universally recognized.
We find corroboration of these differences in examining the school
copybooks of the respective nations or ethnic groups.
The systems of writing taught in France, Italy, and Spain, for
example, as well as in Great Britain and the United States, are
based upon rounded letter shapes and curved connections. Pref-
erence is given to rightward slant, sweeping strokes, and extended
92
t bars, all of which are indicative of a free outflow of emotional
expression. In Germany until quite recently an angular style pre-
vailed in the teaching of writing. This style demands a strictly
regulated way of writing, with rigid upstrokes and downstrokes
meeting in angles (fig. #181). This necessitates an abrupt stop
at the point of the angle, which requires precision and control.
The difference between the two types of writing action is best
appreciated in actually carrying out the movements of each. Thus
we shall easily experience the contrast between the free sweep of
the one and the goose-step motion of the other.
The difference is well illustrated in the handwritings of two
men of similar occupation representing respectively the divergent
national backgrounds here under discussion. Figure #80 represents
the handwriting of Ferruccio Busoni, the pianist-composer, who
#81
94
#82
was of Italian extraction, and figure #81 that of his contemporary,
Max Reger, a German-born composer and conductor; both speci-
mens are written in German. Figure #82 shows the handwriting
of the French dramatist and actor, Sacha Guitry. A contrast to
~., """"-_4 -'_.,~ , #83
these three specimens is offered in the handwriting of a British
officer (fig. #83). This script mirrors self-assurance and the tradi-
tional Anglo-Saxon restraint; it shows unmistakably the socially
ingrained control of gesture that is such an essential feature of
the behavior pattern of an Englishman.
THE AMERICAN HAND
Although the people of the United States and of Great Britain
communicate in the same language, it may be asked whether there
95
is a difference between their respective handwritings. The answer
is that the cultural patterns of the two countries are so unlike
that they result in different styles of life and thereby also in
different expressive patterns.v'?
The first observation that results from examination of a large
number of American handwritings is that they show no con-
sistent common style. Possibly this is due to the mixture of trends
that frequently subsists in personal life in America. Margaret
Mead'" points out that in the lives 'of the majority of Americans
two contrasting patterns are operative-the one to which they are
bred at home, and the one they acquire at school and in the out-
side world. In some cases, the contrast springs from a juxtaposition
of cultures-American ways side by side with Polish, Italian, Irish,
or other racial or parochial mores. However, the explanation is
to be sought not only in the effects of this composite cultural
orientation, but in the influences of regional and socio-economic
factors as well. Unevenness in handwriting style is especially
marked when the writer has received his primary training in pen-
manship abroad, on the basis of a different language and a different
type of schooling, or when he has been obliged, at an adult age,
to adapt his hand to an American system such as Palmer writing
or printscript.I'"
In European countries students are compelled to accept one
standard way of writing. In the United States, however, a greater
degree of freedom and diversity prevails, and various writing
systems are in use. Americans, unlike Europeans, are even per-
mitted to write with either hand. Yet, even though there are no
rigid traditions compelling Americans to adopt a standard writing
pattern, the motive of group emulation or imitation tends to make
them write more or less alike. In the same way that conformist
patterns operate in consumer, college, and political behavior, so
do they put their seal on handwriting. Hence, while American
writing is informal, it is not very individualistic. And Europeans,
curiously enough, while they begin with uniform standards, tend
in greater degree toward individualization.
96
The question as to what distinguishes American handwriting
might be answered thus: We can discover what is truly American
by studying what is English, French, Italian, German, etc. In
this way we shall find' out what is not American, and the dif-
ferences will become apparent: We shall see that American hand-
writings do have distinctive characteristics, and shall be able to
define certain features and an over-all pattern that anybody will
recognize as American.
Figures #84 and #85 will serve excellently to illustrate the
relevant points. To European eyes, these specimens would look like
the scripts of young persons; actually, they were penned by men
in their late thirties, each highly trained in his profession. These
handwritings are free of the self-conscious checks and balances
that characterize British scripts produced by individuals of com-
parable education. Here we have unrestrained movement and
uninhibited use of space. This reflects a conspicuously American
outlook-a sense of living in an unlimited environment, a world
in which there is room to move freely and be oneself. The con-
ventional letter shapes point to relative lack of sophistication.
97
It is even more difficult to single out a salient type or types in
the handwritings of American women. Among professional women
of high achievement we find scripts that at first glance appear
quite unassuming or conventional, though nearer inspection dis-
closes the superior traits that give the clue to the success of the
#86
writers (fig. #86). Others seem to strive for a free, unrestrained,
and individual hand, though the effect is often merely pre-
tentious (fig. #87).
#87 7~ ~ f-:
IUU hrk - t/L(J /
98
Figure #88 presents what might be called a type example of a
"nice" feminine American hand. It is that of a very young college
girl, an excellent student who likes to have her own way, and
this way seems to be a very straight and efficient one. Although
the letter shapes conform to the Palmer system, she has managed
to strip away all the accessories that hamper speed and fluency.
The slender, rounded forms, good spacing, and rhythmic articula-
tion within the writing line, make for an impression of clarity
and balance. On the other hand, closer scrutiny shows that al-
though the spaces between the letters are large, the letter forms
themselves are narrow: thus a contradiction appears, because the
wide interspaces indicate free self-assertion, while the narrowness
of the letters implies caution and restraint (p. 157). This very
combination, however, highlights the make-up of that type of
American girl who displays initiative and effectiveness in her out-
ward activities, but is inhibited in emotional expression.
PROFESSIONAL AND VOCATIONAL PATTERNS
Another influence bearing upon handwritings is that of the
patterns prevailing in professional and vocational groups. For in-
stance, a bookkeeper's writing has to be especially neat, small, and
distinct. The conditions of his profession impose a prescribed and
99
~~~~!
:l'-- ~ ~ ~ t?-?-.c ..1."'7 ~ tJZ
~.e-- n~. tL.. .;.r~utt ....,~ ~ ~ ~
~ ....-: ......... -.-L~. ./- - -" - - "1,... ~ •• ~ ~ .,";0, I «~
#..' __._~ )/'~;._ ~ h.,u.d ... ,...-aL. ~
~ ---;. "t., .4//~ ...A£; ~ - ~
-v- ~ u...,~-tb J~.
#89
very conscious mode of dealing with the shapes of letters and
numerals. However, the equally precise and exceedingly small
handwritings of mathematicians and physicists present an entirely
different picture. Their scripts, though essentially simple, are
usually highly individualized (fig. #89).
1U1h. ~ tl frd! ~tJf1Ih H-
.ft!JtrJt!4 tiL ~fWpmxL tt!t !I -
~~~~~~tIxp
fJt!l1Jttmm(z1.~) mmdt!t 7~ 'Tlt:/1!
11~ it. t'rt& 1JI{JI~dIL
#90
100
Where the professional or vocational pursuit becomes a domi-
nant life interest, this absorption may impress itself upon the
graphic pattern of the devotee (p. 318). Figure #90 shows the
handwriting of a professor of archaeology who spent fifty years
of his life studying ancient inscriptions carved in stone. His script
suggests an archaeological. relic; it might have been produced with
a chisel rather than with a fountain pen. Figure #91 reproduces
the handwriting of an eminent scholar of Oriental languages.
The homogeneous expression conceals the fact that this specimen
is actually written in two languages and represents two different
writing systems. The upper part is in German, though rounded
letter forms are used; the lower part is in Arabic. It is the unifying
personal style of the writer that at first glance holds our attention,
so that the differences' in character between the two passages are
realized only upon closer inspection.
#91
101
." ....ri."'.... ., CDa;;;. //7;)
#92
102
The extraordinary script shown in figure #92 is a supreme
example of a handwriting in which all personal gesture is fused
in the motifs of the art upon which the creative imagination of
the writer is concentrated. It is the hand of a famous Russian
choreographer. In this unique stylization, we have a writing move-
ment that actually schematizes the pattern configurations of a
ballet. The essence of this script is form. In contrast to this, figure
#93 presents a dancer's handwriting that acts out the living move-
ment of the ballet. This is the signature of Anna Pavlova, who
brought fixed choreographic forms to life in an unforgettable
personal expression. The same creative personal quality appears in
the writing style. The intense concentration of the start, the bold
attack, the perfect equilibrium of form and movement, and the
artistic unity of the configuration, reveal the body dynamics that
determined both the dancing style and the graphic projection. In
this hand we have a notable example of consistency of personal
style in the different expressive movements of an individual.
-#9-3-
•
103

PART TWO
Analysis
and Interpretation
of Handwriting

v .)
THE STUDENTSHIP
Up to this point we have been dealing with the phenomenon
of handwriting in its successive developmental stages. Before
entering upon a detailed survey of the various features of hand-
writing, it may be well to consider the endowment and training
needed by the man or woman who undertakes to use the grapho-
logical technique in the study of personality.
The practice of graphology relies 'on principles and general ex-
periences that are an integral part of psychology; it also avails
itself of insights gained through clinical and psychoanalytic
approaches and through biosocial studies. To appreciate the con-
tributions in all these fields, and to integrate them in a discipline
of his own, the graphologist must have, by way of general equip-
ment, the gift of empathy-the capacity for identifying oneself
with others-as well as a specific grounding in psychology. This
implies something more than having read about psychodynamics
and using the complex terminology of the advanced psychological
sciences without real orientation and understanding. Hence a
student should be encouraged to specialize in handwriting re-
search only after he has had some years of graduate study in
general and abnormal psychology, education, or social work.
The special scope of graphology also necessitates, as part of a
balanced preparation, some knowledge of physiological psychology,
particularly an adequate comprehension of the neuromuscular'
mechanisms underlying the act of writing. It must be stressed that
writing is no subordinate, peripherally conditioned activity, but
a complex integration of processes directed by the most highly
107
developed brain centers.!'? In the words of Preyer, one of the pio-
neers of scientific graphology, "handwriting is brain writing."126
It is easy to understand that handwriting interpretation must
rest upon knowledge of human individuals in both their biological
and their psychological make-up, seen against the background of
the social and cultural milieus in which they have their being. A
qualified graphologist, therefore, is a well-rounded individual,
acquainted with all strata of existence and aware of the full sweep
of life. His educational orientation must be as broad as possible,
to assure understanding of a wide range of people.
It is an unfortunate fact that graphology does not yet have in
the United States the backing that it has in the European tradi-
tion, and that this country offers relatively little opportunity
either for introductory study or for advanced work in this field.
It is only within recent years that some progressive colleges have
taken the pioneer step of including courses in graphology in their
curricula. Until quite lately, besides, few standard books on the
subject had been published in English. It is therefore not sur-
prising that most of the practitioners of graphology in this country
have been forced to acquire such training and experience as they
have mostly through self-directed effort.
Nevertheless, many of these autodidacts feel quite confident of
their ability to "read character from handwriting," for all their
lack of formal graphological training and of the nec;essary prepa-
ration in psychology. They rely on two assets-intuition and
"experience," i.e., certain broad assumptions built upon highly
generalized precedents.
INTUITIVE PERCEPTION
By concentrating on handwritings, one can develop the natural
faculty, possessed in some measure by every person, for under-
standing graphic expression. One can also refine intuitive sensitive-
ness to such a degree that one may hit upon disclosures that go
beyond those to be obtained by psychometric and other rigidly
108
controlled and standardized procedures. For some practrtioners
of graphology, this intuitive ability suffices for equipment. They
feel no need of objective principles by which to check subjective
perceptions and to clarify their vague and hit-or-miss impressions.
At the best, gross blunders inevitably result.
To help to clear up some general misconceptions as to the role
and value of intuition in graphology, it may be useful to describe
a set of experiments conducted by Herbert Theiss at the Psycho-
logical Institute of the University of Berlin.P" Groups of children,
as well as of adolescents and adults, were shown an array of
handwriting specimens. They were asked to give their impressions
of the dominant character traits of the writers-whether they
thought the writer in any given instance quick or slow, neat or
sloppy, friendly or ill-tempered, etc. Seventy per cent of the
judgments hit upon the actual characteristics of the respective
writers. Moreover, it appeared that the children of about the age
of ten were especially perceptive; in older groups, the judgments
became less accurate. In the appraisals made by children of pubertal·
age there was a decided drop, as against the younger groups, and
the poorest performance was that of the adults. The tentative
conclusion was that genuine intuition comes most fully into play
in that age period in which logical thinking and critical sense are
still dormant. As soon as such intellectual functioning becomes
more active-which occurs as a rule after puberty-the free
acceptance of intuitive perception tends to be blocked.
This experiment also showed the limitations of intuitive
response. The judgments were greatly influenced by fluctuations
of mood, by feelings of liking or dislike. It became apparent that
even the subjects who attained the highest scores in judging the
handwritings had days when their empathy did not work, or
when they had no luck in "feeling into" a particular handwriting,
though they did have empathy in judging some other.
It follows from the facts just described that intuitive under-
standing of graphic expression is not an unusual but a rather com-
mon faculty. However, it is overestimated by most untrained
109
graphologists, who allow it to play a too dominant role. Some of
them exploit this ability as a means of impressing their friends;
others commercialize their intuitive aptitude, winning reputations
as clairvoyants, and securing a popular following among the
gullible.
EMPIRICAL GENERALIZA nONS
The other asset on which the untrained graphologist relies is
so-called experience--expediently used rough precedents, by aid
of which he gropes for correspondences between the traits of
broadly known personality types and the features of the hand-
writings they produce. Individual observation; together with the
assumptions to be found in certain outdated books, can be used
to put together a system of "signs." According to such a system,
each isolated graphic trait, each single flourish or hook, is supposed
to have a definite meaning, standing invariably for a certain
character trait. This harks back to the piecemeal "sign reading"
of the early days of graphology. Many of these assumed corre-
spondences, as Downey points out, "appear to have little more
basis than the sympathetic analogies of homeopathic magic."
Modern graphology moreover has established the principle that
only those empirical interpretations which accord with sound
psychological principles merit recognition.
There are, nevertheless, practitioners of graphology whose work
is based entirely on a kind of crude empiricism. The data they
compile are organized as in an index system, which they use in a
mechanical way. An extreme instance of this is when the client
is handed a printed chart that bears some heading as: "Outstand-
ing traits are checked according to YOUR handwriting." On such a
chart, "clusters" of "signs" are numerically keyed to composite
little thumbnail analyses designed to make each client feel that the
information he is receiving applies uniquely to himself.. The con-
tent of these ready-made character readings is about as precise
as follows: "Your natural aggressiveness can be your greatest
asset IF combined with tact."
110
So much then for the abuses of intuition and for the prop
of mechanized experience. Nevertheless, it is necessary to keep in
mind that intuitive insight and keen observation, linked with a
resultant accumulation of experience, have been the stepping stones
of graphology.
THE SPECIMEN COLLECTION
To acquire preliminary experience, the student of graphology
should begin by collecting handwritings. He should have a stock
of specimens at hand, in order to be able readily to examine and
compare different scripts. At the outset he may make use of all
available letters, business documents, signatures, school notebooks,
diaries, envelope addresses, etc. It is irrelevant whether the writer
of a given specimen is well known to him or not, or whether
the hand is that of a celebrity or an unknown.
As a collection grows, its specimens must be differentiated and
grouped. The scripts should be classified in two' ways. They should
be ordered first according to the personal and social character-
istics of the writers. There may be as many subdivisions here as
the material warrants-c-as by age (differentiating the handwritings
of children, adolescents, and adults), educational level, occupa-
tion. Other groupings might be made under such headings as
vocational interests, special talents, marked behavior patterns,
social or emotional maladjustments, states of health, etc. The
second major classification of the specimens should be set up
according to the graphic characteristics distinguishing one hand-
, writing from another, such as size, slant, connective forms, con-
spicuous letter shapes, etc.
Handling and systematic classification of handwritings will,
first of all, sharpen the uninitiated eye. Just as a student of biology
on first using a microscope does not perceive in a specimen those
differentiating features which he sees clearly after he has had a
certain amount of training, so a beginner in graphology needs time
to learn to perceive and distinguish significant details.
111
But even the most careful' and thorough study will cover no
more than across section of the vast array of possible varieties
in handwriting. Each script presents something new, something
not previously encountered. The question arises constantly: What
produces all this variety? The answer is suggested by Osborn in
the following commentary: "It is like the mysterious variation in
human personality, which by a slight differentiation in features,
proportions, size, individualizes the millions of the human family.
Look at the vast crowd, similar and yet all different."!"
As he gains in experience, the student will learn to distinguish
the more common variables from others more rarely encountered.
He must evaluate each for what it is, and avoid accepting such
conventional differentiations as "normal" and "abnormal." Rather,
he must try to find the answer to the question as to how such a
feature developed, and why the given writer uses it more than
another, so that it has become characterizing for him.
There are no absolute standards of normality. We find a wide
range of variability in the individual features of handwriting,
but the differences are only a matter of degree. Ultimately, any
given graphic feature can be correctly judged only when viewed
as part of the intricate architecture of the pattern to which it
belongs.
112
( V I
MATERIAL AND PROCEDURE
To get a good picture of the facts confronting him in a script,
the graphologist must have an original specimen as the material
of his analysis. Photostatic copies should never be used.
THE MATERIAL
It is desirable to have at least two full pages of the subject's
writing, together with his signature. Additional samples produced
under varying circumstances, as well as an envelope address, are
useful, since scrutiny of different specimens of the same hand
may safeguard against erroneous judgments arising from the fact
that a given specimen may have been conditioned by an atypical
writing situation. It is known that self-consciousness, or tension
affecting a subject in a test situation, changes the expression and
possibly also the mode of writing. Therefore a specimen written
especially for the purpose of having it analyzed is not suitable.
Furthermore, personality is continually in process of change.
Personality grows, matures, develops, and ages. It may also be
subjected to experiences so catalytic or so traumatic that their
effect is immediately reflected in the handwriting. Figure #94"
shows two specimens of the handwriting of a German woman of
seventy-two. Specimen a was written when she was admitted to a
hospital suffering from hunger edema. Specimen b was produced
after she had had medical treatment and--even more important-
• Courtesy Herbert Peter.
113 •
(a)
(b) #94
r;'~~vV/~~~~
~,k~/N/~~
~/~~~~A~
after she had received a CARE package bringing her some ade-
quate nourishment.
The content of a handwriting sample should not be dictated or
copied, nor should it consist of any kind of memorized material,
such as a slogan or a poem. It must be a spontaneous composition,
a genuine expression of the writer's own thought and feeling. Of
course there are persons who will pen some high-sounding stuff
meant to impress or fool the graphologist, or who attempt to
change their style of writing for no other reason than to try to
find out whether the graphologist is astute enough to see through
their maneuvers. But these tricks do no harm, since they are in-
stantly detectable.
In order to rule out disturbing influences, the graphologist
should train himself not to read, in his first scrutiny, the verbal
communication of the writing. His interest should be completely
concentrated on the graphic features and what they express, and
114
on the emotional implications of the pattern. These convey things
that are not expressed in the actual words and that are partly
unknown to the writer himself. Not until after the main con-
clusions have been drawn should the text be read. Only then
should the graphologist look for "stimulus words" recurring in the
writing or made conspicuous through emphasis, misspelling, omis-
sion of letters or letter parts, etc. (figs. #13 0-#3 2). Such "slips
of the pen," which are induced by unconscious motivations, can
be analyzed and interpreted as "trivial errors of everyday life"
in the Freudian sense39 (pp. 162-63).
Ever since the crucial experiment of Crepieux- Jamin and Biner'"
demonstrated that the sex and age of a subject cannot in every
case be ascertained from the handwriting, it has been established
practice for the graphologist to obtain information on these points
before proceeding to analysis (p. 5).
We often see handwritings of young persons that look like
those of their elders, and vice versa. It will be seen in the course
of our discussion later that there are youngsters whose hand-
writings quite early show mature features, and others whose
writing, up to college age and even later, is immature or infantile.
Slow physical development and maturation are frequently a mani-
festation of anyone of a number of endocrine dysfunctions in
children or adolescents. A stature shorter than the average for a
given age may be associated with retarded skeletal hardening in a
child suffering from a thyroid or pituitary disorder; tall stature,
with incomplete .ossification of the extremities, accompanies in-
adequate functioning of the sex glands. In both of these con-
ditions, sexual maturation may be retarded, and the somatic
infantilism may be associated with a rather infantile type of
mentality and emotional behavior, all of which become apparent
in the handwriting (fig. #59).
Conversely, senescence does not necessarily set in at any fixed
age. Symptoms of advanced senescence may be noticed in persons
in their late fifties or early sixties, whereas complete physical and
mental vigor are not infrequently maintained even after the
115
proverbial landmark of "threescore and ten" has been passed. In-
deed, it is a general truth that discrepancies between chronological
age and degree of biological and psychological maturity are found
in a great number of individuals. There is an impression of youth-
fulness about the handwriting of Bernard Baruch at the age of
eighty or more (fig. #95). Similarly, no one would guess that
figure #96 represents the handwriting of a composer in his thirty-
ninth year; this man's physical appearance also belies his actual
age.
~~/NUJ~
~1~~/~,~~cU~dr~
#96
In connection with sex, the term masculine and feminine re-
quire further particularization. Medical research has shown that
males may vary to a remarkable extent in degree of virility, in
116
.,
~ ~~&J_-L~ ~
~~l. ¥ r-u-
~ ~'.L-L ~'--t
#97
both the biological and the psychological sense. There are men
who, though capable of procreation, and stamped with an over-all
appearance of maleness, nevertheless have delicate body contours
or behavior characteristics corresponding more nearly with femi-
nine traits. Similarly, we find women with athletic muscular de-
velopment (fig. #97), low-pitched voices or so-called masculine
mental traits, whose biological functioning and sex behavior are
those of the "normal" female (figs. #97-#99).
J-
.:
#98
117 •
#99
The graphologist will also find it useful to have information
about the writer's nationalityl!" and occupation, and, in certain
cases, his medical history. It is further of help to know the purpose
for which the graphological findings are to be used. In conn,ection
with personnel placement, for instance, it is important to give
special attention to traits that are pertinent to the particular job.
In the case of a man who seeks employment as a salesman, for
instance, and who therefore is concerned with material success, it
is well to establish whether he has the qualities needed to "sell
himsel£"-assertiveness, persuasiveness, and gregariousness. In the
case of an applicant for a receptionist's job, on the other hand,
it is important to judge whether the subject possesses poise, tact,
arid good social form. Aspirants to teaching positions must not
only have traits that make for effectiveness in interpersonal re-
lationships, but must also be capable of stimulating intellectual
curiosity. In other cases it will be necessary to center on the
subject's emotional make-up and sexual adjustment. But regard-
less of the special focus or use of. the analysis, the traits or abilities
of a given individual must be viewed and judged in the frame
of his total personality.
'"
118
THE PROCEDURE
Graphological procedure consists of differentiation and interpre-
tation of the features presented in the visible material-the graphic
specimen-and involves the following. steps:
A. Initial contemplation of the writing pattern as a whole, in
order to grasp its essential expression.
B. Closer scrutiny of the pattern, for the purpose of breaking
up the whole into its components, and differentiating the
various constituent factors.
c. Ordering into groups those indicators, i.e., graphic char-
acteristics, which commonly occur together in a syndrome,
and in their interrelation predicate a certain kind of per-
sonality make-up.
D. Interpretation of the graphic characteristics as indicators
of personality traits.
E. Synthesis, i.e., structuring from the components thus dif-
ferentiated and defined an integrated portrait of the living
personality.
A. THE OVER-ALL IMPRESSION
To obtain a first, tentative over-all impression, the handwriting
specimen should be held at arm's length or even upside down, so
that the content is not readable. In viewing a handwriting as we
would a picture, certain sensory impressions arise, as of coarseness
!'~:Q~~!~:~
V......;..J l-'~ LA-t 4
# 100
119
(fig. #100) or fineness (fig. #101), flatness (fig. #102) or full-
ness (fig. #103), weakness (fig. #102) or strength (fig. #104),
pallor (fig. #102) or color (fig. #104), coldness (fig. #101) or
# 101
120
#104
warmth (fig. # 104), etc. Simultaneously we are affected by what-
ever qualities of balance, rhythm, and harmony we may perceive
in the pattern. There is a spontaneous reaction in the realm of
feeling, where reason plays no essential part. As we all know,
the relation of parts in a well-conceived or ill-conceived unity
does not have to be understood in order to be experienced as
rhythmic (fig. #105) or lacking in rhythm (figs. #94 a, #100).
Such things can be as readily sensed in patterns of handwriting
as in those of painting, music, or the dance.
Thus a handwriting conveys many things that cannot be put
into words. It tells its story partly in the language of movement
and partly in the language of imagery. Some of its meanings
121
#'105
become clear in the light of the graphologist's immediate intuitive
recognitions. In the close-woven line pattern, he perceives forms
boldly in motion-stabbing daggers, whirling lassoes, striking
harpoons, clawing fingers, clinging tendrils, spears erected, arrows
in flight. To catch the meaning of these animated images, it is
necessary to recall man's earliest modes of communication, and
to imitate the gesture implied in a given image, so that the ex-
pressive forces behind it may work in and through one's own
body. An easy way of doing this is to reproduce such an image
by actually drawing it oneself, or, even better, by enacting in
imagination the gesture it stands for. In this way, the meaning of
the image can be experienced through empathy. In figure #106,
we can clearly see how the writer acted out his mention of feelings
of love by unwittingly drawing a heart, the universal symbol of
love. Other instances of this kind appear in figures #136, #146,
#339-#42, #362, #363.
122
#106
But at the height of intuitive rapport, one must break off.
Intuitive insight and response have a valid and fruitful function
in graphological interpretation, though it must be unswervingly
borne in mind that the essential requisite in handwriting analysis
is observation controlled by accepted objective procedures.
Of course objectivity, in relation to both analysis and interpre-
tation, requires that the graphologist apply controls not only with
respect to the facts actually before him, but also with respect to
his own subjective bias. He must realize how considerable a part
his particular orientation and specialized interests tend to play in
his evaluations-to say nothing of the possible blind spots,
rigidities, and defensive rejections that may limit his vision. There-
fore the student of graphology should try to divest himself of or
carefully to discount such influences. He must also be on guard
against the fascination of popular theories and the allure of such
oversimplifications as fixed categories of "personality types" and
"trait clusters." As far as possible, interpretations should be built
only on the evidence of the graphic material, and this evidence
should be defined and analyzed clear of the influence of precon-
ceptions or ready-made formulas. Prejudgments, even on the basis
of such authoritative concepts as the form-level theory of Klages,
or of psychoanalytic induction without reference to the subject's
123
personal associations or life history, prove to be mam sources of
error in graphological analysis.
B. DIFFERENTIA TION OF GRAPHIC INDICES
The second step of our approach is the closer scrutiny of the
pattern for inspection of its component parts. To discover the
structural qualities of the separate graphic features, and ascertain
what mechanical factors may have played a part in shaping them,
they should be examined first with the naked eye and then with
the aid of a magnifying glass.
The raw material of the graphic pattern is the stroke.v' The
stroke, or ductus, is the path traced by the pen on the paper.F"
We must note particularly whether the course of the stroke is
continuous or broken, whether it is densely filled with ink or
scantily covered. We must unravel the intricate network by which
the stroke weaves the pattern: we must follow the trail in the
rise and fall, the turning, the overlapping, and the crisscrossing
that create the forms." Just as we untwist a knot in order to
see how it was made, we follow the path of the pen to ascertain
precisely how the pattern came into being.129 Let us observe, for
example, in the specimens offered in figures #59, #98, #100,
#102, #105, how an 0 is constructed-how it is "tied up" at the
top, then linked to the next letter. There are innumerable varia-
tions in such simple details, each arising as a result of different
body movements, which in turn are activated by different expres-
sive impulses. As has been suggested above, part of a thorough
and complete study of written forms consists in an actual retracing
of them with one's own hand; one does not really see or under-
stand a form until one has had the first-hand experience of draw-
ing it.
In systematically analyzing a handwriting specimen, we must
consider it in three aspects- ( 1) movement, i.e., the process, (2)
form, i.e., the product, and (3) arrangement, i.e., the spatial dis-
position."
124
1. Movement
Our basic premise is that the pen stroke or ductus is the visual
record of the writing movement. Therefore in studying the quali-
ties of the stroke, we examine the patterning with respect to:
a) Expansion. We observe whether the movement is extended
or limited in its range, with respect to both the vertical and the
horizontal dimension.
b) Co-ordination. We seek to ascertain whether the flow of
movement is controlled or uncertain, smooth or jerky, continuous
or interrupted.
c) SPeed. \Ve determine whether the movement has been rapid
or slow, and whether the pace has been steady or variable.
d) Pressure. We note whether the pressure exerted in the
movement has been heavy or light, and estimate the degree of
tension indicated by the flexible or rigid character of the stroke.
e) Direction. Each feature of a script must be examined with
respect to leftward and rightward trend of the movement, and
its upward and downward reach.
/) Rhytbm. The rhythmic quality of the movement derives
from the fact that in the sequence of movements that weave the
total pattern, certain similar phases recur at more or less regular
intervals. Such periodicity is an expression of inner processes; it
appears not only in writing but in all the movements of the living
organism. The German graphologists refer to this basic phe-
nomenon of movement as Ablaufsrhythl1,m;, stressing the point
that monotonous or unaccented regularity of movement has no
rhythmic quality.
2. Form
In observing the forms built up by the strokes, we focus on
the following features:
a) Letters. We note whether the characters are structured
predominantly of curved or rectilinear elements, whether they are
simple or elaborate, ample or lean, uniformly or diversely shaped,
fluid or rigid in form.
125
b) Connections. We note whether rounded (garland, arcade),
angular, or threadlike joinings are used to form the letters and to
link them within the words.
c) Style. Here judgment turns on whether the expressive
picture is natural or stilted, individual or conventional, linear or
pictorial in quality.
d) Rhythm. The criterion of "form rhythm" (Formrhyth-
mus) is applied to the interrelations of the parts, according as
they create balance and symmetry within the pattern. Here again,
as in the domain of movement, unrelieved uniformity negates
rhythm and produces only a stereo typic pattern, while extreme
diversity or uneveness of form disintegrates rhythm.
3. Arrangement
Under this head we consider the distribution and the propor-
tional relations of all the components of the pattern. This includes
the relation of' figure and ground, margins, alignment, and word
spacing, the zonal proportions within the line (p. 137), and such
features as slant of letters, direction of terminal strokes, place-
ment of t bars, i dots, etc., in so far as these contribute to the
organization of the whole.
The structuring of the total pattern produces what is called
the "rhythm of distribution" (Verteilungsrhythmus). Klages re-
gards rhythm as the most important of all the features of graphic
expression, and differentiates three aspects of rhythm, found in the
movement, the form, and the arrangement of the writing, as
touched upon in the course of this exposition.
In carrying out an analysis as outlined under the three head-
ings above, the graphologist may avail himself of an additional
angle of insight if he bears in mind that of the three basic aspects
of writing that we have been considering, movement has a salient
importance in that it gives us the leading clue as to what kind of
basic substance the personality is composed of. Movement repre-
sents an unmediated instant projection from the deepest strata of
being; thus the stroke per se is least conditioned by any factor of
126
trainmg or even by conscious awareness (p. 23). The most
volitional factor on the other hand is form. The shaping of forms
requires conscious attention: it presupposes in the first place the
capacity to reproduce a conventional symbol, and in the second
place a more or less conscious effort to refashion it from an
aesthetic or practical motive.l?' 123Arrangement is the factor that
serves to organize the other two. Therefore it shows us the
writer's capacity for integrating inner promptings with outer
reality.
We have thus far been considering these three aspects of writing
in isolation from one another, for purposes of analysis. Actually
of course they are inseparable and always interactive, and indeed
to the layman's eye indistinguishable. Hence it requires specific
training and experience to enable us to perceive anyone of them
apart from the others, to analyze its indications, and to re-
assemble the factors thus defined into a picture of the organic
whole.
C. ORDERING THE GRAPHIC INDICES INTO SYNDROMES
Just as we cannot evaluate any of the major aspects of writing
apart from one another, so no other single component or feature
of handwriting can be interpreted without reference to all the
others, even though for purposes of analysis we likewise set them
apart, down to the smallest detail, and view each one technically
by itself. No modern graphologist would claim that anyone
graphic feature has in itself any fixed meaning. We have by now
left far behind us those followers of Michon who compiled a
dictionary of isolated "signs" and their supposed meanings. We
are aware that it is not enough merely to establish the presence
or absence of certain features in a given writing pattern. While
some implication of a given single feature may be a guidepost
pointing to one possible interpretation or another, this single fea-
ture as such is significant only in relation to the group to which
it belongs. Certain features may suggest meanings that reinforce
the implications of others. Conversely, some features may suggest
127
meanings that conflict with or weaken or neutralize the bearing of
others. Therefore each feature must be weighed against all the
rest, and against the general expression of the total pattern. We
must remember that we are dealing first and last with a whole-
a unity or system in which all the parts are subordinate and
relative.
Obviously the analyst can .make sure that his procedure is
accurate at all points only if he systematically sets down his ob-
servations in detail. To facilitate such notation, the author has
devised a worksheet (p. 129) on which all findings can be entered
and organized at the same time, so that group relationships can
be visualized as in a graph or chart. The. broad divisions of this
worksheet conform with the framework of procedure outlined
above, i.e., the systematic scrutiny of the material under the
aspects of movement, form, and arrangement.
Within each of these major divisions are placed the factors whose
indications belong to the given aspect of the analysis. In the spaces
allowed for each factor, the examiner may mark the essential
qualities of the features pertaining to it. The spaces of the entry
column further allow for appropriate differentiations. For in-
stance, the examiner's rating can be so placed as to show whether
the given quality appears in moderate or marked degree. A
separate column at the right permits of noting the predominant
feature or features of the script, and such other characteristics as
appear relatively salient. Finally, under "Remarks," the analyst
may enter additional observation meriting special note or con-
tributing to or clarifying his interpretation. This sample work-
sheet is of course only a skeleton model; it provides for the
essentials of any analysis, but cannot possibly cover the particulars
of each and evet;.y possible handwriting. Every graphologist, as his
experience broadens, will amplify such an elementary record form
and develop a more particularized or more personally adapted
sheet for his own routine.
Detailed descriptions of the various graphic features and of the
qualities to be found in them, together with discussion of the
128
WORKSHEET
Name Sex Predominant features *
MOVEMENT Ai/Irked Remark!
Expamion: in height
in width extensive
Co-ordination smooch
Speed fast
Pressure heavy
strok.e sharp
shaded
Tension high
stroke rigid
Directional trend rightward , ..
t8f'11'litJal strokes long
Rhythm flowing
F 0 R M
Style pictorial
natural
Lesser shapes fluid ,.
diverse
elaborate
ample
curved
loop, standard
C,01meclive JONnI garland
thread
Rhythm
ARRANGEMENT
Patterr~, over-all
rhy'hm
MarginJ: top broad
le/' broad
ngh' broad
Alignm(Jnt: lines parallel
straight
Word ';"1JtCl'SpaC6J
Zonol proportion]-
Sian' rightward
upright
i dots
t bar,
SIGNATURE
CongruefJCe with text
Empha.ris on
Piacemo1Jt
U-upper zone
The fact that a given quality is noted in the right- or the left-
M--middl.e zone
hand listing has no implication of positive or negative evaluation
L -lower ZOIUJ
possible meanings assignable to them, will be found in succeeding
chapters. These expositions will supply the informational equip-
ment that enables the graphologist to make his notations.
D. INTERPRETATION OF GRAPHIC INDICES
Having assembled and ordered his findings regarding the fea-
tures of the script, the graphologist must interpret them as
expressions of personality, i.e., he must correlate the graphic in-
dicators he has found with the personality traits they stand for.
The accompanying chart supplies a practical guide for this pur-
pose. The parallel columns list on the one side the basic graphic
indicators, and on the other the main component factors in the
make-up of personality. The arrangement shows the student at a
glance how to follow through in working out the meaningful
- correlations, feature for feature, between the graphic evidence
before him and the various phases of functioning through which
personality expresses itself in life situations.
Necessarily, an outline of this sort is chiefly orientational. It
will serve to point up the interrelations discussed in detail below,
chapter for chapter, and to show the application of basic grapho-
logical acceptances. The correlations it suggests are grounded upon
a large body of empirical findings validated by experimental and
statistical data, or supported by analogous experience in various
fields of medical and psychological investigation. Beyond this,
any mechanical use of such a tool leads to oversimplification.
There can be no standard key for reading off personality traits;
living .features cannot be sorted out by formula and assigned to
a type pattern on anyone plane. It1 cannot be stressed often
enough that every personality has its unique expression, and that
the essential aim of graphology is to uncover and to describe, in
the case of each given handwriting, precisely that unique quality
of personal dynamic which arises from the particular constellation
of features it presents.
130
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E. SYNTHESIS
The final step is that of synthesizing the results-the task of
constructing, from the separate psychological components, an
integrated personality picture. In everyday practice, of course,
what is called for in most cases is a simple description of the
writer in question, appropriate to the purpose that the analysis
is intended to serve. Such a description should be above all else
clearly worded and free of ambiguities, and should never be
weighted with diagnostic judgments. The graphologist should
confine himself to the technicalities of his own science. If his
report is sound and well presented, it will be directly usable in
the context of any field of personality study-from educational
or vocational testing or research to medical or psychiatric clinical
work.
In any of these connections, diagnostic use of the graphological
report is reserved to the specialist in the given field. Particularly
where the analysis is to be used by a physician, the graphologist
should resist the temptation to elaborate his findings in medical
terminology; his co-operation will be more effective, and all the
more appreciated, if he confines his 'report to an easily readable,
accurate, and objective picture of the personal qualities and be-
havior pattern of the subject.
On occasion, the graphologist may be called upon to furnish
an intensively detailed profile of the subject. This is a more
exacting task, presupposing, in addition to the routine qualifica-
tions, an advanced interpretative skill, experienced psychological
insight, and facility in written formulation. Indeed, in the sense
that here the challenge is to portray a personality-to reconstruct
the subject's inner and outer worlds and the role he plays in them
-graphology, according to Allport and Vernon, is to be regarded
as an art.3
THE ETHICS OF THE GRAPHOLOGIST
T he graphologist, like the professional worker in any other
field, conducts himself according to an established ethical code.
132
For obvious reasons, he must know to whom and for what
purpose he is to submit the information derived from his analysis.
When the report is intended for the use of a physician, psy-
chiatrist, or guidance expert, the personality diagnosis may be
frank and complete. It is understood in such relations that the
report is submitted, received, and used in a confidential manner.
When the graphologist is consulted by the subject directly, he
must limit himself to constructive suggestions, giving no in-
formation that could lead to harm. It is advisable in such a case
not to go beyond verbal discussion of the findings and to keep
the report on the subject's own level of understanding.
If the graphologist is called upon to supply a person of non-
professional standing with an analysis of the handwriting of an-
other individual, he must make no revelations that could be
misinterpreted or used to the injury of the writer. It is possible
in any situation to be honest and informative without making
inappropriate disclosures.
A graphologist furthermore regards as confidential all data in
his possession concerning his clients or other individuals whose
handwritings may be submitted to him for examination, just as a
doctor refrains from disclosing information about his patients .
••
• • •
133
V I I )
SYMBOLISM
OF THE WRITING SPACE
The ordinary reader sees ill handwriting a message deliberately
communicated through the medium of written words. The graph-
ologist sees this and more: to him, handwriting embodies also an
unintended communication, projected m the graphic pattern
through a release of the unconscious.
This nonverbal. content is discovered by means of a symbolic
concept of the writing field. This field is conceived as a spatial
entity, having the three dimensions of height, width, and depth,
and the directions of right and left, and up and down. The rep-
resentation of the writing field as a space is not, as Pulver points
out, merely an expedient intellectual construction; it springs
directly from our inner perception. "This spatial notion is some-
thing we carry within us; perhaps it has its basis in the archetypal
space image of which our outward tridimensionality is only a
subsequent projection."!" Hence it provides us with an elementary
kind of symbolic or visualized order which becomes clear by
following through the graphic phenomena, beginning with the
simplest element, the dot.
When a writer puts the nib of his pen to the surface of the
paper, he produces a dot. As his hand moves on, he produces a
line--the record of the course that the pen has traced. The
primary meaning of the word "trace" will help us to understand
the writing space as symbolizing the field of life--the area of
134
man's activity. For it takes us back to what probably was man's
first experience of the line. Looking behind him, he perceived in
the snow, or the sand, or the mud, the path he had traversed;
looking ahead, his eye traveled toward the point he hoped to
reach. If he was dragging something behind him as he went, he
had a visible record of this experience-s-a line traced from his
starting point to the point where he had stopped. If thereupon
he shot an arrow or threw a stone from the spot where he then
stood to his next point ofventure, the course of his missile traced
again a line-i.e., extended the original line-e-re that goal. With
this line, man turned empty space into a field of action.
But there was further significance to this experience. It related
space to time: the line going backward in space also went back-
ward in time-it was the record of the past. To man the spot
where he then stood was the present-the point of reference. From
here h~ could look forward in the direction in which he proposed
to move--i.e., into time to come. In other words, he was shooting
his arrow into the future, into the coming field of action. In this
way a line may denote both space and time, and relate awareness
of space to experience of time. It can mean more: as the line of
life it can represent the sequence of events; on another level, it
may stand for the route of a train in motion. It may serve to
define a margin or to bound an area; it can also be a divider,
separating space into parts, or it may act as a bond or link be-
tween parts.
The line as such is physically one-dimensional, but it can be
used to circumscribe part of a plane surface, and in this way to
create two-dimensional forms such as the letters of the alphabet.
In graphology we refer to the ink or pencil line that forms these
letters as the stroke or ductus. Strokes in the vertical direction
establish the height of the letters; those in the horizontal direction,
their width.
As the course of writing proceeds from left to right, the right-
ward movement interacts with thrusts in the vertical direction
(fig. #199), and in its steady progression links together the up-
135
and downstrokes. This interweaving of the horizontal and vertical
elements results in a contrapuntal pattern that has an expression
of its own, according to the emphasis the writer gives to the
vertical or horizontal strokes. The interplay between the two di-
rectional impulses might be regarded as a symbolic expression of
the continuous conflict between man's desire to hold his ground
on the one hand, and of his urge to progress on the other.
The third dimension of the writing field is depth. The depth
component is created by the pressure exerted upon the writing
surface. This is indicated by furrows impressed in the paper or
merely by dark lines whose shading gives the letter forms a bold
relief. We tend to perceive letters as bodies having volume: three-
dimensional configurations standing upright like a man standing
on the ground. This ground is symbolized by the implied base
line. For we speak of upright letters, in spite of the fact that
they actually lie flat on the plane of the paper. This attests to
something that projection theory has long recognized-man's
tendency to project the self onto the object that meets his eye,
and to invest this object with the tensions and emotional impulses
actually operating in himself. In writing, this leads to an identi-
fication with the letter form, upon which the writer projects his
psychic activity in the guise of images and symbolic gestures.l": 141
In order to make use of our symbolic concept, the writing field,
we have first to consider the actual material factors. The sheet
of paper on which the writing is produced represents, as we have
seen, the writing space. Restricted only by the physical limits
of the paper's size, the writer spreads out upon it the sequences
of graphic movement. The pattern into which the sequences are
integrated appears as a structure arising from the contrast of its
dark forms against the light background of the paper space. This
pattern, the body of handwriting, is made up of parallel rows
consisting of words and intervening spaces, and the words in
turn are composed of related letters. The' basis of handwriting
analysis is the line of writing, which may be further divided into
three zones.
136
THE THREE ZONES
The working hypothesis dividing the writing line into three
zones has been developed by Pulver and is generally used by most
graphologists.V'' This zonal division serves to localize the un-
conscious projections of the writer's needs, drives, and cravings,
and enables the graphologist to differentiate the meanings involved.
The three zones of the writing line--or of any portion thereof,
such as a word or letter-are established as follows (fig. #107):
MIDDLE ZONE
. The letters resting on the base line and having no extensions
constitute the middle zone. Formed completely within one zone
(n, n, 0, w, etc.), they may be called the unizonal letters. In
the middle zone are to be found also the body portions of letters
whose extensions reach into one or both of the other zones. Of
these, the letters that occupy two zones (b, d, g, etc.) may be
called bizonal, and those embracing three zones (the usual long-
hand t in English, and similar formations in older German script,
or in certain obsolete styles), may be called trizonal.
Symbolically, or in terms of projection, the middle zone repre-
sents the sphere of actuality-that aspect of personality function
which is concerned with conscious adaptation to reality, with
social relationships, and with ego expression.
UPPER ZONE
The upper zone is defined by the stems and loops of such letters
as t, t, I, etc.-i.e., the extensions that reach upward beyond the
middle zone-and includes the i dots and t bars.
For the purposes of interpretation, this zone represents the
sphere of abstraction-the realm in which man rises above im-
mediate reality, in which interests and aspirations of mind and
spirit come into play. Overextension here, i.e., when stems and
loops are carried to extremes of height, so that they reach beyond
the expectable boundary of the zone-into the stratosphere, so to
137
Le] tWlZrd trend
Stratosphere sphere 0/ imagination
PASSIVITY
Upper Zone sphere 0/ mi-nd and spirit
FEMININITY
Middle Zone ,ph ere 0/ actuality
mE PAST
INNER WORLD Lower Zone sphere 0/ biological demands
Depth sphere 0/ the wnconscious
138
Rightward treml
...~~·_ .... A71/~ ACTIVITY
.....VV.~. ~.·.L.·.·!V.,\,..-.. MASCULINITYbase THE FUTURE
.............................................. OUTER WORLD
# 107
139
speak-indicates a preponderance of those psychological processes
which are not subject to rational control. This graphic trait re-
flects the functioning of intuition and imagination-betokening
either creativity or preoccupation with dreams and illusions.
LOWER ZONE
The lower zone is occupied by the loops and stems of such
letters as t. g, p, y, etc.-i.e., the extensions that reach downward
below the base line. In this zone we find expression of the material
demands relating to self-preservation, and of the sexual drive.
This area comprises the lower zone proper-representing the
relatively more conscious sphere of the "biological imperatives"-
and below it a sphere of overextension that relates to the lower
zone as the stratosphere relates to the upper. In terms of projective
expression, we may call this the depth. In this region we find
expression of those powerful forces which function below the
threshold of consciousness and seek outlet in sexual phantasies,
regressive gestures, and antisocial acts.
The scheme of the three zones parallels the common idea of
the universe as divided into three spheres-heaven above, earth
in the middle, and the nether region below. The same threefold
division is applied to the body image when the human form is
regarded as composed of the head above, 'the thorax in the middle,
and the abdomen below. Metaphysical thinking employs the three
divisions of mind, soul, and body. This scheme of triplicity, in-
herent in man's thinking and imagining, is an ancient one and
seems to function even in the unconscious. Freud, for example,
was led to distinguish three aspects of the psyche-superego, ego,
and id-in accordance with the same primordial symbolic dis-
position.
DIRECTION
In our topology of the wntmg space, another critical index is
the expression of directional trends. Direction, like every other
aspect of writing, is to be interpreted in relation to movement,
form, and arrangement (p. 124). Direction is manifested in each
140
individual feature of writing, as well as in the resultant whole. It
is expressed in the rightward or leftward pull of the movement
as it shapes the writing line, in the placement of the writing as a
mass, in the slant of the letters, in the swing of the terminal
strokes, in the widths of the individual letters, in the location of
i dots and t bars, as well as in the placement of the signature on
a letter sheet and of the address on an envelope. In other words,
every feature of handwriting derives a particular meaning from
its location and directional weighting. Thus the criteria of lo-
cation and direction will have to be applied to every feature of
writing in the detailed discussion given to each in turn in later
chapters. HQF"ever, in distinguishing leftward from rightward
movement for purposes of analysis and interpretations, it must
be borne in mind that writing requires movement in all direc-
tions. Certain letters such as the c, the loops of letters like the I,
the ovals of letters like the a, are shaped by leftward as well as
rightward movement. Thus, specific note should be made only
of those strokes whose leftward extension exceeds the limits set
by the common letter model. The same applies to the interpreta-
tion of rightward trend in the formation of letters.
Handwriting, as a function of communication, a tool of social
expression, is in itself extraversive. It is as though the writer says:
"1 need to tell you about my feelings, thoughts, and plans. See,
here I externalize them by writing." Yet this externalization is
not simple to interpret. For in addition to the complex symboliza-
tion inherent in the three zones, there is a wealth of meaning in
direction. The predominance of rightward or leftward trend is
a main indicator of the relationship between the world within
and the outer world. A predominance of rightward movement,
and even more, a decrease of leftward movement, indicates a
person predominantly responsive to stimulations from without,
i.e., the type regarded as "extravert." Leftward emphasis suggests
a person predominantly activated by promptings from within
and less susceptible to stimulations coming from without, i.e., the
type known as "introvert."
A preponderantly leftward trend in the middle zone'is regarded
141
as indicating selfishness.Rightward extensions into the upper zone
represent alert mental activity, intellectual ambition, drive, and
planning. A leftward trend expressed in the upper zone represents
on the other hand an emphasis on the inner life, a tendency toward
contemplation or introspection, a preoccupation with one's imagin-
ings, or a brooding on memories. Viewed in its broader aspects,
directional trend also provides evidence as to fixation: a leftward
trend indicates withdrawal or regression, a yearning for the pro-
tection of the mother, for the shelter of the womb, while a right-
ward trend is a move toward the father's world, toward activity
and adventure.P''
PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
Since direction is further interpreted in terms of time, the
movement in each letter embodies past, present, and future. Hence
we must scrutinize the beginning and the end of each letter in
order to note whether the movement by which it was made was a
continuous advance toward the right (fig. #108).
tPRE.6ENT
PMT--- --FUTURE.
# 108
A letter is part of a larger unit-the word-and the same test
has to be applied to this entity. The word in turn is part of a
sentence, and here too the continuity of advance-s-or the lack of
it-gives indication as to whether the orientation of the writer
is toward the past, the present, or the future. Further, the sentence
142
is part of the continuity of the text as a whole. The line of writing
might be regarded as a part of the totality of the page, while the
sentence plays an analogous role in the totality of the document.
In a letter, for example, this actual whole comprises all of the
script mass from beginning to end, i.e., from salutation to signa-
ture. Here directional orientation is judged according to the
placement of the larger elements as well as the arrangement of
the total pattern on the page.
As a message, the writing pattern moves from the writer, the
"sender," outward into the environment, i.e., away from the body.
It may proceed toward the right or toward the left, the body of
the writer standing as the median axis. However, writing usually
starts at the left and moves toward the right, in the direction of
the right-hander's outward reach.
Such a statement is often challenged by the question: What
determines this convention? Why do Western writing and
Sanskrit, which is considered Eastern, proceed from left to right,
while Near Eastern writing, such as the Semitic, proceeds from
right to left, and Far Eastern, such as the Chinese, from top to
bottom?
DIRECTION IN ANCIENT WRITING
In the various writing systems, the direction of movement was
primarily conditioned by the writing technique and the instru-
ments used. We may accept the assumption that communication
other than oral began with the use of knotted cords,102which was
later displaced by the practice of notching, scoring, or scratching
crude marks on wood or stone. These graven marks carry us for-
ward to another stage of development, i.e., pictorial writing-
the use of pictures to stand for actual things or combinations of
things (p. 315). The hieroglyphic characters of the ancient Egyp-
tians are carved pictures that could be read in either direction.
The cartouche of Cleopatra on the Rosetta Stone, for instance,
may be read either across or from top to bottom."
143
In China, the first written records were scratched with a knife
upon bamboo or wooden tablets. With cultural advance, the
scratching technique gave way to the method of tracing characters
with a wooden stick or quill and later of painting them with a
brush upon a kind of paper. The introduction of a supple tool
like the brush led to an evolution from characters formed by
simple straight strokes to a pictorial style of writing that eventually
produced the existing stock of ideograms (fig. #33 8). These
wholly independent units are arranged in columns, beginning on
the right-hand side of the page and running from top to bottom.
The characters of ancient Greek writing, adopted from the
Phoenicians, were originally written from right to left, in the
manner of Hebrew writing today. There followed a period of
ambivalence, the lines progressing in alternation of direction, like
furrows in plowing--one line reading from left to right, the
next from right to left, and so on. It seems quite probable that
the choice of direction was stabilized when man, instead of carving
and scratching, began actually to "write," tracing cha~acters with
an implement conducive to fluency and swing. This rightward
trend conforms with the orientation of the majority, the right-
handed people, and thus became the convention for the Western
world.
One observation that has thrown some light on the proble-
matical origin of the reverse directional trend, the righr-to-Ieft
writing, was made by Julius Sebestyen, a, Hungarian anthropolo-
gist. In studying the ancient writings-carved on wood--of the
Szekely tribe, the earliest Hungarian-speaking inhabitants of
Transylvania, he had the good fortune to run across an old
shepherd who was one of the very few persons still using the
primitive writing mode of his ancestors. Sebestyen observed how
the man gripped the wood with his left hand, using his right
hand to incise simple grooves arranged in columns running from
top to bottom. When the writing was finished, the shepherd
turned the wood clockwise, so that the vertical column of char-
acters was placed horizontally, to be read from right to left.
144
Sebestyen felt that this explained why the ancient writing had
to be read from right to left. "
It is not unlikely that the leftward direction of Hebrew writing
is a survival similarly connected with the practice of earliest
times, i.e., the carving of characters in an up-and-down direc-
tion upon a solid object, which then for ease of reading came to
be turned. The sacred nature of the early inscriptions discouraged
change and acted to hold writing to the traditional direction.
THE MYTHOLOGY OF RIGHT AND LEFT
It is likely that the predominance of right-handedness among
people accounts for the association of might with the right as
the side of action. The somatic sensations of handedness are no doubt
the source for the manifold symbolic meanings that have become
attached to the duality of right and left, and that have found
expression in all cultures and in all ages. They are reflected in
law and ritual, in magic and superstition, in language and litera-
ture; and they are perpetuated not only in folkways but also in
modern everyday usages.
In the cultural tradition of the Chinese, the mystical opposites
yang and yin, which anciently meant merely light and dark,
have ultimately come to embrace all the associational aspects of
a fundamental polarity. Yang is the male principle, heaven, the
creative, the active, the positive, the straight, the undivided, the
favorable; yin is the female principle, earth, the receptive, the
submissive, the negative, the crooked, the divided, the unfavorable.
In early Hindu and Egyptian religious cults, the right side of
the body symbolized strength and aggressive action; the left side,
feeling and receptivity. The goddess Isis was pictured with a sword
in her right hand and a flower in the left. Extant primitive tribes
interpret right and left in much the same animistic and symbolic
terms: the body of man is conceived of as possessing male char-
acteristics on the right side and female characteristics on the left.
A Swiss cultural anthropologist, J. J. Bachofen, has described a
145
•
most interesting reversal of this symbolism in certain matriarchal
societies.
The antithesis of right and left extends beyond all physical
implications into the domain of moral, social, and religious values
as well. In the Old Testament story, King Solomon places his
mother in the seat of honor at his right side; and early Christian
theologians designated the right side in heaven as the superior
sphere, while the left side was given a lower evaluation. The
Gospel of Matthew, in explaining how the good are to be separated
from the evil on the Day of Judgment, says, "And he shall set the
sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left."
It is not unnatural that right and left developed similar mean-
ings on mundane levels as well, and that these have taken on an
endless accretion in popular attitudes no less than in superstitions.
To start off on the left foot brings bad luck; a buzzing in the.
right ear is a good omen, and a twitch of the right eye is believed
to bring praise and money. Thus we find the "honorable" right
and the "evil" left becoming the "lucky" right and the "unlucky"
left.
Just why there has been this consistent disparagement of the
left and how some of these connotations have influenced the
interpretation of handedness is discussed in greater detail in the
author's monograph on handedness. 54
146
( V I I I
EXPANSION
OF THE WRITING PATTERN
The expansion of the graphic pattern is intimately bound up
with the nature and quality of the writer's movements: it will
depend upon whether these are expansive or restrained, released
or contracted, and whether in the main his tendency in movement
is to reach out or pull back. The norm is a movement that main-
tains a balance between release and contraction, producing due
proportion and even distribution in the writing, with letter forms
neither too widely spread nor too narrowly condensed.?'
In .examining the expansion of a handwriting, observation is
focused on three factors: (a) the relation of the graphic pattern
to the writing space; (b) the size of the individual letters; (c)
the proportions of the letter parts.
In even a superficial scrutiny it becomes apparent that each
writer has his own individual way of filling space with forms.
One writer treats space with so much freedom that his entire page
is scrawled over with a few words. Another treats space with so
much economy that his page is crowded with .. small, close, spare
script.
To appraise size in written characters, it is first of all necessary
to establish a standard. Thus we classify single letters in terms of
height and width. When the unizonal letters, such as e, i, n, s,
etc., are 3 millimeters high, they are regarded as of medium height.
When they are.4 millimeters or more in height, they are regarded
as tall. When they measure less than 3 millimeters in height, they
are judged to be short.
147
In most copybooks the bizonal letter b is twice as high as a
unizonal letter, and the same proportion holds for bizonal letters
whose extensions fall below the middle zone, such as g. Some of
the older writing systems make such looped letters four times
as high as unizonal letters. The Spencerian system, for instance
(fig. #161), is based on a scale of fifths: the letters occupy three
spaces above the base line and two below, the b and the m having
a ratio of 3 to 1 in height. In prewar German writing the letters
are styled with longer extensions in the upper zone than in the
lower.
The width of a letter is evaluated in terms of the ratio between
its horizontal dimension and its height. When, in such letters as
the n, for instance, the distance between the two downstrokes is
approximately equal to their height, the letter is of medium
width; when this distance is greater than the height of the down-
strokes, the letter is broad, and when this distance is less than
the height of these strokes, the letter is narrow.
The body parts of such letters as a, g, 0, etc., which are usually
oval, may be inflated or deflated. Enlarged loops and swelling
curves result in fullness and width, flattened loops and curves
result in leanness and narrowness. A loop or a capital letter is
considered full when the amount of space it takes up is greater
than the space given it in the school-model letter.
PROPORTIONS
The diagram in figure #109 shows how the letters of a word are
positioned in the three zones of a writing line. The zonal division
also points up the proportional relations of letters and letter parts,
in correspondence with the zonal proportions, as follows:
(a) The height of the unizonal letters establishes the height of
the middle zone; (b) The length of the upper extensions es-
tablishes the height of the upper zone; (c) The length of the
lower extensions establishes the height of the lower zone.
In the frame of the three zones we can correctly appraise the
148
UPPER ZONE
MIDDLE: Z.ONE
LOWER Z.ONE:
#109
relations within the individual letters-whether the letter parts
are well placed and in balanced proportion to one another, or
whether either the bodies or the extensions take up more or less
than their proper share of space. In regard to the upper and the
lower zone we must take into account not only the length of the
loops and stems but likewise all the other elements appearing in
these zones. For instance, i dots and t bars placed high accentuate
the upper zone. The same may be said when letter parts belonging
to the middle zone protrude into the upper zone. When i dots
and t bars are placed low, or when letter parts and terminal strokes
fall below their proper places; the writer is emphasizing the lower
zone. Excessive height or extremely reduced height in one zone
upsets the balance of the whole.
Experience supports the finding that persons of limited educa-
tion and culture, as well as children, tend to enlarge the unizonal
letters. When facility in writing is attained, the proportions
change; the stems and loops become longer. With old age, how-
ever, they tend to shorten (fig. #110).
<;jje «.,- 2J .a.,._ #110
f.t.. Lt-<. ~ ..j l-~~ ~ .e ~
~ A-.k, 7 'M ~ ~ ~
~ w.~a......J ~ ~~-t
~~. ~~ ~~4.~.
149
The written character, considered as a geometrical form, is to a
large extent measurable. The length of a stroke, the area circum-
scribed by straight or curved outlines, the proportional relations
of letter parts, are all measurable elements of a script.
The author at one time undertook to measure the letters in the
handwritings of several thousand school children, and found that
by the time a child is twelve years old, the height of his unizonal
letters is fairly well established. However, the ratio between upper
and lower loops and stems is less stable, the length of lower loops
being particularly subject to change. At the puberty stage, these
loops increase in size. In certain later life periods, their size may
decrease. It was observed, for example, that in the writing of
young people under the strain of preparing for their most im-
portant examinations, the lower loops became shorter; after the
examinations were over, these loops resumed their former lengths.
The school standard, by its very nature, is the soundest frame
of reference for any evaluation of letter size, since its values be-
long to the accepted values of the social order. The degree of ad-
herence to or deviation from this standard is a personal gesture
that may give clues to the individual's inner. attitude toward size
and physical stature. Letter size is also an index of the writer's
evaluation of his ego as against the environment. The same kind
of expression appears in drawings.?" An individual who considers
himself superior to the people around him feels that he tops them
in stature. A person who feels weak and dependent sees others as
towering above him. These feelings are expressed in the individual's
gestures, attitudes, and movements. Thus they are likewise ex-
pressed in his handwriting.
VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL EXPANSION
The manner in which the writing is spread over the page in-
dicates how much living space the writer demands. The vertical
expansion (height of letters) reflects the degree to which he strives
for stature and prestige. The horizontal expansion (width of
150
letters) shows the amount of elbow room he requires (chart,
p. 131).
A big, showy hand goes with a need for exhibiting oneself,
thereby to impress the world and to win public recognition. The
most obvious example of this personality type are theatrical people,
politicians, and social celebrities. In the handwriting of Lily Pons
(fig. #111), the vertical thrust indicates an awareness of being
conspicuously placed, as on a pedestal, the focus of attention and
admiration. Figure #112 presents the handwriting of an impressive
public figure: natural brilliance, high aspirations, and dynamic
# 111
151
::,,I'!
~~
~~
"~~",~';'1..x..~ .~ '~
r~
~
'1'
--N~
force show vividly in the wrrnng. Figure #113 reproduces the
handwriting of this man's brother, a distinguished ecclesiastic,
whose equally brilliant abilities are channeled into spiritual pur-
suits. The graphic pattern shows no conspicuous expansion nor
dynamic accent.
A small handwriting indicates a person who is not concerned
with what people think of him (fig. #114). He perceives the
~ ~ ~ en ._;t --"- __c-
.,.........w. ~, 'J;- ~ ~~ ~ ..........
~~~~"Q..bc.~ # 114
~~~,a ....~
..be- .,..._-:t __._'~, tn ....-..
~ldl)~~~~~
world as an infinitude in which he plays a finite, modest role.
But his feeling of the validity of his part, small though it is, gives
him an impersonal strength and a sense of worth. Pope Leo XIII
,;
cL::.~co {r <I'. _.t-N/ . # 115
had a small handwriting (fig. #115). However, the strokes be-
neath the signature supply the effect of a pediment, giving the
name an elevation, as it were. This device may symbolize the
hierarchic status of the writer j to some observers it also suggests
an angel's wing.
153
#116
Gandhi's handwriting (fig. #116) is very small. To the graph-
ologist, its quality is quite impersonal. Its utter simplicity of
structure and form, the absence of angles and aggressive strokes,
are significant in connection with the writer's principle of "non-
violence"; such graphic qualities are in accord with the known
character of this "fighter without a sword." It is interesting to
compare his handwriting with that of Napoleon (figs. #274, #354,
#355) .
#117
These small handwritings contrast strikingly with the large
script shown in figure #117. This writer has no over-all perspec-
tive of the world, but sees only the small segment of it that he
can fill with his violent, clumsy, incoherent gestures. His letters,
enormous to start with, grow even larger toward the end of a
word, so that the space in which he is functioning-i.e., his en-
vironment-seems to shrink. It is the handwriting of Rasputin,
the charlatan "holy man" who in his mad self-inflation used the
154
closed circle of imperial court society in czarist Russia substitu-
tionally for a world stage, dominated by himself as a fantastic
puppeteer of fate.
There are handwritings in which an ascendant gradation in size
appears-the terminal letter in each word being larger than the
initial one (fig. #117). This occurs in the handwritings of children
and childlike adults, or of persons who manifest a very limited
understanding of others. The writing of mature adults as a rule
shows a descendent gradation. The diminution may become so
pronounced that the end of the word seems to taper to a thread-
like finish, so fined down and pointed that it could be put through
a needle's eye, as it were (p. 217). This, according to Pulver, is an
index of acute psychological insight and capacity to function
effectively in interpersonal situations.
(a)
# 118
•
A (b)
CL1~ Lo -
A handwriting may be expanded in width by sideward strokes
used in various ways. The writer may start his words with what
might be called "springboard" strokes (fig. #118 a), or give his
terminal strokes a rightward thrust (fig. # 118 b). Strokes of this
outgoing kind indicate mobility and strong activity drives, a need
to keep moving toward a goal. Forceful, sharp sideward strokes
155
#119
betoken a desire for domination and conquest (fig. #119). If the
sideward strokes appear in the upper zone, they reflect the presence
of mental directives.i'" Figure #120 shows the handwriting of a
woman who engages in planning and active work on a high level
of altruistic endeavor. The type of horizontal stroke that appears
in the lower zone to underline a word indicates a desire to con-
struct a material support and a stable basis for living (figs. #111,
#119, #352). It should also be noted that while the rightward
#120
156
# 121
directed stroke stands for extraversion, the leftward turning stroke
is self-oriented and signifies introversive (fig. #121 a) or egotistic
tendencies (fig. #121 b).
The expansion of a handwriting is gauged not only in terms
of the size of the individual letters. An equally important factor
is the size of the spaces between letters and between words. Letters
spaced generously in the writing field, and taking up more space
horizontally than model letters, characterize generous, outgoing
personalities (fig. #122). Excessive width is symptomatic of
lavishness and extravagance (fig. #119). An example of letters
prodigally outspread, to 'the point of abandon and sprawling re-
lease, is seen in the script of Ninon de Lenclos (fig. #123),
Inordinately broad letters mark the inconsiderate, immodest
individual inclined to overextend himself-the man who in a bus
or train sprawls over onto his neighbor's seat. Figure #124 repro-
duces the initial letter of the signature of a police officer who in a
sudden rage killed his wife because, as he explained, she took too
much of the quilt for herself when they were in bed.
Conversely, the narrow letter is the result of restrained and
constricted movements. It indicates a self-conscious attitude.
157
# 122
•
#124
.t_Ah~I_ ---.. AeI /YflQ /afk~ CI 1t1'11ttlfl
VrV'T1/WfflYMf (f ( a)
~oJ~
#125
. ~ /,t (b)
~7~'
159
Figure #125 a shows part of a sentence written by a very inhibited
boy of fourteen, a stutterer, troubled by conflicts in his family
situation. Narrow letters of more than usual height, with the
first stroke jutting up markedly (fig. #125 b), can often be seen
in the writing of very self-conscious persons who set their aspira-
tions very high.
A handwriting that shows horizontal expansion in both letter
forms and letter spacing is in general assumed to be the hallmark
of a forthright personality, free and uninhibited in social con-
tacts. However, there are handwritings showing an expansion
that is merely an effect of wide spacing of narrow letters. This
discrepancy points to conflict. It may indicate freedom in social
contacts accompanied by inhibitions in the more intimate rela-
tions of life (figs. #88, #126). In a pretentious hand such spacing
produces a pseudo expansion, because the desire to command sp~ce
is contradicted by the retentiveness disclosed in the narrowness of
the letter shapes.
#126
The older graphologists regarded the degree of expansion in a
handwriting as a criterion of the subject's sense of economy. The
narrow hand was adjudged to indicate a parsimonious disposition.
This proves true in a general sense, in that the writer of a small,
narrow hand is not only unconsciously conserving paper but is
also inclined to hold back his available energy. In social relations
this may take the form of passive behavior or reluctance to com-
mit oneself to action or definite undertakings.
According to graphologists who apply psychoanalytic view-
points, the narrow hand marked by smeariness is characteristic of
the "anal type," i.e., the individual interested in his daily bowel
movements and in anal humor. The retentive tendency may mani-
fest itself by sublimation as stinginess or disposition to hoard.
160
#127
A handwriting that illustrates both pseudo expansion and anal
quality is that of Julius Streicher (fig. #127); the indices are the
enormously oversized pattern and the narrow middle-zone letters,
blotched by reason of their very constriction. The script is strik-
ing for its megalomaniac exaggeration in all other features. The
rigid fidelity to copybook forms reflects infantilism and the
writer's early background as a grammar-school teacher. The
angularity that breaks even the loops into triangles, together with
the intensity of pressure, expresses stubbornness and rigidity of
mind, as well as the notorious sadism of the subject.
CAPITAL LETTERS
Capital letters are emphasized in most systems of penmanship,
and considerable size is allotted to them. While the school-model
capital is definitely larger than the other letters, this normal en-
largement is' sometimes even exaggerated. Vain people, bent on
self-display and by the same token greatly impressed by wealth,
success, and social prestige, tend to indulge in oversize capitals
and elaborate ornamentation (p. 81). A narcissistic man will
aggrandize his own initials (figs. #124, #128 a, b). In the script
# 128
(aJ (b)
161
#129
shown in figure #129-penned by the leading Hungarian quisling
-the general features are typical of the hand of a lowly clerk.
But the upshooting initial of the signature, a clear instance of
what Crepieux- Jamin calls sureleuation, betrays rampant arnbi-
tion.
With quite different motivation, a writer may enlarge or other-
wise emphasize the initial letter of the name of someone who
stands high in his regard or affection (or the initial letter of a
word standing for this person, e.g., a personal pronoun). Con-
versely, in relation to persons who have incurred the dislike or
hate of the writer, such letters may unconsciously be dwarfed.
Examples of this kind of emotional weighting are innumerable.
Figure # 130 shows the handwriting of an ambassador stationed
in a continental capital, who in a philandering note to a dis-
tinguished Polish beauty retouches the initial letter of the pro-
noun 'Vous several times over, each time increasing its height. In
162
# 131
figure #131, there is a double use of emphasis, in that the initial
in the signature of the writer is large, while the first letter of the
name of the addressee is not only smaller but deprived of its due
capitalization. This specimen is from a letter written by a young
man to a friend whom he at that moment hated as his rival for
the hand of a girl. Similarly, deprecation may be expressed by
dwarfing initial letters in such nominal expressions of sentiment
as "Dear Sir,", "Sincerely," etc., thus unconsciously canceling the
literal content of the word.
#132
A salient example of deprecation by such means appears in
figure #132. This specimen is from the hand of a rabid anti-
Semite, who was advising a friend not to allow any "East End
jews" to "push him around." The word "jew" not only lacks the
prescribed capital j it is also smeary, blotchy, narrow, and almost
illegible. Furthermore, half of the letter w is missing. The rest of
the writing is contrastingly sharp, clear, and well expanded.
THE CAPITAL "I"
The English language differs from all others in the special func-
tion accorded to the capital I in its use as the pronoun of the
first person-the representative of the ego. It constitutes a word
163
j ~ '\ L ..9 lc_~
$enf ~~flJcP
f ?( .9 d oJ \ ~J
in itself. The manner in which this I is shaped-its height and
width, its proportional and stylistic relation to other letters, i.e.,
whether it is emphasized, neutral, or minimized, whether it is
clear-cut or entangled in flourishes-all reveal the writer's sense of
his own worth, the quality of his self-esteem, and in what sort
of regard he wishes to be held by others (fig. #133) .
#134
164
•
Figure #134 reproduces the handwriting of a young man who
ran away from home at the age of thirteen, roaming about the
country as a tramp. As an adult he worked only occasionally, and
I
studied music when he had money to pay for lessons. At the time
he wrote this specimen he was working as a handyman at a
summer camp for artists. In the evenings he could be found in
the parlor practicing on the piano. He also made sketches and
drawings. He was a talented but confused person who regarded
himself as worthless and useless. Throughout his script he uses a
small i for the personal pronoun, to register his self-devaluation.
PROJECTION OF THE BODY IMAGE
A capital may symbolize a human figure. Clinical experience
confirms the assumption that frequently the capital serves for a
projection of the self. In this case it will reflect the writer's emo-
tional conflicts and compensations in relation to his body image.
Studies of personality projection i~ drawings of the human figure
carried out by Machover?" and others agree remarkably with
graphological findings on this point. With the help of the m-
dividual's history or associations, this connection between the
capital letter and the writer may be brought to light.
#13 5
The writer of the specimen shown in figure #13 5 was a woman
spending her entire life in a wheelchair, with the lower part of
her body covered by a blanket. She was very attractive and quite
buxom; few people knew her pathetic secret. An injury in early
youth had arrested growth in her lower extremities, and her legs
remained like a tiny child's. The fact that she projects her body
image as traumatized is apparent in the disproportion between
the ample upper part and the shrunken lower part of the initial
E in he~ given name, as well as in the striking detachment of the
165
parts. In figure 136, we have the self-symbolization of a similarly
affiicted woman; the script so strikingly illustrates this type of
projection that it is presented here even though the expression
appears in noncapitalized letters. The shriveled letter forms stand
for the writer's atrophied body, and the skeleton stems of the f's
for legs that were "like broomsticks." The fact that this woman
was emotionally concentrated on her disabilities arising from a
bladder dysfunction quite obviously explains the idiosyncratic
lower loops. An equally revealing projection of the body image
appears in the initial letter of the signature shown in figure #363.
·h~ .. ~c1t-.t
~N~
M;~
# 136 lr ,,~
( ~I·rr··
ZONAL INTERPRETATION OF SIZE
As is plain from the foregoing discussion, the interpretative
evaluation of size is conditioned by the implications of various
factors. We must therefore examine size and proportion within
the framework of the three zones and also in the light of the
dominant directional trend. This will enable us to link the
graphic features of a script with the inner motivations and
attitudes of the writer (p. 137). It is constantly to be borne in
mind, however, that while for purposes of analysis anyone zone
may be singled out for examination and description, none can be
dealt with as registering any manifestation of personality func-
tioning in dissociation from the other two.
166
The analysis of proportions in terms of zonal significance pro-
ceeds as follows:
MIDDLE ZONE
The middle zone has been described as reflecting the conscious
needs of the ego in terms of everyday reality. When the elements
located in this zone are of mediwn height in proportion to those
of the other zones, we may assume that the writer has a whole-
some self-confidence and good adjustment to life. An example of
such proportion is found in the writing of Enrico Caruso (fig.
#137). Gandhi's writing, though small, also shows good height
in the middle zone (fig. #116). Extreme height in middle-zone
elements betokens exaggerated self-assertiveness in the writer, a
tendency to overrate his own importance and thereby to detach
his interest from other persons. People who make great issues of
their most trivial personal affairs tend to enlarge the middle zone
167
at the expense of the upper zone. Pulver calls this an index of
"biological egotism" (fig. #138a, b).
I
~). _ 1ht ~ JtubfM
IWw~~~,~
I ~ ~ witYlifwrl
(a)
(b) #138
~eo., Q
. A small middle zone indicates that the writer tends to under-
rate himself and is given to inferiority feelings or self-abasement
(fig. # 139). In such scripts we find the expression of an ego
oppressed and depressed by the outside world.
In most handwritings the elements of the middle zone fluctuate
in height, in width, and in slant. The degree of this fluctuation is'
an indicator of sensibility. A very responsive person will react
to the environment with emotional lability. This gives us the
problem of the sensitive individual: with richness of feeling and
openness to experience there goes a corollary tendency to sur-
render wholly to emotional stimuli.
Parts of letters that jut out beyond their expectable limits
where the middle Zone is small, or unizonal letters 'that assume
almost the proportions of capitals, may stand for compensative
reactions, i.e., bursts of excessive self-assertion offsetting moments
of self-devaluation (fig. #140). Figure #141 presents a striking
example of diminution of the middle zone to such an extent that
the individual letters appear truncated, or almost flattened out.
This contrasts sharply with the surelevation. of the first stroke in
the initial letters of both names-s-the exaggeration moreover
#140
#141
carrying the stroke beyond the limits of both the upper and the
lower zone. It is significant that the writer, after this first thrust
of extreme self-assertion, draws in to an almost microscopic
second downstroke, while the third shrinks almost to the vanish-
ing point. The thrust and tension of the initial movement go with
a large and aggressive claim on space. The kinetic propulsion
comes from the depth, the movement taking its start from the
left (the past), far from the stem (the present). Graphologically,
this springboard stroke indicates extreme tension as well as aggres-
sive feelings that have their source in past experiences.
169
Uniformity of height indicates unwavering self-confidence or
overcontrol, to the exclusion of personal feelings. Monotonous
regularity of height bespeaks the regimented, automaton type of
individual (figs. #75, #76). The combination of a large middle
zone and rigid letters of stereotyped regularity is one of the hall-
marks of what may be called the schizoid pattern.
UPPER ZONE
The proportionate size of the stems, loops, and other elements
in the upper zone gives a due to the writer's intellectual and
spiritual orientation-his cravings and aspirations that reach be-
yond the sphere of practical interests. Well-proportioned loops
and stems, accompanied by high-placed i dots and t bars (p. 226),
reflect mental alertness and liberal sentiments. An upper zone
that predominates in height as against the other two suggests a
disposition to the "holy curiosity of inquiry," as Einstein phrases
#142
it. This is illustrated in figure #142, which presents the hand-
writing of William Herschel, the eighteenth-century astronomer
whose exploring spirit contributed notably to expanding man's
horizon. A revealing feature in this sober writing is the extra-
ordinary upper-zone configuration in the word "obed'r."
#143
170
Oversized elements in the upper zone, easy swing, and pleasing
design denote creative imagination. Abraham Lincoln's, hand-
writing reflects imaginative power in the upswing of the initials
and in the height of the upper zone (fig. #143). In Benjamin
#144
Disraeli's hand a complicated but organized design attests to rich
imagination (fig. #144). Figure #145 reproduces the signature
of an idealist in the romantic tradition, a religious philosopher
and a revolutionary. The tall stems of his initials symbolize a
#145
lofty and liberal view of life. Their intertwining reflects a com-
plex pattern of introversive and extraversive trends: the stem
that arches leftward points to the world of introspection, the stem
that springs rightward reaches toward the outer world and denotes
a tendency to identify with the social goals of humanity.
A contrast to the foregoing picture is offered in the hand-
writing of Mihaly Zichy, a painter who became famous and in-
famous because of a series of pornographic drawings he executed
for the czar of Russia. The fantastic configurations in the lower
zone, carried beyond all bounds of measure, are matched by the
171
#146
vaulting upper .loops and the high-floating i dots, indicating a
phantasy working powerfully in both the higher and the lower
psychic realm (fig. #146).
#147
A word of caution is needed, however, in regard to certain
pitfalls attendant on the interpretation of the upper zone. Figure
#147 presents a good case in point. Although the upper-zone
elements appear to have height, this is an effect only, resulting
from a mending, elongating, and retouching of the loops and
stems-as in the second t of the word "situation," and the h in
"happen." This writer is compulsively concerned with the gap
172
between his achievement and his aspirations. He corrects and
perfects his performance by enlarging and amplifying the upper-
zone elements, in order to compensate his insecurity feelings.
Oversized, formless, or confused upper-zone elements imply a
reaching into the realm of phantasy to substitute an imaginary
world for reality. Blurred strokes and amorphous forms extend-
ing into the stratosphere betray merely an unconscious flight into
dreams and illusions (fig. #148). A deliberate imbalance, ec-
(a)
#148
centricity, or obfuscation of design in this zone reveals the
fabricator who puts no bounds on his invention.
LOWER ZONE
The lower zone has been defined as carrying the expression of
material demands, biological imperatives, and instinctual urges.
In the upper portion of the lower zone are projected the tenden-
cies relating to material interests. Pulver designates inflated lower
loops as "money bags." Forcefully traced, full-bodied, long loops
173
in this zone denote strong sexual drive. In figure '#149, specimen
f is from the hand of a man to whom both these ascriptions
applied. Specimen c is the script of a woman regarded by her
friends as heartless; though she was driven by an insatiable sexual
urge, she was never emotional in her erotic relationships.
In considering the clues to sex behavior that may appear in the
elements of the lower zone, we must recall the limitation of
graphology as regards the possibility of readily discerning the age
and sex of a writer from his script (p. 115). It is true that
the graphologist can perceive "masculine nature" or "feminine
nature" in a handwriting-this referring, however, to the psycho-
logical rather than the physiological make-up of the subject. But
since the functional roles respectively assigned to the sexes-those
distinctive behavior patterns that have been "culturally over-
elaborated" in the past, to use Mead's phrase-have of late become
increasingly interchangeable, the reflection of the one pattern or
the other in a handwriting no longer serves as a sufficiently certain
index of the sex of the writer. It needs no more than to instance
the female wrestlers in television productions and male "sitters,"
career women and dishwashing men-to mention only a few of
the overlappings in modern life. Handwritings that might be those
of either men or women appear in figures #64, #98, #149 h (these
are actually female hands) and in figures #96, #149 a, #285 (male
hands) ; the scripts are those of professional persons.
Thus the handwriting of a man or woman may deviate in
some degree from the conventional masculine or feminine pattern
without thereby necessarily pointing to homosexuality. This con-
firms the finding of Jacoby69- on the basis of a study of the
scripts of thousands of sexually abnormal persons carried out at
the Magnus Hirschfeld Clinic in Berlin-that homosexuality is not
with certainty disclosed in handwriting.
However, considerable evidence has accumulated to indicate
that handwriting yields information about sex behavior. For ex-
ample, we have observed earlier (fig. #48) how the handwriting
of a genitally underdeveloped boy changed during a period of
174
#149
~ (~ . .
r =r+: M~rj-~ ttftq
(d) ~ / [J (I)
• ~ (e) -
# 150(11)
medical treatment that brought about the onset of sexual matura-
tion. In figure #15 O,'~ we may note changes in graphic expression
corresponding with changes in the sex behavior of a male pervert
(a "fetishist") following on psychotherapeutic treatmenr.U? In
the script shown in figure #156 a, the indications of lack of sexual
libido will become discernible in the light of the discussion below.
The pattern found in figure #59 reflects a twisted emotional at-
titude resulting from deficient sexual development. The script of
a male sex deviate reproduced in figure #151 shows effeminate
features.
#150(b)
• Courtesy of Herbert Peter.
176
THE LOWERLoops
The question as to how a given individual comes to terms with
sex can be approached graphologically through study of the lower
loops in his script, though the final judgment must of course take
into account the evidence of other features. It is important to
bear in mind always that it is not merely the size nor the shape
of the loop that tells us about the writer's erotic cravings (fig.
#149 a), his tender feelings (fig. #149 h), or his brute lusts (fig.
#149 b,g), his ability to establish relationship (fig. #149d,e), or
his tendency to repress (fig. #152) or suppress (fig. #156) de-
sires connected with the gratification of erotic needs. As in all
other aspects of interpretation, the over-all expression of the
writing pattern is a basic criterion.
# 152 (b)r=-: ,(a) U- ~t~
tJSzr fkd_ c: (~ '-(; ~
('-'- (c:-'.". .e VI~
177
In order to arrive at the true picture, it is necessary furthermore
to know something about the physiological processes involved in
tracing loops and stems. Our discussion of this point here permits
of only a tentative explanation in oversimplified form.
# 153
, For purposes of demonstration, we may consider the loop of
a model script-letter g (fig. #153). As the writer forms this loop,
the directing impulse pulls the pen downward-the resulting trace
being the descending stem of the loop. When the desired length
is attained, a reflex mechanism inhibits further downward motion.
Simultaneously a contrary directive impulse sets in, inducing
movement in the opposite direction. The change of direction is
expressed in the u turn of the loop. Beyond the bend, which is
called the head of the loop, the pen is pushed upward, carrying
the ascending stem up to the base line or beyond. It must be noted
that the downward movement is produced by the contraction of
one group of muscles, the flexors, which flex the fingers, and the
upward movement by the action of another group, the extensors,
which stretch the fingers. There is evidence that the action of the
flexors is accompanied by agreeable feelings, while the stretch
effected by the extensors is felt as more of a strain (p. 43) .
The pattern of motion in forming loops is well established as
a result of practice and is carried through rather automatically.
Though the mode of action is highly stereotyped, it is possible to
turn on control at will. There are several possible ways of reacting.
The writer may follow his motor pattern spontaneously and give
free rein to the reflex mechanisms operating at the turning point,
and thus produce a loop with a smoothly rounded head (figs.
#131, #149). He may also modify his natural motion by elabora-
178
I
I
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I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
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I (h) (i)
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I #l54
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I
# 15 5 (a)
-
(b)
tion (fig. #154 a-h.) or repress it (fig. #155 a, b). Or he may in-
terrupt the motion and cut off at the turning point (fig. # 156) .
Hence a variety of individual ways of self-regulation, or some
inhibition or deficiency, may influence the length and form of
the loop. A firm stroke together with a smooth curvature at
(aJ
# 156
(a)
7) #157
(d)
the turning point can be produced only by a writer whose move-
ment is free and well co-ordinated; this suggests analogous free-
dom and co-ordination in all other bodily movements, such as
gait, gestures, and sexual functioning (fig. #149). Elaborated
loops betoken interference with the normal movement, and betray
self-consciousness, i.e., awareness of something that should be a
purely reflex occurrence (fig. #154). Jerky, tremulous, or broken
loops denote weakness (fig. #157) or disturbed co-ordination
(fig. #158), while a skeleton stem without loop formation points
to a rejection of sex (fig. # 156). There may be other vagaries
projecting sexual phantasy (figs. #146, #154a,k), or departures
(b)
(c)
# 158
181
from normal patterning that disclose sexual evasiveness (figs.
#121, #134, #152), aggressiveness (figs. #127, #155, #275), or
perversion (figs. #151, #159, #279, #280); in figure #159 a, the
treatment of the letter p strikingly attests the mental imagery of
a male homosexual.
(a)
""d""
(b) (c)
# 159 (d)
It goes without saying that no actrvity proceeds without a
certain measure of control. But there is a range of difference in
degree, from the purely reflex level to overcontrol. It is well
established that some diseasesinvolving the central nervous system,
and others impairing the motility of limbs or joints, may cause
dysfunctions whose effects are recorded in odd formations of the
182
loop. But there is also evidence that some peculiar loop formations
testify merely to functional disorganization in an organically un-
affected individual, in t.he sense that subconscious or only partially
realized emotional factors, pleasant or unpleasant, interfere with
the act of writing.
However, the different lower-loop formations, reflecting dif-
ferent modes of sexual functioning, do not refer to clearly de-
fined, consistent types of sex behavior. In the writing of any given
individual, the loops may change from one form to another, as a
result of developmental changes, or of medication or psycho-
therapy; furthermore, any of a number of circumstances may
activate inhibiting factors or influence the writer's mood and
interest in sexual activity.
Various other graphic features such as slant, rightward or left-
ward trend in loops, clear-cut, pastose, or blotchy outlines, help
to illuminate the particulars of the psychosexual make-up of the
writer. These factors will be discussed in detail in later chapters.
Only one further aspect of the indications regarding sex behavior
to be found in loops and stems need be mentioned here-namely,
how much regularity of size they show. The degree of irregularity,
which may range from slight to extreme, reveals the degree of
the writer's susceptibility to stimulation and his readiness for
response. Beyond that it is also a gauge of emotional stability.
Each individual has his own threshold of sexual excitability and
his own measure of reactive control. Here again the general finding
applies. Monotonous regularity in the size of loops bespeaks the
dull temperament or overcontrol (fig. #138), whereas marked
irregularity mirrors extreme excitability (figs. #146, #251) or
lack of control (figs. #150a, #255).
183
( I X
S LAN T
The letters of a script are viewed as though they were standing
on a base line. If the downstrokes tilt away from the true vertical
by only a slight angle (50), the writing is considered to be up-
right. When the downstroke is so inclined toward the right or the
left that it slopes off no more than halfway from the vertical
(450 angle), the slant is regarded as moderate. When the down-
stroke leans nearer than this toward the base line, in either the
rightward or the leftward direction, the slant is rated as extreme
(fig. #160).
#160
184
In traditional graphology, a graphometer was used to obtain a
precise measurement of the angle of slant. For interpretative pur-
poses, however, such exactitude is unnecessary, although the
graphometer is employed in scientific investigations and in ex-
amining documents suspected of being forgeries.
The rightward slanting hand represents the most natural way
of writing and is the most frequently occurring one. It has more
"go" than the upright hand. Particularly in speedy writing, the
letters assume a rightward slant; that is, they lean forward in the
direction of the writing movement. The graphic gesture can be
visualized in terms of an image-the forward pitched body of a
jockey as he gallops his horse down the home stretch.
In the United States, the earlier copybooks prescribed the right-
ward slant (fig. #161), but this is no longer the only accepted
way of writing; indeed', the upright hand favored in many Amer-
ican schools is gaining ground (p. 45). A child at first necessarily
follows the copybook model, but when individualization sets in,
# 161
185
J:7!~~~e-,yi.~~ .~
~~~. =r:": ~"<-:W_
~~,4t!:-~e.-.cL-~ ~
4~~~~~~d7·~~~'"
# 162
he generally chooses the slant that comes natural to him. He may
adopt a rightward slant (fig. #162) or an upright hand (fig.
#163), regardless of whether his school penmanship training
favored the one or the other. He may, however, change to a left-
ward slant (fig. #164), which is never taught in any school. Slant
186
#164
is therefore ultimately a personal gesture. After the copybook
stage, emotional motivations are its major determinants, as is in-
dicated by graphological studies. As an outcome of direct ex-
perience, early graphologists believed rightward slant to indicate
a dominance of feeling, while an upright hand was held to connote
a dominance of reason. In the working hypothesis of modern
graphologists, the three categories of slant-upright, rightward,
and leftward-represent three basic attitudes, namely, self-
reliance, compliance, and defiance (Chart).
The writing of spontaneous and sensitive young persons in
general slants to the right, but there are youngsters who, in their
eagerness to stand up straight, lean backward. With advancing
years they become less impetuous, less emotional, and less defiant,
so that the degree of slant in either direction decreases (figs. #40,
#41, #337). An explicit example may be cited from the history
of a woman whose writing has been known to tht; author from
her earliest years. As a sensitive and emotional child, the subject
wrote a rightward slanting hand. With the advent of puberty, she
felt the strain of social, school, and parental restrictions, against
which she tried to revolt. This was expressed in a negativistic and
contrary behavior quite in contrast to her usual compliant con-
duct. In correspondence with this attitude, the girl's handwriting
changed, taking on an extreme backward slant. However, thanks
187
to a sympathetic and understanding environment, the rebellion
lasted only a short while, and she soon achieved a fairly good
emotional adjustment. In adolescence, her participation in the
romanticism that prevailed among young people in the first decade
of the present century in Europe was freely expressed in a right-
ward sloping hand. When the girl attained maturity, the slant
gradually moderated and her script became nearly upright. This
was especially marked in manuscript involving scientific formu-
lations, whereas her personal and informal communications still
showed a slight rightward slant.
Marked rightward slant is characteristic of persons who wear
their hearts on their sleeves, or wallow in sentimentality. Excitable
individuals whose reactions are enthusiastic or violent beyond
average bounds, write with an extreme rightward slant. Excessive
rightward slant goes with uncontrolled, irresponsible behavior and
lack of resistance to internal and external stresses.
The handwritings of alcoholics frequently show such extreme
rightward slant. The exaggerated slant is here generally only one
of a cluster of telltale features: these include unsteady, tremulous
strokes or a zigzag tracing that betrays gross tremor, and mis-
shapen letters set irregularly in wavering downhill lines (fig.
#165':·). This group of features seems to indicate a type of in-
# 165
* Courtesy James J. Smith, M.D.
188
# 166
dividual who is susceptible to alcohol not only because of lowered
psychological resistance but also because of a metabolic imbalance.
To those engaged in research on "problem drinking," it may be
of interest to know that handwriting can disclose a disposition to
drift into alcoholism.149 It may also reveal in the course of treat-
ment whether the patient is making an effort at control or is
simply drifting. In the first instance, the handwriting will often
show a change from rightward to leftward slant (fig. #166'~); in
the second, there may be no change of slant (fig. #167'~).
#167
* Courtesy James J. Smith, M.D.
189
An extreme rightward slant increasing in tilt within each suc-
ceeding word may indicate uncontrollable excitation or the over-
activity of mania. The progressive incline may reach such a
maximum that the final letter almost lies prone. This portrays a
person who loses all footing, toppling over in his frenzy. An out-
standing example of such a slant is supplied in the signature of
Adolf Hitler (fig. #168) .
•
#168
Figure #169 shows a script with a moderate rightward slant of
utmost regularity. Its vigorous, rhythmic flow suggests a high de-
gree of control. The pattern is impressive in its integrity of
structure, arising from the even distribution of diverse and flexible
forms, the steadiness of the shading, and the consistency of the
slant. But as the movement proceeds, a striking irregularity ap-
pears in the word "Cordially": the enlarged C shows a deviation
in slant, and the letter leans forward in a gracious enveloping
gesture. There is obviously some welling up of spontaneous emo-
tion here, so that the word is not written simply as a conventional
envoi. The graphic expression and the genuine sentiment are one:
there is a wish and a will to be cordial, and to extend a warm and
encompassing embrace. The soaring upper loops, reaching into the
sphere of idealistic concerns, suggest that the writer's warmth
extends to all humanity. Thus a few strokes, pregnant with mean-
ing, speak to the graphologist with a far richer eloquence than
hundreds of verbal meanings spread over many pages. Here they
give us in graphological epitome a profile of a noted American
personality.
190
;i~~f$ ~llftlw~b~~,
~tirl!'" QJ!rmtth~.
#169
191
The upright hand with firm vertical downstrokes suggests the
self-reliant writer who desires independence and is not prone to
display his feelings. A completely upright hand is not found very
frequently, since it demands the utmost control and will power
(fig. #163). More often the upright letters are interspersed with
slanting forms (fig. #170).
~ - t#2 ..• .e ~ Q-.A ~
#170
FLUCTUATIONS IN SLANT
A change of slant is the signal of a change in the direction of
the emotional current. Figure #171 shows the handwriting of a
young man of twenty-five who was thought to have an Oedipus
~#171L~:;::;;:;:;~~: ;;::!;.7~ ~ ~ /t
Jc.v..t_ ~a__~ ~~
](:t~~~\~
~ '(JL '_A<. ~ -b. -u...,
192
complex. After the death of his mother he suffeeed considerable
anxiety because of a fear of homosexual impulses. This state of
mind is reflected in the writing, which at first is slanted right-
ward and forms a naturally flowing pattern. Suddenly, however,
the writer, apparently gripped by anxiety, shifts to a leftward
slant, and from the fifth line on produces such lower-zone ano-
malies as the p in the word "peril" and the y in the word "way."
The abrupt change illustrates strikingly the immediate effect of
a psychic occurrence on graphic movement.
In the writing of persons violently torn between love and hate,
between fixation and protest, slant is quite unstable, often chang-
ing within a word (fig. #172 a) or even within a single pen
stroke; in other words, the letter body and its extensions may
slope in different directions (fig. #172 b). Fluctuations in slant
bespeak a conscious effort at control that is disturbed by an ambi-
valent response to assailing influences; in the seesaw of inclina-
tions of yielding and protest, the movement disintegrates and the
pattern becomes an array of disparate elements.
~u..1A ~U v!) ~ j \V\ 0-<- ~ rIo. IA IA ('v) ~v
\fQ ~ ~ ~~O A~~~\t$ / S-C ~ rJ rr:
c.",,-~~~,"i <N <> I 4 0 I-~~ "<,,, I &J .JC kJ l.V
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#172 (a)
~--> {~
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193
Extreme leftward slant points to conflicts whose sources lie in
early life experiences. It is the mark of an individual who builds
up defenses in the form of negativistic behavior, opposition to
everything-persons, surroundings, whatever situation may arise
(fig. #173). Mendel, in a study of such handwritings, made in-
-S..~- "ct', ~- _,.. .... 'v- --- .!..~
___...~~. ~~ ~_'.,j"~"'_1#o..·.A.·"''''.
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#173
qumes into the early childhood histories of G. B. Shaw, W. M.
Thackeray, Maxim Gorki, Hendrik Ibsen, and others. He 'found
that each of them had had an unhappy childhood disturbed by an
imbalance in the relations of his parents. Mendel maintains further
that slant is "the indicator of the writer's position between father
and mother, or, more specifically, between male and female leader-
ship."lOl There is little basis for such an assumption. Graphologists
are agreed merely on the general conclusion that slant, according
to its direction and degree, is a gauge of the writer's acceptance
of or resistance to environmental influences.
SLANT AND HANDEDNESS
Studies of the psychological significance of slant have fre-
quently left out of account the possible correlation with the
physiological factors underlying leftward or rightward orienta-
tion. The layman may be startled by the unequivocal assertion
that rightward slant is linked with right-handedness, and leftward
slant with left-handedness. 54 The fact becomes plain when an in-
dividual who has habitually used a rightward slant suffers some
lesion that deprives him of the use of his right hand and has to
learn to manipulate the pen with his left hand.37 He may acquire
194
sufficient skill to produce a script quite similar to his former hand-
writing, but his slant will now be leftward. Saudek demonstrates
this change by comparing specimens of the handwriting of Lord
Nelson produced respectively before and after he lost his right
arm at Trafalgar.P?
The great majority of people are right-handed; they use the
right hand as -the master hand" in manipulating the objects of
their environment, and employ the left hand only as an auxiliary.
Moreover, a right-hander has greater strength and facility in all
the members of the right side than in those of the left side; the
converse holds true for the left-hander.i" J
A minority of persons are left-handed. The left is their master
hand, with the right hand playing the adjuvant role. For these
individuals, writing presents special problems'F and difficulties,117
since their natural way of writing is the reverse of the conven-
tional right-handed procedure: this is called "mirror writing,"
i.e., it can be read like an ordinary script when reflected in a
mirror. An excellent example of mirror writing has been left by
Leonardo da Vinci, who, though equally adept with either hand,
was left-handed. It is interesting to note that he employed a con-
ventional right-handed writing for general communication, but
resorted to mirror writing in his diary (fig. #174).
#174
~~ . O1~rf1~~ oWO')!t p~o~,f ~f"r-;:I .~1\._?00,-;) ,or'~'~4-
..f ..:n ')~1~~cl~/,f""~ t~1·<..·-rf{ ~YRf'j,oo\'l.l -~IJ-Mlr~
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).)~ 3 .. ~"11\" ,,~~o~ ~lV(>~7TI}-_~""" •.~~~v~·.~ O~~fj~h~)
The fact that mirror writing is the natural mode of the left-
hander is well known, and has been experimentally demonstrated
by the author.l'' For example, a number of students who were
latently left-handed-though they were unaware of it and had
always written with the right hand-were asked to write their
195
# 175
names with the left hand in mirror writing, and also upside down.
They had never tried this before, yet they did it "right off the
bat," and quite successfully (fig. #175). Genuinely right-handed
students were unable to produce such writing.
But mirror writing is unsuited to the purposes of everyday life.
Therefore the left-hander is obliged to produce a script in the
expectable right-handed mode. He may do this with either hand.
However, it can be shown that even retaining the privilege of
using the left hand does not obviate the difficulties of the left-
hander constraining himself to the right-handed operational pat-
tern.i" Therefore many a left-hander shifts to use of the right
hand. Through practice he may achieve a more or less successful
adaptation: he may appear to be ambidextrous, using either hand
in various activities, or he may make an ostensible shift of handed-
ness and function like a right-hander. But whatever he does,
there is considerable evidence that his true orientation remains a
latent influence.F And against the repressions that his shift en-
tails, one of the ways of expressing his unconscious bent is to write
with a leftward slant. There are left-handers who appear fully
adjusted to the conventions of a right-handed world, even to the
rightward slant in writing. In order to achieve this slant, they
unconsciously hit upon the device of shifting the paper in a
counterclockwise direction-a position markedly different from
that used by the right-hander. But if the paper is placed straight
in front of the subject instead of obliquely, he will be unable to
196
produce a rightward slant, and his letters will definitely tilt to
the left.
This was confirmed in the course of the author's study57 of the
handwritings of 283 pairs of identical twins. In most of the pairs,
it was found, one of the partners wrote with a rightward and
the other with a leftward slant. The investigation provided evi-
dence that the dissimilarity in the handwritings of identical twins
is due to a difference in lateral dominance (p. 234), since in most
cases one twin proved to be right-handed and the other left-
handed,5s and this graphological finding was verified by clinical
examination of 'the subjects. Prior to this research, no explanation
of the dissimilarity in the handwritings of twins had been ad-
vanced;'!" although the question had been raised by Francis Galton,
the founder of the science of human genetics, as far back as
1883.40
e~/r-I e; ~ /~~. I
-ILLuuI~ / ~ 1M I 07I ~, t/l~-tau t.u.a V?d a_lja_LwaLu ~ -tLrcyt:lH,
f~ii1~ ~ ~4' (a)
#176
(b)
t4i) ·.a.P-aL, ~I J~ ~cd-.I U ~:~ ~U cvr!-~, vtt£.t- /,~~
/ Z /" . J1 • f / I 7'
~' UCUCULu ~ V ~~
~~ ~ / U~ fLu' 4-r:Pu a+ ?
Figure #176 shows specimens produced by two girls who were
identical twins. The handwritings look almost exactly alike. How-
ever, in a second test the writing page was deliberately placed in
the straight position before both of the girls. With this their
197
scripts became quite dissimilar. One twin again w rote with her
habitual rightward slant (fig. #177), while the other involuntarily
produced an extreme backward slant (fig. #178). In the first test
this girl had automatically compensated her leftward trend by
turning the paper. When she saw her backward slanted script, she
began to cry.
Since laterality is a salient factor in conditioning slant, it is
obvious that its interpretation involves a variety of complex
considerations. Not every graphologist has an opportunity of
ascertaining whether a subject is right- or left-handed, but this
remains largely a theoretical ·difficulty. In actual practice, the
basic principles of graphological interpretation generally prove
dependable. The usual reading of a backward slant as an indica-
tion of protest against or opposition to the environment (p. 62)
applies to the left-hander in perhaps an additional sense: by
sticking to his own bent he is protesting against the traditional
action pattern imposed on him by the right-handed world.16• 163
A recognition of this attitude is reflected in the terminology of
political life. Groups or parties that tend toward the conserva-
tion of traditional values and of established ways form "the
right"; the opposition-the dissidents, the nonconformists, the
iconoclasts-constitute "the left." And the French phrase, prendre
l'affaire Ii gauche, means to tackle a matter at the wrong end.
#178
198
( x
CONNECTIVE FORMS
In cursive writing, words are formed by joining letters to one
another. The letters themselves are formed by linking together
downstrokes and upstrokes. The tracings by which the joinings
are effected are called connective forms.. Graphologically, con-
nective forms are classified into four types. These comprise the
arcade, the garland, the angle, and the more or less anomalous
joining that appears either as a mere thread or as a double curve
(fig. #179).
#179
The arcade and the garland are rounded, the one being the in-
verse of the other. The arcade is shaped like an arch, the garland
like an open bowl. Where downstrokes and upstrokes meet di-
rectly, we have the angular connective form. The fourth type
199
appears where the linking of down- and upstroke is slurred to a
threadlike tracing, or where rounded turns used at both top and
bottom produce a double curve. These forms appear both in the
shaping of letters and as ligatures between the letters within the
word.
It is the mode of making joinings that gives the handwriting
its distinctive character. The type of connective form chosen to
join letters stamps the hand as rounded, angular, or of indefinite
character. Used as letter parts, these forms respectively shape the
letters: we may have for instance m'« and n's of garland type, of
arcade type, or of angular type. The fourth manner of connec-
tion produces a letter of indistinct shape (fig. #180). Thus the
connective form, as a salient and basically characterizing feature
of every handwriting, determines the essential expression of the
writing pattern. From the standpoint of interpretation, it is a
main indicator of the general make-up of the writer: it discloses
both the pattern of his neuromuscular functioning (p. 278) and
his psychosocial attitudes (chart, p.o13~1). (~~c_. ""L..-oo-O_..lr)
~~o ... <!~ ~e;, # 180
In the writing of any adult, some one type of connective form
will appear predominantly, and the same form will be found to
predominate in his graphic expression throughout life. It might
be supposed that every writer uses the mode of connection he
learned at school. In mature handwritings, however, the manner
of connection varies with the individual, regardless of what he
learned in early youth. In Germany, the copybook model for the
Gothic writing style taught up to very recently imposed the
angular connective form (fig. # 181), while in other Western
countries the school standard prescribes rounded connections. Yet
200
· _ v ".
/V A/ /Vt//'V1/ /VV /'V"VV AV AY »o: AJI/ AJI/
7r rA71l1J# 1f1H181
we find Germans adopting rounded connections because the
angular style seems to go against the grain with them. This de-
parture takes on striking implication when we compare the hand-
writings of two Germans of the old school who had, at least to
a degree, a common conditioning-those of the yielding Hinden-
burg (fig. #182) and of the implacable Bismarck (fig. #183).
Conversely, some individuals who have been taught to use a
rounded hand change to an angular style later in life.
F- ~~ ,f .9. 'J'~6.
~~~~
~~ -a. v<..u......--.....~.AoII'~
# 182
M11IIi-
# 183
201
# 184
There are others, moreover, who use -angles where none are
called for~.g., at the base or the top in oval letters such as a
and 0 (fig. #184). Similarly, an I may be linked to a succeeding
letter by means of an arcade, or u may be formed by arcades in-
stead of having the expectable garland for its base (fig. #185);
# 185
~.
it is not at all unusual to find the converse-an n formed by gar-
lands, so that it looks like a u. This makes the handwriting more
difficult to decipher (fig. #186). Writers aware of the liability
of confusion in such letter shapes try to correct their habit-
usually without success. It seems that it is easier to change the
size or slant of one's writing than the spontaneously employed
connective form.
#186
202
In an experiment carried out by the author, in which a number
of students were asked to make a casual continuous sequence of
u's like garlands, and then continuous n's like arcades, each writer
unwittingly revealed a marked leaning to the one or the other of
the two forms, and this favored form was produced with greater
facility and speed and with less tension and more regularity than
the other. 58 This finding was derived from graphodyne recordings
and measurements (p. 279). It seems to indicate that the tendency
to use garlands rather than arcades, or vice versa, goes deeper than
acquired habit and has its roots in the innate disposition of the
individual.
If we analyze each of the connective forms in terms of the
expression it projects, we shall understand why graphologists con-
sider that the mode of connection used by a writer shows how he
bridges the distance from the "I" to the "you," approaches his
fellow men in general, and links himself or fails to attach himself
to the environment. We must bear in mind constantly that the
ductus is conceived as a path from the ego to the outer world.
Hence the movement underlying the connective form is one of
the writer's unconscious gestures contributing to the shaping of
this individual path of his. That the manner of his gesture is a
most revealing index of the quality of his personality, will become
plain as we proceed to detailed analysis of each type of connective
form.
THE GARLAND
The garland links the downstroke to the upstroke with a flow-
ing curve swinging from left to right. It is a natural and effortless
mode of connection. Its easy motion indicates adaptability; its
shape suggests openness-in psychological terms, receptivity and
responsiveness. This attitude goes with smooth functioning in the
world, with instinctive avoidance of conflict and friction (fig.
#187). However, the disposition to avoid conflict does not neces-
sarily mark only the well-intentioned or the good-natured in-
203
#187
dividual-the man who is careful to do no harm and to hurt no
one's feelings. It is also found in the easygoing person who is in-
clined to take the path of least resistance (fig. #188), either from
calculating self-interest or from weakness. Only the garland firmly
and evenly traced can be evaluated positively (fig. #189).
Q ..... ~
# 188
#189
Generous garlands flowing through the script with rhythmic
freedom, their downstrokes producing a zestful accent like a
recurring musical beat, express the energy of competent persons
who give abundantly of themselves and yet do not yield nor lose
their firmness (figs. #190, #273). Broad and imposing garlands
204
, #190
stand for extraversion and suggest a degree of exhibitionism (fig.
#191). Shallow garlands running without modulation through
the script betray the voluble individual given to empty talk (fig.
#192). The flattened garland, traced weakly and flaccidly, indi-
# 191
#192
cates passive receptiveness, poor discrimination, or extreme sus-
ceptibility and lack of resistance (fig. #193). # 193
205
The underslung garland sprawled out so that it sags down on
the base line indicates depression. Figure #194 shows such gar-
l-inds in the script of a war veteran who had suffered a brain
injury involving the frontal lobe; after the surgical wound was
healed, he remained in a state of inertia and persistent depression.
The pronated form that may be called a pseudo garland expresses
adaptibility and amiability that are merely a veneer (fig. #195).
auf. CuJ'- # 195
LUe- l'cu
• l~. If/:) Toa
Here furthermore the downstroke and upstroke are traced in such
a way that they cover each other, and supply an illustration of
the concealing stroke. This feature of tracing occurs rarely in
broad garlands; it is found quite often in the pseudo garland and
in the deep, narrow garland. This deep and narrow garland, for
its part, is a contradiction of the true expression of the form
(figs. -#196, #368 b). Here the natural free flow of the movement
#196
206
C'~ ~ ~~
~'IL~ ~~.
~t0r04
#197
is under restraint, indicating that the genuinely extraversive dis-
position of the writer has been affected by environmental in-
fluences, and is veiled by shyness and reticence.
In the looped garland, when it is firmly traced, we have a form
that appears fluid but actually arises from a taut movement. The
springlike quality of the tracing is the outcome of tension miti-
gated by interpolation of a backward movement that necessarily
produces the loop in the upper part of the letter--especially in
m's and n's-from which the form is named (figs. #186, #197).
Thus, just as the effort of inhaling is eased by the relaxation of
exhaling, the strain of turning outward is relieved by turning
inward, the alternation of tension and release serving to maintain
a certain equilibrium.
THE ARCADE
Both the garland, which opens upward, and the arcade, which
is closed at the top, bridge over the distance between the writer
and the environment. Klages likens the contrast between these two
forms to the contrast between the open and the grasping hand-
the one receives freely, the other takes hold and covers. This image
led graphologists to the generalization that the garland betokens a
frank and liberal mind, while the arcade bespeaks the reserved
and secretive personality.
207
A glance at the handwritings of sculptors (fig. #198), archi-
tects and builders or planners in other fields (figs. #199,
#200), with their balanced arcades well integrated into the total
pattern, leads to a broader interpretation: the arcade implies a
structural sense. Its form suggests an arch, a bridge, a ceiling, a
hut on the ground. A corollary of this effect is the idea of en-
closure, covering, holding safe. By its nature the well-executed
arcade may have a pronounced architectural effect (fig. #212).
Not only persons working directly in the arts, but also those
concerned with aesthetic interpretation, such as art critics and
connoisseurs, etc., tend to produce arcades (figs. #199, #201).
#199
208
G Q)vynaiKQ 110 t-ou/~ VYlcW ( V~
l~t--- 1-'1,. '9~ ~ &U ,., (~~ / }11·d4,
CQ.M...JtJ2 V11£~ {(~~ -1~ m"""
aida .
#200
Thus the writer who uses arcades is concerned first and fore-
most with structure, appearance, covering over or masking; a
certain formalism checks spontaneity here. Pulver holds that this
writer takes his stimuli in part from the visual and the aesthetic,
in part from the deep sources of tradition and the collective ex-
perience of his race and class. Thus while the garland expresses
an easy and informal attitude, the arcade is associated With
formality, control, and premeditation. The garland is the sign of
availability for interpersonal relationships; the arcade closes the
door, shuts out the world, shows only a facade. It is for this reason
#201
209
#202
lhamb qOlL b~ ~ rnu.c.h
? (L ~~ ~~ lM-
that formalistic persons (fig. #202), as well as moral and social
bigots (fig. #203) use the arcade. Where rhetoric and lip service
take precedence over sincerity and genuine outgoingness, there
the arcade will be found (fig. #204).
~I-+-~~~~;~
~~~~h~/0~.x-
#204
Structurally unbalanced or shallow arcades call for a negative
interpretation. A shallow arcade does not suggest a proud arch;
rather, it shrinks to the image of a molehill (fig. #205). Top-
heavy or ballooning arcades, interlaced in an irregular pattern, are
often found in the writing of emotionally or mentally disturbed
210
~~
~~CJ> /6./~
a-.d ~
#205
individuals; figure #206 shows the handwriting of a Lesbian, a
cruel woman who was a troublesome and vicious schemer and a
relentless liar. Figure #207 presents a handwriting in which com-
mitment to the arcade is so strong that this form appears even
where it conflicts with natural movement in the shaping of a
letter, and the connection takes on an exaggerated or decidely
conspicuous emphasis.
Since arcades result from controlled movements, they tend to
be narrower than garlands. Markedly narrow arcades result from
restricted movement, denoting inhibition. Arcades in which the
downstroke and the upstroke are so close together that they
#206
#207
211
#208
~ -vJ .vJ~-
~~~~~~
'l~~ r~ ~=, s~C-.. eJV}-kv,,,, :
partially conceal each other may reflect a reticent, timorous, or
secretive nature, with a concomitant of insincerity (fig. #368 c).
This form is often identified as the hypocrite's or sycophant's
tracing; some early students of handwriting went so far as to
regard it as the mark of the "wolf in sheep's clothing." Figures
#208 and #209 both illustrate consistent use of arcades with
concealing strokes. The first reproduces the script of a nurse who
had had a very unhappy childhood. Her inhibitions led her to
leave her husband after three days of marriage, and from then on
to consume herself in overwork. She subsequently met another
man whom she liked very much, but the only intimacy she per-
mitted over a period of years was holding hands. Figure #209
shows the script of a nun whose only slightly concealed strokes
suggest that the restrained behavior pattern they express was a
social form, a part of her convent garb.
#209
212
1-ot.u~ ~~-
i, ~ dA-cvm- Glt.
#210
The fact that the garland and the arcade are one the inverse
of the other takes on special significance in connection with the
handwritings of twins who differ in handedness. It has been ob-
served that in such a pair the right-handed twin makes garlands,
while the left-handed mate makes arcades. Figures #210 and #211
present the handwritings of twin brothers who were both archi-
tects-the first being the script of the right-hander, the second
that of the left-bander. The latter, in tracing the wavy line re-
quested of both subjects as part of the experiment, began by
making garlands as his brother was doing, but found it uncom-
fortable and in the third trial resumed the connective form to
which he was really conditioned.
This experiment demonstrates once more how the polarities of
right and left, and up and down, help to explain disparate func-
tioning in the handwritings of identical twinsY It has been shown
\v\VWtM ~~~ tt1- ivJ~lA~~·
t~~ S'\}-(t~ ~ I ~ \tar:o k .~~:
213
how the opposite orientations of the right-hander and the left-
hander express themselves in a rightward slanted script in the
one and a leftward trend in the writing of the other. It should
not be surprising therefore to come upon a parallel demonstra-
tion in their use of opposite form types in making connections-
the one preferring the garland, and the other its inverse, the
arcade.58
Where the arcade appears as the first element of the initial
letter of a word, while elsewhere in the writing a different con-
nective form is used, the variant tracing is regarded as standing
for a formal gesture, a salutation or an obeisance (figs. #212,
#221). Where the arcade appears as the ending of a word, it con-
notes inhibition, since it implies a movement' of retreat replacing
the natural outgoing spurt of a final stroke. This pantomine of
holding in or withdrawal may be due to embarrassment or de-
fensiveness; it may also, however, be evaluated as indicating a
suppressive impulse arising from insincerity.
THE ANGULAR CONNECTIVE FORM
The garland and the arcade permit of a smooth, gliding move-
ment with a forward impetus. The angular connective form,
however, imposes a check on the continuity of movement-an-
abrupt stop and start at each turning point. The writer is obliged
to brake the natural flow of his movement, since he can advance
at satisfactory speed only by holding his pen firmly while joining
the down- and upstrokes. This type of movement implies the same
habituation to discipline reflected in the angular writing pattern
as a whole (p. 93).
The angular formation is characteristic of strong-minded per-
sons-those who welcome resistance and are disinclined to yield.
This quality of personality is illustrated in the signature of a man
who stood his ground in the Prussian ministry of state until he
felt it imperative to resign in protest against the growing as-
cendancy of Nazi doctrine (fig. #212). The angular connection
214
#212
is found also in the handwriting of individuals who seek to impose
their will upon the environment: it is an expression of the egotist
(fig. #360), and of the "rugged individualist" or the noncon-
formist (fig. #213), and thus it may appear as the mark of the
power urge j a classic example of such expression is the handwriting
of Bismarck (fig. # 18 3) •
The extremely regular angle, producing sharply cut, precise
letters, is the choice of engineers and other technologists. This type
of angularity can also be found in the scripts of persons occupied
with the theoretical aspects of mathematics and the physical
sciences. An outstanding example is the handwriting of Albert
Einstein, which is notable on the one hand for its commonplace
simplicity and on the other for the ingenious details in its upper
zone (fig. #214).
hI~~,f~h~
~
#214 1~i;~~.
215
#215
Irregularly formed angles bespeak a misguided attempt to dis-
play resolution, i.e., obstinacy or stubbornness (fig. #215).
THE THREADLIKE CONNECTIVE FORM
The connective form reduced to a threadlike stroke is the ex-
pression of an individual who is unsure about the world and most
of all unsure about himself. He cannot make up his mind; he
shuns the sharp corners of decision or vacillates between con-
flicting impulses. Klages interprets a thread formation appearing
in the middle of a word as an index of the indecision that char-
acterizes hysteria (fig. #216). On the other hand, the threadlike
form may result merely from haste or excessive speed. When
thought outruns the pen, the movement may be slurred in an
effort to keep pace, at the sacrifice of form and articulation (fig.
#217). A related form is the anomalous or amorphous tracing in
which garland and arcade are combined, producing the double
curve (fig. #218) ; this in rapid writing may appear flattened to
a thread.
#216
~~~.
~~/~.
j~4~~~
216
J1-_-- G'r--Qk.J--~~ #217c...~ . o._ """"(SU""k '(!J-
-~-----
~~~~-z;_~
.... - .. ~
~·//~~#218
.. A~:a::g out"-o~-wOhrd~' :aspecifi~ceanmg. It;,
the ultimate version of the tendency to decrease the letter size
toward the end of a word (p. 155). It betokens an intuitive cast
of mind-the individual who catches every thought of another,
spoken or unspoken, who has the ability to "tune in," and also
ability to wriggle out of difficult situations, to hit upon solutions.
It is an index of the person who is not likely to commit himself
to one course of action. In the illegible signature reproduced in
figure #219, all of the middle zone is literally stretched out to a
mere scrawled thread, except for the clear tracing of the initial
of the given name. A striking feature is the phantom upper zone,
in which the t bars and i dots are placed where they belong in
relation to the letters that should appear. The signature is that of
an urban district politician known for his sinuous dexterity in
handling people. The inverse of this form is the threadlike ending
~--------------.----------
#219
217
~~~
-I!LJ..::. ~ ~ "'(-\
#220
emphasized by sudden heavy pressure. This seems to be an ex-
pression of violence, a gesture of assault venting temper or dis-
comfort (fig. #220).
THE MIXED CONNECTIVE FORM
In general, handwritings in which there is not some slight in-
consistency in the use of connective forms are rare. Thus, many
scripts will show a few angles interspersed among arcades; in
others, isolated garlands appear amidst other types of connec-
tions. The interpretation of such variations depends, first, upon
the manner and frequency of their occurrence, and, second, on
whether they result in any weakening of the expressive effect of
the predominant connective form. If the occurrence of variants
is not frequent, and does not destroy the essential consistency
of the writing pattern, it may be positively interpreted, as in
figure #221. Here we have a changing movement recorded in a
spontaneous writing pattern in which the variation of connective
forms does not detract from the unity and clarity of the in-
dividual expression, A notable feature is that while the garland
predominates, the beginning of a word or letter always takes the
arcade form (as in the m), with the predilection for the garland
thereupon immediately reasserting itself. The word or letter end-
ings invariably show the garland formation.
This pattern of variation points to an interaction of conven-
tional social motivation and heartiness of approach-the latter
attitude taking the lead in interpersonal contacts. The impression
is reinforced in the pattern as a whole by the rightward slant, the
218 .
#221
rightward tending terminal strokes, the generous spacing, and the
unpretentious design of capitals as well as other letters. In terms
of personality, such a consistently varied pattern indicates many-
sidedness, swift alternation of ideas, and a notable adaptability in
using-with speed and economy-the variety of abilities and
219
ideas thus implied. Here we find the constellation of graphic and
psychological features that characterizes the user of the garland
in no wise impaired by the coincident appearance of the arcade.
A similarly definite constellation of features marks the script
in which the arcade is dominant. The graphic traits include nar-
rowness in the letters, upright or leftward sloping forms, con-
trolled or restricted flow of movement, counterclockwise turns in
circular formations, and abbreviated (fig. #305) or leftward
tending terminal strokes (fig. #306). Occasional garlands appear-
ing in this type of script soften the severity of the pattern and
its expression of reserve and introversion. If, however, the variant
forms are angles, the graphic picture becomes more severe, sug-
gesting sharpness and ruggedness in the make-up of the writer.
Where we find relative uniformity in the use of connective
forms, we may postulate a one-sided personality. Uniformity
nuo ~ 0& ~ 0fNA_
~ ~. ;ro ~ tlu pn1Jt<m.-
~i1 __~ -,. -cL\~ clCCPuu..-\ D\. ~~~
~-~_S:LU.N.L.~_~ ~ ~_.~-,,\\e.u.._
#222(a)
carried to an extreme produces stereotypy (fig. #222 a). Extreme
regularity in forming angles is found in handwriting in which
mechanical drill has destroyed the capacity for spontaneous ex-
pression (fig. #222 b).
#222(b)
220
X I
CONTINUITY AND FLUENCY
In cursive wrrnng, the school model presents the word as a
unit-a succession of letters joined to one another. However, no
child is able to trace the form of a whole word in a single sweep
of movement without once lifting the pen; indeed, very few
adults are capable of doing this. In a flowing hand, several suc-
cessive letters may be written in such a unitary movement (fig.
#223). But individuals who write clumsily or laboriously find it
necessary to raise the pen frequently for a fresh start. In some
handwritings, there is a break after almost every letter; even a
single letter may be traced with more than one stroke. These
breaks, however, are not necessarily very noticeable. They may for
instance be camouflaged in what is called the "soldered break,"
i.e., a retracing in which the writer attempts to fit together the
parts of the broken stroke (fig. #224). However, no matter how
well the joining is made, such adjustment always shows.
221
The ability to connect a group of letters by means of a con-
tinuous movement is attained when writing becomes an automatic
function. Walking, talking, using a typewriter, playing the piano,
are all examples of routine skills acquired similarly by practice.
Such functioning involves a complex co-ordination by which a
sequence of motions performed always in a certain order unrolls
with ease at any tirne.P? When writing has reached this stage of
development, the demands upon attention lessen: a single stimula-
tion sets up a train of sequential motions covering a certain span.
The larger the span, the greater the economy in time and energy.
An early study made by Rieger.l " and more recent work carried
through by Pophal.P? have shown that there is a difference in the
neural processesunderlying the writing produced by separate mo-
tions as against that resulting from unbroken sequential move-
ment. In the first, a separate innervation is required for the
starting and another for the stopping of each motion. Sequential
movement, on the other hand, arises from a single innervation,
and thus consumes less energy than a group of separate motions.
In the beginning, a child forms each letter separately. When he
acquires skill, he carries out the writing movemeht almost without
conscious attention, each part of a word automatically inducing
the next.
The author's studies of writing performance in school children
in Hungary showed that the average ten-year-old wrote the word
#225
10 YEAR.5
7 MONTH3 i."""""'" ~...c::.r'\ c:"'Y':':> rt:"'""':C'=' et""\ 0 8 INTERRUPTION"
AVERA6E PRE5&URE' ~2b!1" I TIME' e,I"'EC.
11YEAR5 jA 1"""> _"""""'c<>o. 0 ftc <=='><"' A 6 INiERRUPTION.:;
8 MONTH" "'IiER"G!: PRE:)5UR.E, 2.32 9"'i TIME:'7.43.5EC
I2,YEAR5 4- lNTERRUPT10N~
10 HOI'lTlie,
222
"Budapest" with ten interruptions, chopping it up into eleven
parts.t:' As the child grew older, the interruptions decreased to
six or five. At the eighteen-year age level, the interruptions
averaged three, not counting those that occur in dotting i's or
crossing t's. The advance toward increasingly sequential move-
ment is best demonstrated by graphodyne records showing the
decrease of interruptions in movement in children's handwritings
year by year. The graphodyne tracings in figure #225 show these
changes in the handwriting of a boy of better than average skill,
by a comparison of his writing performances at the ages of ten
and a half, eleven and a half, and twelve and a half respectively.
The average adult writer interrupts his movement with each
syllable in a word, besides stopping to dot i's and cross t's. This is
normal practice and represents a medium degree of connectedness
(fig. #226). When words are written by means of a continuous
movement without any lifting of the pen, we have a high degree
of connectedness (fig. #227). When the words appear markedly
chopped up, .we speak of disconnectedness (fig. #228).
~--'d"'""~"'~~MII? #226
~. ,,_~ .h'l ~~ ~ ~.. u.....
-'I &-~~_
#227
51'~ ,...c..--_, ~
7" ~ ..
a 'J -a,.
< .., "'J ~~
#228
\u'.\ ~.,._ <N-~ ~~4. L~
CONTINUITY OF STROKE AND UNITY OF MOVEMENT
Connectedness is not to be jpdged solely on the basis of the
continuity of the stroke, i.e., the trace of the pen upon the paper.
Many writers do not interrupt their movement each time they
raise the pen; thus the writing movement may be continuous
even though the stroke is not. In other words, when the pen is
lifted from the paper, an interruption of the stroke occurs, al-
though the writing movement itself does not necessarily stop. The
raising of the pen is merely a part of an unbroken curve of
movement, just as a skier's jump produces a break in his trail on
the snow but does not mark an interruption of his course.
Writing produced by a continuous movement of this kind is
marked by flying finishes at the points where the pen was raised
and new starts where it returned to the paper. If the ending
point and the new starting point can be connected by an
imaginary line that would coincide with the curve of continuity
of the actual movement, the latter is assumed to have been un-
broken. Conversely, when a 'shift of direction appears, the writing
movement is regarded as having been discontinuous.
This test can be applied with striking proof in figure #229,
which reproduces a letter from the pen of a French painter. It
will be seen that the first seven words represent two unitary
movements. Cher Ami in the first line and [e in the second are
written in a single sweep: it is rather easy to perceive the con-
tinuity of movement taking in the r of Cher and the A of Ami.
It is only a little less plain that the same sweep of movement,
carrying on from the end of the i in Ami through the dot, vaults
.across the page to resume visibly again in the flying start of the J.
Between Je and suis, however, there is a break. The long sweep
across the page finally spends itself. A fresh impetus is needed to
start on suis, as is evidenced by the adjustment between the two
words-i.e., the initial hook of the s and the dying end stroke of
the e in [e are on different levels. Going on with the imaginary
reconstruction of the writing movement, we find the four words
224
---------- --- - ......................•
I~~ t c: ~
~. ~.b:;~.
~ J-<tv-~ r
p ~ wi.-.r--.
#--(Z:~
,
225
••• ..
suis ici depuis bier to have been produced by a unitary movement
that came to a close attested by the period and the large blank
space following it.
This specimen is striking for the sweep and unity of its pattern.
The fluency and continuity of movement produce streamlined
connections. and build configurations in which every dot seems
, to be placed according to a creative plan. Such patterning makes
a thematic unit of the written page. It comes naturally to men
whose lives are integrated and who seek satisfaction in constructive
work. A different type of continuity appears in the handwriting
shown in figure #230; here the pattern of connectedness is ex-
pansive and complicated, reflecting a wealth of imaginative as-
sociations.
#230
The variety of individual habit in regard to raising or dragging
the pen is especially reflected in the great number of ways con-
trived for dotting i's and crossing t's. One variant appears in the
built-in i dot and another in the coupling t bar (fig. #231).
Thus far we have been discussing continuity and fluency as
pertaining to cursive writing, which is based on flowing, con-
226
I
; t
#231
tinuous movement. In regard to printscript, in so far as continuity
appears at all, it must be considered in different terms. Here each
letter is set down as a detached entity, and this requires constant
interruption in movement. But most pen printing betrays join-
ings produced by impulses outside of the control of the mind and
227
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o ltJtJee A ~N G- ;:
£: t-€ctL 0AI 5. I tV ~A.~ LJA«.'1.
#232
hand (fig. #232). Indeed, some scripts of this type, especially
when the writing has been done at great speed, show a continuity
of movement comparable to that found in cursive writing. Here
too connectedness increases with speed and decreases when the
forms are slowly and carefully traced.
DEGREES OF CONNECTEDNESS AND THEIR MEANING
Early graphologists held the presence or absence of connected-
ness to denote two opposite types of mentality-connectedness
indicating a writer of logical bent, and disconnectedness an
intuitive mind. The script of Henri Bergson, who analyzed the
function of intuition in the thinking process, illustrates this point
(fig. #233). Klages contended that connectedness, as reflecting a
logical cast of mind, is a masculine trait, while disconnectedness,
as associated with intuition, is a feminine characteristic. In support
of his assumption he offered the following data. Out of 100 edu-
cated men, 80 had well-connected handwritings, 10 showed more
than the ti:erage number of interruptions in connectedness, and
another 10 followed no pattern j on the other hand, only 50 out of
100 women had well-connected handwritings. Modern graph-
ologists waive such sweeping generalizations in favor of an ob-
jectivity that takes into account also the innumerable interrelated
other factors.
The degree and quality of connectedness in a script constitute
an amazingly individual feature, and it would take volumes to
describe all the possible variations that may be encountered. At
228
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I .
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ju i JJ Vt... ce a:»: tLiL.'X./?LeIJ;' 'c: 2 e./vP?1... --; K_
fit- '/( t Uli.-i! /: /r":' ""-PI' "-"-'- te/I ...,
1<- t;,..tc. m.d-,,-/etc/7 A't_f}f_J ;__ 1141<..] t c»: ..VLC;)
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-Ite.'JdiJf/~/t{,t'J JI4erlj(/~/
#233
best it is possible only to touch upon the main aspects of con-
nectedness and their meanings.
Of primary import is the location of the joinings, In the middle
zone, differing degrees of connectedness denote differing degrees
229
#234
__.o~ <' , ,,_ 1-.' -- , .A- r,
t3 i- f'\ /'-' I ...-' 0-I... .: J) t
#235
of ability (fig. #234) or inability (fig. #235) to connect experi-
ences purposefully and to discern relationships on a common-sense
basis-i.e., differing degrees of capacity for adaptive behavior.
The frequency and the quality of the joinings in the upper
zone offer clues regarding the writer's associative processes-i.e.,
the manner in which his chain of thought builds up, and the
extent to which emotional factors influence this structuring (figs.
#106, #13 5). Disconnectedness in the upper zone, or between the
upper and the middle zone, may signify lapse of attention or a
weakening of the associative process (fig. #236). It may on the
other hand represent an intuitive leap over those intermediate
#236
230
steps of reasoning that go with logical thinking (figs. #105, #233).
The degree of connectedness found in the lower zone supplies
indices regarding the extent of the Writer's ability or inability to
establish relationships. Absence of the ligatures prescribed by
school standards in penmanship, particularly in the loops, mani-
fests some form of refusal or incapacity to make a satisfactory
socio-erotic adjustment (p. 177).
#237
After analyzing the joinings according to their location, the
next step is to determine whether the ligatures are appropriate to
the letter forms and to the general structure of the given script
(fig. #229). Joinings should facilitate the flow of the movement
and contribute to the integration of the pattern and its rhythmic
expression, and should not complicate nor obstruct in these re-
spects (fig. #237).
Overconnected configurations are produced by rhetoricians,
verbose persons, time wasters, individuals who make much ado
about nothing (fig. #238). Straggling ligatures making uncalled-
for connections between words, although there may at the same
#238
231
#239
time be interruptions of continuity within the word, betoken
loose thinking (fig. #239), and suggest also a lack of discrimina-
tion. Unrelieved connectedness resulting in monotonous patterning
may be an expression of perseveration, i.e., obsessive repetitious-
ness, since treadmill use of the same motion may mean simply a
following of the path of least resistance, where attention is
lowered by distraction or by mental or bodily fatigue. Superfluous
joinings contrived by means of overextended strokes of im-
moderate sweep, or by means of swirling flourishes, are a sign of
euphoric excitation, unbridled phantasy activity, or a tendency
to delusional flights of ideas (fig. #148). These exaggerations
eclipse the essentials of structure, shifting emphasis to secondary
details and to arbitrary or supernumerary additions.
Some writers interrupt their movement on the stem of each i to
dot it, and on the stem of each t to cross it. Others start a new
sustained movement with the i dot, which may then be hooked
with a peculiar antenna-like extension to the following letter or
word (fig. #231). This kind of linking in some cases indicates a
state of systemic fatigue. Duparchy- Jeannez, in a book entitled
Les maladies d'apres l'ecriture, demonstrates such ligatures in the
handwritings of individuals suffering from chronic nervous ex-
haustion. #240
IV!
~
232
.i ""~"y~-
~ I
~
:!~ #241
In disjointed handwritings, connections are dropped. This re-
fusal to join elements that should by nature cohere is the gesture
of an unco-operative mind; it shows lack of empathy, a need to
maintain psychic distance (fig. #240). In some disconnected
scripts, there is evidence of attempts to make normal joinings:
the writer is trying unsuccessfully to bridge a gap. He may be
doing it by retouching or mending, or by soldering, or by super-
imposing an arbitrary ligature on a finished letter to cover the
hiatus (figs. #147, #241).
In so-called fragmentary writing, the downstrokes are clear
but the upstrokes are partially or wholly missing; thus the letters
have only skeleton forms. Such scripts are produced by individuals
who, as Jacoby puts it, are trying to burn the bridges between
themselves and the world at large."? Such writing pictures what
Toynbee calls "schism in the soul" (fig. #242). Lines, words, or
#242
?c;>
233
letters broken by gaps, or cracking to pieces, as it were, point to
a peculiar disorganization, to incoherent and damaged expressive
function. Such fragmentation may also be indicative of speech
impairment: the subject may be found to have difficulty about
speaking in coherent sentences, or in finding the right words for
what he wants to say, or in articulating them normally.
FLUENCY IN SPEECH AND WRITING
Though the correlations between speech and writing are self-
evident, their implications have not received appropriate attention
on the part of either speech therapists or graphologists. It may be
assumed that in the act of writing, silent speech is a preliminary
to graphic exteriorization. However, there are individuals who can
put their thoughts into writing without the mediation of silent
speech-i.e., some visual-minded persons report that they have a
vision. of the written words prior to conscious verbalization. It
may be that this group includes those professional writers whose
easy and vivid style is in flagrant contradiction to their uneasy
and clumsy speech. However, their speech difficulties will be ap-
parent in their handwritings.
According to established scientific conceptions, one side of the
brain only is involved in the speaking, reading, and writing
functions; this side of the brain is called the dominant hemisphere.
It is of great importance to realize that the hemisphere that domi-
nates in control of these higher functions likewise determines
handedness-i.e., the superior dexterity of the one hand as against
the other. Paul Broca, who in 1860 discovered the specific func-
tional organization of the brain, defined the phenomenon of
handedness in these words : "We are right-handed because we are
left-brained." The "we" indicates that Broca himself must have
been right-handed, since it leaves out of account the individuals
who are left-handed because they are right-brained.
In view of all this, there should be nothing startling in the
postulation that handwriting mirrors speech, and vice versa. Good
234
speakers generally write a fluent and articulated hand-i.e., the
continuity and fluency of their writing matches the even flow of
their speech. The person who spills out his thoughts in one breath
presents a handwriting picture different from that of the in-
dividual who ejaculates his words with fumbling hesitation. A
shallow, gliding script pattern may denote the filibusterer with
his output of empty words, while slurred and dim writing, or
fragmentary forms, may express the palsied feebleness of a slurring
or defective speech.F
DISTURBANCES IN FLOW OF SPEECH AND WRITING
Interest in writing disturbances led the author to study the
speaking and writing function in persons with speech disorders.t?
An examination of several hundred cases gave evidence that
stuttering, faulty articulation, and severe defect or loss of speech
are accurately reflected in handwriting. The many symptoms of
speech defect, ranging from hesitation, or interruption and ob-
servable repetition, to spasmlike blockage or dead stops in the flow
of speech, are mirrored in corresponding disturbances in the flow
of writing146 (figs. #243-48).
The anxiety and inhibitions that arise when the speech reflex
is not securely established lead necessarily to feelings of social
insecurity, emotional maladjustments, and even to neuroses and
to psychosomatic disturbances of a secondary nature.l"? All of
these personality difficulties accompanying speech disability can
be read in the writing pattern of the individual so affected (fig.
#35) .
An even broader investigation of stutterers was undertaken by
the author in 1929 in Berlin.f" in association with Kurt Lewin.
To uncover the congruence between verbal and nonverbal ex-
pression in such subjects, we studied the general motor behavior
of stutterers in varying emotional situations. Our tests covered
manual skill, speech, writing, gait, etc. Although we assembled
a battery of new devices-for example, moving pictures and
235
speech recordings taken simultaneously, which was quite an in-
novation at the time-it became evident that more adequate
techniques were needed. This need was met by designing and
constructing the special apparatus now known as the graphodyne
(p.64).
Figure #243 reproduces the graphodyne tracing of the given
name Pdl of a Hungarian schoolboy. Each crest of a wave shows
the maximum pressure exerted by, the writer in producing
one stroke; the portion of the abscissa intersecting a wave indi-
cates the time consumed in making the stroke. In his effort to
overcome his difficulties in writing (articulating) a word, the boy
expended 1220 grams of writing pressure instead of the 300 to
400 grams representing the average effort for his age. The time
consumed in tracing the three-letter word (9.05 sec.) is excessive.
The movement is interrupted by four blockages. Slowness of
movement is evidenced by the stretched-out crests and the four
dead stops recorded by the length of the intervals in which the
tracing rests on the base line. After a year of psychotherapy and
medication, the boy's speech and general motor behavior im-
proved; this is demonstrated in his writing by decreased per-
formance time (4.62 sec.) and reduced intensity of pressure
(760 grams) .56
1,,'10S'" ~
~ 760 gtY1I
-r:A~
#243
236
#244 #245
Figure #244" shows the script of a hemming stutterer who is
obliged to make a long stop after the effort of the first letter. A
commonly observed pattern of stoppage and break in the tracing
of a letter appears in the n shown in enlargement in figure #245.
The writer, unable to go on from the point of the break, doubles
back and has to repeat the pattern of the blocked movement.
Thus the letter looks disintegrated. Spastic movement of this kind
may also lead to duplication of letter parts and entire letters (figs.
#246", #247"). These graphic gestures picture what occurs when
the writer attempts to articulate a word. #246
(a)
(b)
• Courtesy Dcso Weiss, M.D.
237
J_fi~~~~·· 6100
~ ..J
#247
Many stutterers try to mask their wrinng difficulties, each
developing his own style of camouflage. In the script shown in
figure #248, the writer, in trying to control his defective move-
ment, makes great pauses between words and syllables; the dots
before the words register the probing movements he makes in
getting a start. The shaping of the last word reflects a spastic
moment that led to the marked fragmentation and distortion of
the last word, Soba.
#248 '~I ~ S~.-.9vl
~~J~a1!ikkAoAm
#249
In the handwriting of a thirteen-year-old boy reproduced in
figure #249, we see evidence of lowered muscle tonus (p. 278) ; the
indices are excessive slowness, slight pressure, feeble and tremulous
strokes, and shaky loops. The defective writing in this case dis-
closed a general inadequacy of muscle tonus and of neuromuscular
co-ordination, affecting not only writing movement but also
speech articulation and other functions. In the light of accumu-
lated experience, this pointed to an endocrine disorder. Upon the
author's advice, a specialist in endocrinology was consulted. His
diagnosis established the presence of a dysfunction of the adrenal
238
glands. A course of treatment led to considerable improvement in
the somatic condition, which was reflected in an improvement of
speech and writing.
As a result of the author's research and experimental work with
the graphodyne, handwriting analysis came to be widely em-
ployed in various countries of Europe as a tool in the diagnosis
and therapy of speech disorders.": 38
239
( X I I
SPEED AND PERSONAL PACE
Obviously speed in writing, like speed in any other motor func-
tion, increases with practice. By a natural and expectable develop-
ment, the painstaking, slow, unsure tracing movements of the
child evolve to the automatic, sure fluency of the adult. However,
no amount of training can make a speed champion out of a slug-
gard. The tempo of all the complicated movements an individual
learns to perform in a lifetime is set for him by his innate nervous
organization. The rate of nerve conduction and the speed of
associative processes as well as of motor responses-irrespective of
how they are influenced by endocrine, nutritional, or other factors
that determine the functional state of the nervous system-all
contribute to personal pace.
Handwriting analysis offers a unique means for studying per-
sonal pace in all its complexities. Its technique enables us not only
to distinguish between "quick" and "slow" individuals, but also
to probe a little more deeply into the phenomenon of personal
tempo. For example, it has helped us to learn something about the
variability of the factor of personal speed, and the conditions or
influences that may interfere with or modify it.
In graphological interpretation, quantitative accomplishment as
such-referring to the number of letters or words written within
a given space of time-is not important nor very revealing, though
early psychologists+? who were not graphologists spent hours in
making laboratory measurements, under somewhat artificial con-
ditions, of such things as the number of syllables written by a
subject per minute, and the number of strokes produced in a
240
split second.P? On the other hand, graphological study has shown
that individual speed is variable and changes according to the
writing situation. A man writes in one way when seated com-
fortably at his own desk and in another when standing at a bank
counter. There is a difference in his speed when he is writing at·
dictation or copying a text and when he is writing spon-
taneously. An individual filling out a job application tends to
write as neatly and legibly as he can, usually with conscious
slowing down of his habitual pace. Conversely, when one is trying
to finish a' piece of writing in a hurry, precision and legibility may
be sacrificed in favor of speed.
The reasons for fluctuations in individual writing speed are not
always as simple as in the situations just indicated. One illustra-
tion of the way in which psychic factors may induce such fluctua-
tions appears in the results of an experiment undertaken by the
author for the purpose of testing writing speed by means of a
Hipp chronorneter.i'' In this test about one hundred staff em-
ployees and clients of a bank were asked to write a passage of
neutral meaning dictated to them from a newspaper, and were
instructed to sign their scripts. The time measurements obtained
deviated from the anticipated outcome: it was found that the
signatures had been written more slowly than the dictated ma-
terial. Yet the test subjects, when questioned, did not doubt that
they had written their signatures-i.e., familiar material-more
rapidly than the dictated text, which was previously unknown
material. But the chronometer records showed how erroneous
these personal impressions were.
The same test Was given to a group composed of high-school
students and a number of men employed as attendants and simple
clerks at the bank. The second experiment produced a different
result: almost all of the subjects showed greater speed in writing
their signatures than in writing the dictated text. The explanation
is that in the first group, because it consisted of men conditioned
by the attitudes of the financial and business world, consciousness
of the importance of a signature inhibited spontaneity and put a
241
brake on speed. The second group, not burdened by the impend-
ing factor of a feeling of responsibility, wrote their names quite
casually and faster than they could write the unfamiliar dictated
material.
THE DYNAMICS OF PACE
The subtler aspects of what constitutes personal pace may be
grasped by analogy when we consider the phenomenon of personal
modulation of tempo in music or the dance. The performer is
always aware that in a given measure there are, for instance, eight
measures, with four beats to a measure. But what he does within
this time frame, and how he personally animates the given
metrical pattern-i.e., his interpretative rhythm-determines the
distinction and individuality of the rendering, and the ultimate
~. /k '
c.
#250
242
meaning of the musical expression. Writing, like a musical per-
formance, shows a certain flow of movement in which stops and
starts, retardations and accelerations, fleeting pauses and actual
standstills, occur with more or less periodicity. These are indices
of pace: they show how the writer's use of time creates the rhythm
of the movement and thus of the total writing pattern (figs. #250-
52, #258, #259).
#251
#252
243
The graphologist must dig deep to isolate this basic factor of
personal pace.129 First, he must ascertain what the habitual tempo
of the writer is, and whether under normal circumstances he would
produce an accurate and legible script with adequate speed (fig.
#253). Next, he must ascertain whether it is precision or speed
that tends to be modified or lost when the writer is in a hurry,
#254
or unusually tense (fig. #254), or disturbed by interfering fac-
tors. J52 He must further determine the subject's capacity fol
resistance to interference." In a well-adjusted person, control and
concentration usually serve to maintain a steady pace in spite 01
the presence of possible distracting stimuli or feeling disturbance,
whereas oversensitive persons will manifest a lesser resistance (fig,
#255). Of course there may be interfering stimuli of such fore
as to affect the most balanced individual (fig. #94).
Another factor that may make for differences here is tempera'
ment, i.e., that fundamental factor in the individual's make-iq
which determines the speed and intensity of his emotional rel
244
#255
sponses. A person of lively temperament has to apply a greater
measure of self-discipline to maintain an evenly flowing writing
movement (fig. #250) than a person of phlegmatic disposition
(fig. #256). Many writers develop habits of initial adjustment,
resorting to a "warming-up" maneuver before launching on the
:;a::~/~:~~?7Z?-~ ~~~7
r;.?~ ~~c -Y' ~ tf?~/--~
~~~ ~~/.vz--:nd
#256
245
(aJ
#257
actual writing (fig. #257). Some prolong (spec. a) or elaborate
the start (spec. b). Others concen tra te their starting effort in a
dot (spec. c), or in a springboard stroke (spec. d). There are
writers who hedge in making any kind of a beginning, whether
on the whole writing or on a capital letter (spec. e) or a new
line; but after the initial delay, such a writer usually picks up
speed and maintains his pace until he reaches some ending point,
where his speed naturally drops.
246
~~" I ,._; k_,l,..
.., ~ -2-t.,c~ ,-/J.~ "~/.;y,'~.~Aoa.t 4c.<~ ;4t ":t"" _; c-.-' I ~ /t- ,,~ ~...., z:~
~. I~ £L,'~ *""', I ~ .... /-1.,
.
,~ ?< .... -c../ 'l ""'-< #258
Ordinarily the pen stops-registering a definite pause-at the
completion of a thought or of a logical sequence within the larger
whole. It is natural to find interruptions that are almost imper-
ceptible-brief pauses to take breath. These are an organic part
of the rhythm of the movement (fig. #258). However, their
length and periodicity will vary according to the subject's physical
condition when writing; the pause may become as prolonged as a
sigh, as marked as an asthmatic gasp (p. 237).
GRAPHIC INDICES OF SPEED
One of the determinants of speed is the nature of the stroke.
Freeman and Saudek!" have shown experimentally that less time
is needed to trace a long downstroke than a short one, and that
it takes more time to form a very small or narrow letter than a
large broad one. A straight stroke is by its very nature not only
the shortest that can be used to join two points; it is also the most
quickly traced. Thus a straight, unbroken tracing reflects a firm,
quick movement. By the same token, a wavering or broken trac-
ing is recognizable as a slowly executed one. Hence the shaping of
angular letter forms, which necessitates an abrupt stop at each
turning point (p. 33), is an impediment to speed. Conversely,
247
the swinging motion used in forming curved strokes and rounded
letters enables the writer to pick 'up speed as he proceeds. It is
for this reason that the curved, swinging stroke has been made
the basis of most systems of shorthand, with angular symbols
reduced to a minimum.
The smoothness of the individual stroke gives the clue as to the
spontaneity and speed with which it has been traced.P" The more
smoothly and easily a movement is carried out, the less conscious-
ness accompanies it; thus the free, unhampered movements of
spontaneous writing are relatively rapid, whereas self-conscious,
controlled, and hesitant movements are relatively slow.159
#259
A spontaneous, speedy handwriting (fig. #259) usually slants
toward the, right; with haste or acceleration of pace for any rea-
son, the slope grows more pronounced. Speed tends furthermore
to reduce whatever leftward tending strokes the particular pen-
manship model may prescribe. It also distorts the i dots; instead
of a neat point placed exactly above the letter stem, it may be
pulled into the shape of a streak or comma and dragged forward
by the momentum of the movement. In slow writing, the i dot
is so placed that it appears to be lagging behind (fig. #231).
The accompanying tabulation sets forth in contrasted groupmgs
the salient indicators of speedy and of slow writing.
248
INDICES of !peedy writing of slow writing
GENERAL APPEARANCE
General appearance spontaneous, General appearance conventional,
natural over-elaborate, or clumsy
2 PATTERN
Pattern animated, rhythmic Pattern monotonously regular, or
disorganized
3 STROKE
Stroke smooth, unbroken, sweeping; Stroke controlled or hesitant, trem-
finn, swinging curvatures ulous, broken ot: jerky, retouched
or soldered; concealing strokes;
jagged or broken curvatures
4 GENERAL DIRECTIONAL TREND
General directional trend right- General directional trend leftward;
ward; rightward slant; clockwise upright or leftward slant; counter-
circular strokes; rightward swing- clockwise circular strokes; abbrevi-
ing end strokes; slight initial ated or leftward turning end
adjustments, or none; i dots streak- strokes; elaborate initial adjust-
like, placed to right of stem or ments; i dots round, placed just
linked to next letter; t bars ex- above stem or behind it; t bars
tended, placed to right of stem short, crossing stem or placed be-
hind it
5 CONNECTIVE FORMS
Connective forms predominantly Connective forms predominantly
garland or threadlike; good con- arcade or angle; interruptions with-
tinuity within words in words
6 LETTERS
Letters of medium size; letter Letters very small or very large;
shapes streamlined, slurred, or dis- letter shapes narrow or sprawled
torted; long stems; long, slim loops, out; short sterns: distended loops;
with smoothly turned heads; ends ends of words increasing in size;
of words decreasing in size, ab- attention to detail
breviated, or illegible; neglect of
detail
7 PRESSURE
Pressure medium or slight; rhyth- Pressure insufficient Or excessive;
mic alternation of thick and thin strokes unmodulated in width-
strokes; ovals clear; loops clear thick or thin, pastose or smeary;
ovals blotchy; loops blotchy at
8 ALIGNMENT heads
Alignment: lines ascending right- Alignment: lines steadily horizontal,
ward; left margin widening down- or descending rightward, or un-
ward dulating; left margin even or
diminishing downward
249
FACTORS AFFECTING SPEED
It has been pointed out above that the writing situation, as well
as inner states, greatly affect the speed of writing. A happy
mood, or a state of elation, releases and accelerates the flow of the'
movement, whereas an anxious mood, inner tension, or depression
slows down and restrains it. Excessive speed, resulting in a com-
plicated, distorted, oversized tracing, without controlled course,
is symptomatic of flight of ideas. It is that graphic manifestation
to which the diagnosis of hypomania is ordinarily attached (fig.
#260). Gross deviation from average speed in the sense of mark-
edly slow' pace goes with mental sluggishness. Extreme slowness
is the mark of the feebleminded. 53 #260
Relatively constant, regular speed characterizes the well-organ-
ized person whose noticing, acting, feeling, and thinking proceed
in an integrated fashion!52 and under the dominance of a relatively
constant motive pattern-to use the words of Theodore New-
cornbe.U'' Such constancy does not preexclude the possibility of
fluctuations or changes; these may occur whenever emotions arise.
The writing speed becomes irregular when the movement is at the
mercy of spontaneous feeling because of insufficient attempt to
control and check such affects in the interest of the writing per-
forrnance.:" Fluctuations in pace due to emotional influences are'
revealed by such graphic indices as the following: occasional
acceleration or slowing down, delays, or stops; headlong haste
reflected in uncontrolled strokes overshooting their expectable
limits, or a gesture of vacillation or a retreating step shown in
leftward turning strokes; breaks, overt or disguised in soldered
strokes (p. 221) ; scattered dots recognizable as the spoor of probing
movements (fig. #248).
250
These are all very significant symptoms that must be noted and
explored. They may lead to detection of emotional association or
conflicts that distract, fatigue, or confuse the subject and force
him to make inappropriate use of his natural endowment of pace.
They may also point to the presence of deep-lying conflicts, or
bring to light a fear or unwillingness to be frank and open. Thus
delays, stops, marked pauses amounting to an unconscious gesture
of emphasis, may work just like a lie detector: a word that is
insignificant in its literal meaning may show itself to be a stimulus
word in that it betrays eagerness, vacillation, or reluctance on the
part of the subject in writing it down. The late Hungarian graph-
ologist Dezso Balazs had a notable ability in hunting out emotional
conflicts on the basis of such indices,"
#261
Innumerable illustrations of such graphological detective work
could be offered. In figure #261, we have a well-connected hand-
writing in which, however, notable gaps appear within two of the
words. The pauses indicate that the writer was giving concentrated
emphasis to these two words, which in themselves are key words
in conveying the content of his communication. In the specimen
reproduced in figure #262, the writer in referring to his "prob-
#262
251
lems" seems to have sought escape in the forward spurt of the e
in this word, and then to have dragged himself back to the di-
lemma with sufficient control to finish the word. The easygoing,
callow expression of the writing as a whole suggests an individual
disinclined to face conflict or to solve a problem by himself. This
helps to explain why the particular word induced a reaction of
distaste.
#263
As the record of a situation of emotional crisis, the last signature
of Ivar Kreuger (fig. #263), the Swedish financier who ruled the
international match industry until his operations were found to
be corrupt on a grand scale, is of peculiar interest. The signature
is from his farewell note to his secretary. Knowing that within
two days his tottering empire would crash, he committed suicide
en route from the United States to Sweden.
Any graphologist will recognize in the features of this signature
a genuinely speedy hand that on this occasion was impeded in its
usually free sweep. The writer was almost unable to start instantly.
The broken initial letter might give the impression that the pen
was sticking for lack of ink. However, the nature of the break
(its location in the configuration of the letter, and the probing
dots), together with the well-inked tracing of the rest of the
signature, refutes this assumption. All this indicates merely re-
luctance to go ahead-which becomes completely manifest in
the weak and shortened connecting stroke between the initial and
the following letter. The narrowness of the a is a further index
of inhibition, while its blotchy execution is symptomatic of a
failing of energy-a temporary inability to go' on with the task.
Similarly, the initial K of the family name-which in Kreuger's
usual signature had a clear-cut form-is here blotted and re-
252
touched. For its broad, dark strokes result not from heavy writing
pressure, but rather from an inertia that holds the writer fixed in
one groove, avoiding in panic the imperative of moving on. Finally
he shakes himself free of the emotional blockage, and completes
in one sweep what must be done.
253
( X I I I
WRITING PRESSURE
Writing pressure is a complex phenomenon. Careful observa-
tion and study are required to determine the effect of pressure
upon the thickness, darkness, sharpness, and shading of the stroke.
At first thought it might appear that the qualities of the stroke
depend merely upon the type of pen used-whether the nib is
pointed or blunt, stiff or flexible, etc. However, writing pressure,
like all other features of handwriting, is basically determined by
the personality of the writer, and not by the tool he employs.
The writer may produce his script with a pencil, or on different
occasions with instruments of differing construction, ranging
from a goosequill or stylus to a ballpoint pen. Except for super-
ficial differences in the writing that identify the tool rather than
the user, the writing is always recognizable as one individual's
unique expression. We are accustomed to such recognitions in
other fields: for instance, in looking at a drawing and an etching
from the hand of Rembrandt, we should hardly take them to be
the work of two different artists. Their secondary dissimilarities
are due to the difference in the tools used in producing them;
but they are clearly seen to be expressions of the same personality.
Nonetheless, it is necessary to study the various types of pens,
and the kinds of manipulation required in using them. The pen
is guided by the thumb and second finger in moving up and
down and toward the left or the right. The index finger, resting
upon the penholder, presses the point of the pen to the paper. The
pen point, or nib, consists of two flanges lying close together.
Pressure causes these flanges to separate, permitting of the flow of
254
ink. This flow of ink upon the paper, as the pen is moved along,
results in the tracing or stroke, also called the ductus.
When the pen is guided over the paper with slight pressure,
it produces a fine stroke of uniform width. If greater pressure is
exerted, the nib splits more widely apart, causing a greater amount
of ink to flow from the pen, and thus producing a broader and
darker stroke (fig. #264). Some writers propel the pen over the
#264
paper with an easy, rhythmic motion; others move it with meas-
ured steadiness; still others shove the pen clumsily along in a
heavy, halting way, and some send it forward feebly with a
tremulous or shaky motion. The different kinds of movement
leave their respective imprints, vividly evident in the variations
in the firmness, smoothness, fluency, and other qualities of the
stroke. The finger usually applies more pressure in making the
downstroke than in making the upstroke (p. 43). This results in
variations in line thickness: thick downstrokes alternate with thin
upstrokes, while the curved outlines of rounded forms show
gradations of thickening and thinning. This effect, which Weknow
as shading, is one of the significant indices of writing pressure
(figs. #161, #265, #266).
The general effect of heavy pressure is to increase the thickness
and darkness of the stroke. When the pen is held firmly and close
to the nib, so that it is almost perpendicular to the writing sur-
face, it causes the nib to scratch the paper, leaving a sharp groove
255
I
t.-br).,•
#265
#266
on one or both sides of the srrokc." In the specimen shown in
figure #267, we have heavy pressure resulting in firm strokes
with sharp outlines. The nib marks are baldly visible in the ex-
tended t bar of the signature, where some failure of ink supply
has left the breadth of the stroke unfilled. Slighter pressure, with
a more oblique positioning of the pen, produces a stroke with less
definite outlines.
It follows that when the pen is grasped farther from the nib
and manipulated more loosely, somewhat like a paint brush, the
downward pressure is no longer due entirely to the force exerted
by the index finger, but mainly to the weight of the hand and
the gross movements of the arm. The stroke produced under these
conditions is designated as pastose; it is uniform in width, dense
256
#268
with ink, and its outlines are blurred. Examination under a magni-
fying glass shows the great difference between a stroke made with
heavy pressure and one lightly traced: the former is clear-cut,
with sharply incised outlines (figs. #266, #267); the latter is
smooth, without incised edges (fig. #268) and commonly has
ragged outlines, as in the specimen shown enlarged in figure #269.
In order to understand how these pairs of opposites-the thin
and the thick stroke, thesharp and the pastose stroke-are pro-
duced physically, it is advisable to tryout various types of pens,
#269
257
testing their effect and observing how they modify the quality
of the stroke. This experiment will show that the character of the
stroke depends not so much upon the pen as upon the writer,
who has it in his power to mold his stroke according to his desire.
It must be borne in mind that in writing the pen functions as an
extension of the hand. We can, in-fact, think of the pen as a part
of the body, hand and pen moving as a single member. The
fingers transmit to the pen the directive impulses and the varia-
tions in muscular tension that, according to the nature of the
?'-1r: { ~""'" /
-f ~lt ~ r: ,__ I.- c ~ r-1J1.I " fA-- '1-.L-
~- -OJ Ij~::~:r~;;~~
#270
258
writer's nervous organization, occur during the act of wrrtmg.
Hence, as each writer has his own way of holding his hand,
manipulating the pen, and exerting pressure, and his own rate of
speed in moving the pen, the same pen in different hands will pro-
duce entirely different strokes (figs. #270;#271).
/~,u~:.t·.....u 1.--J~,."J I J..~" ..~ ~ ~ ~
if /4 4,.:~ ~f..,.~Mr-r-'~.~w",'4-'pi.~~ J.,....b..( t../~,;.;d
#I- /;;.JI"" k... #".~ ~ .," ~
~~.A__.
jn¥ Ihw-,~~~~~
#271
It goes without saying that each individual chooses the pen
that suits his personal requirements, and in his use adapts it to his
individual writing habits. As a result a writer often becomes so
attached to his own fountain pen that he does not like to write
with another, and is reluctant to lend his pen to anyone, knowing
that it will be affected by the different manipulation of another
hand. Moreover, the writer has an inner image (Leitbild) of the
script he aims to create, and this predetermines his performance
on the paper; obviously his choice of a pen will be greatly in-
fluenced by this ideal image. It may be remarked that the ballpoint
pen obviates the significant qualities of the writing stroke, since
259
#272
it does not adapt itself to the subtle play of pressure. This is the
reason why the sensitive writer feels frustrated in using it.
Furthermore, the individual choice of a paper must be taken
into account. Some persons prefer a rough to a smooth paper. The
resistance offered by a rough surface invites the finger to supply
more force and to exert more pressure; such paper appeals to per-
sons whose general tendency is to seek and overcome resistance.
Individuals inclined to "take it easy" and to avoid unnecessary
friction prefer a smooth-surfaced paper and a pen that "writes
by itself," so to speak.
It is evident that both pen pressure and the resistance offered
by the writing surface are factors influencing the writing speed.
Pressure and speed counteract each other. A quickly gliding pen
cannot transmit as much pressure as a slowly moving one; heavy
pressure, on the other hand, slows down the rate of movement.
Thus a person who writes both speedily and with heavy pressure
displays considerable vital energy and propulsive power, whereas
the combination of low speed and heavy pressure reveals in-
sufficient application of energy in driving forward and over-
coming resistances. In the script of a writer suffering from per-
sistent depression, with loss of physical and mental efficiency (fig.
# 194 ), we may note "swallowtails" on the garlands; these are
260
Jev .....Lt... 't~'Uf~ -\...L..\....Q...J..~"."."-C..
\~i~t~olR~.
A"~~l'~~
~~e.:r
to
#273
indices of heavy pressure and halting slowness at the turning points
-reflecting the lassitude and apathy that prevented the writer
from driving his pen with any speed across the page.:"
Figure #272 shows a use of pressure that hampers speed and
fluency. The all-out pressure on the downward stroke upsets
equilibrium, so that the writer is forced to change the tilt of the
pen, and some vagary in his manner of manipulating it produces
both the swallowtails at the peaks of the scalloped tracing and
the ragged outline at the base. The pressure pattern is further
shown by the hairline stroke upon which the 0 is incongruously
balanced. However the highly artistic configuration of the signa-
ture shows rhythm and balance, because of its aesthetic and
original distribution of forms. A sharp contrast is offered in the
controlled and forceful ductus of the script shown in figure #273.
PRESSURE AND MUSCULAR STRENGTH
Earlier graphologists equated writing pressure with volitional
energy. Present-day investigators regard this as an oversimple
261
explanation of the pressure phenomenon, applying only where
steady pressure is exerted with vertical stress. Figures #266 and
#273 present examples of such regularity, whereas in figure #265
the pronounced pressure in the vertical direction is neither regular
nor genuinely a part of an integrated movement pattern.
The tendency to exert heavy pressure in writing is not at-
tributable to possession of sheer muscular power. H. jacoby?"
studied this possible relationship by examining the handwritings
of several hundred shoe-factory hands whose work involved
the use of pliers in a routine manipulation requiring great strength
primarily. Yet Jacoby found that those workers who turned out
more than the average number of pieces per hour, i.e., who had
the greatest muscular strength, invariably wrote with no more
than average pressure.
The present author investigated the pressure factor in the
writing performances of 2145 Hungarian school children of both
sexes and various ages.l! The results showed that muscular strength
has no bearing on the degree of pressure exerted in writing. In-
stead, they pointed to a significant correlation between writing
pressure and inclination to purposeful activity, capacity for con-
centration, and endurance. These findings seem to be confirmed
by an investigation of the writing of seventy-seven girls com-
mitted as juvenile delinquents to a reformatory, where they were
put to work as farm hands. Poor writing pressure prevailed
throughout the group. Indeed, 12 per cent of these girls displayed
the minimal degree of pressure that could be noted by experi-
mental measurement. This is all the more significant in view of
the fact that tests of 1000 high-school girls yielded not a single
case of similarly low pressure.
It was a seeming paradox that of the reformatory girls, those
who rated lowest in writing pressure were the "toughest" in the
group. They had been committed to the institution for sexual
offenses or assault, and had to be segregated from the other in-
mates because of their aggressive behavior. The notable deficiency
in writing pressure in these cases corresponded with the deficiencies
262
underlying their type of psychosocial maladjustment-mental
retardation, inertia, and flightiness. Medical examination showed
them to lack the biological energies needed for environmental
adaptation and for control of their frustration reactions. In tests
concerned with the relation between handwriting and certain
clusters of character traits, I. Pascal obtained results on the cor-
relations between writing pressure on the one hand, and "energy,"
"impulsiveness," "dominance," and "determination" on the
other/IS that are comparable to the findings just outlined.
PRESSURE AND PSYCHIC ENERGY
pulver conceives of writing pressure as a discharge of libido.P"
Bere the concept of libido refers not merely to the psychosexual
energy but rather to the total psychic energy as vested in all of
the life activities of the individual. In this sense, libido accounts
for all of the needs, drives, and cravings seeking either physical
or psychic expression. Thus the well-energized, "vital" personality,
endowed with a high energy potential, and thereby with some
quantum of creative drive, writes with notable pressure. Pulver's
general idea provides a working hypothesis that has proved fruit-
ful. In a further development of it, however, he sets up the
separate categories of "physical libido" and "psychic libido," and
this attempt at clear-cut differentiation of complexly interrelated
factors results in confusion. For example, "intensity" is listed as
psychic, and "brutality" as physical. Obviously neither belongs
wholly to the one or to the other classification.
An outstanding graphic expression of libido appears in the
h:mdwriting of Napoleon Bonaparte. In the signature shown in
:figure #274 a, the pressure is heavy and the strokes exceedingly
~harp in outline, although in spots pastose and flooded with ink.
!'here is a remarkable sweep and speed to the movement. This
~ombination of qualities points to a superlative endowment of
~nergy. The irregularity and the breaks in rhythm signify not
()n1y an absolute disregard for norms and conventions, but also
263
#274
headlong 'ego urges, aggressive impulses, and a tendency' to ex-
plosive fits of passion that disturb both psychic and somatic
equilibrium. The terminal stroke of the signature-always an
avenue for release of surplus energy-here serves for a remarkable
exteriorization of an excessively powered libido. The tracing is
sharp in outline, both in the slender part and in the extraordinary
broad portion. Its swordlike form is a common symbol of War.
In a graphological study of Napoleon and his mother, ].
Ninckl15 discusses the handwriting of Laetitia Bonaparte in her
old age. Her script (fig. #274 b) parallels her son's, trait for trait:
it shows the same heavy pressure, the same full, dark, sensuous
pastosity, the same irregularity, the same disregard for Con-
ventional proportions and forms, the same breaks in rhythm, the
same slant toward the right, and similar scrawled letter forms.
The author of the study points out that of all the children of
this remarkable woman-of her family of thirteen, eight survived
to adulthood-none was as much like her as Napoleon.
It may prove illuminating to compare the bold and vivid script
of Napoleon with the obviously "phony" hand reproduced in
figure #275. The writer of the specimen was a very bizarre char-
acter whose eccentric propagation of varied causes won him a
considerable discipleship. The ostentatious width of his strokes is
produced by a trick of wielding the pen without pressure. These
showy strokes, dark and broad, contrast with the rest of the
ductus, which is thin and weak. This writing demonstrates in both
its thin and its thick strokes the quality called pastosity.
264
·1 _·_tt_r~
~cJ~~
~;....._.._ I(J ~
v~ .-l, ta.-_S. 'j'
#275
Pastose strokes, as pointed out above, are broad and dark,
though produced without marked pressure. Such an ink-saturated,
pastose ductus produces an effect of warmth and color, and has
a sensuous appeal. This is borne out by an analogous reaction quite
commonly obtained in the Rorschach test, when a dense black ink
blot is seen as a bear rug with the furry side up. According to the
precedents accumulated in the clinical use of this test, such a
response may indicate sensitivity to tactile stimuli, a need for
bodily contact. Graphological experience shows that pastosity is
the expression of sensuous persons who manage to indulge their
inclinations with little effort or strain. They manipulate the pen
in a relaxed manner, and it has been observed that in such in-
dividuals a copious ejection of ink induces a pleasurable feeling
with erotic overtones.' Figure #276 shows the handwriting of a
?!sz~~ -W-
#276
265
young man of lusty appetites who pursued sensuous pleasures
without inhibitions or anxiety. The pastose stroke is generally
found in the handwriting of hearty, wholesome men and women
who live close to nature, such as gardeners, farmers, horse breeders,
etc. It appears also in the writing of hedonists and epicures, and
is especially characteristic of artists who excel in the use of colors
(fig. #277).
#277
Werner Wolff, discussing the symbolic meaning of WfltlOg
pressure, regards the paper as the medium or "object" upon which
the writer releases his "libidinous impulses."158 The desire for
bodily contact, or the impulse to caress or to hurt or be hurt, is
vicariously realized on the paper. The writer may move over the
paper with a light, sensuous touch, or strike down on it with
suddenly erupting pressure. Wolff demonstrates this in the writing
of "a German Nazi girl student who handled pen and paper as
though she were slaying an enemy" (fig. #278).
The handwritings of three notable figures who have come to
stand as types of libidinous personality supply further illustration,
together with some significant contrasts. In the hand presented
266
#278
<l.P&.ILl~o.i~ ~ ...
#279 ~/'~ Q..(JL-Q,~.~ k
~.~·""{JtJA:~I·~
qJ,~_ 9&- j"u.- ~
in figure #279, we have pastosity, flooded loops and ovals, and
dagger-like terminal thrusts. These are the graphic features of the
Marquis de Sade, whose name is perpetuated in the term "sadism"
as the designation of a psychosexual aberration. A hand showing
strikingly sadistic features has been presented earlier in figure
#127. In figure #280 we have strokes curving forward-bowed
in a gesture of obeisance, as it were. The small, fuzzy letter shapes
are obscured by pastosity and smeariness. This is the handwriting
,...., "" ...-.. ,~..:... ?II" ,- /~~..L¥_._, 7·.,.· ..'-"-'""..J!../ .
~.,n.;:e--/.,Jl. ..·~ '"~4.~- r.,..-.--~
~~
,;~-~~
_~":.-,,_; "..;.~.-.-,, ._..::..
7~'"
#280 4~~~
267
#281
of Sacher Masoch, whose name is used in the word "masochism"
to denote that type of libidinous ness in which sexual desire is
fused with the need for suffering. Figure #281 shows pastosity
in the script of a male homosexual. Figure #282 reproduces the
handwriting of Casanova, the "phallic man" par excellence. The
graceful, forceful, upright strokes are enriched by a substantial
pastosity that does not detract from the clarity and form quality
of the script.
#282
One of the marks of lazy and irresponsible persons is pastosity
appearing in a disorganized writing pattern. Such patterns bear-
ing the further index of freakish, blotted letters are seen in the
scripts of "shady" characters, drug addicts, and sexual delin-
quents. The rough and smeary pastosity of these writers is very
268
#283
different from the expressively modulated, colorful, and vigorous
pastosity of an artist's hand. Figure #283 reproduces the hand-
writing of a woman drug addict who claimed to have communica-
tion with various "spirits" that sent messages through her to
persons who paid for her services.
It has been instanced that thick strokes may be executed with
pressure, which produces clear-cut outlines, or without pressure,
which results in pastosity, i.e., blurred outlines. Similarly, thin
tracings may be sharply cut or blurred. The writing of Romain
Rolland (fig. #204) is light and fine, seemingly wafted over
the writing surface; nevertheless it is sharp and dear-cut. Sudden
spurts of pressure speak out in the extremely fine lines, especially
the needle-pointed end strokes. Their thrust into the stratosphere
shows that the writer's emotional tensions and aggressive impulses
are released in the intellectual domain.
Sharp thin strokes characterize the handwritings of persons of
incisive intellect and developed critical sense (fig. #102); such
strokes are an occupational badge of professional critics and of
surgeons. Extreme sharpness in thin, rigid strokes indicates cold
mentality (fig. #284); combined with pallor, this points to
frigidity, asceticism, or cruelty masked by seeming virtue. Thin
#284
269
~??b~C~~f~
~'n- '-/7~ ~~-,~~.~~~
#285
strokes that are blurred and weak, i.e., not sharp nor firm, appear
in the handwritings of persons in whom the life force is easily
swamped by fatigue or adversity (figs. #268, #285, #368 c).
DISPLACED PRESSURE.
Ordinarily pressure is more or less evenly distributed, stressing
each downstroke with a shading effect. The rhythm of emphasis
thus produced parallels the interplay of muscular contraction
and release that underlies the writing movement. However, pres-
sure may be exerted in the horizontal instead of the vertical
direction; this is called displacement or transference of pressure
emphasis. The shift can be contrived deliberately. In order to
apply pressure sideward, the writer may manipulate his pen in a
special way (fig. #286). Artists who work at lettering use a
special type of pen to obtain horizontal shadings; to achieve a
highly stylized handwriting through similar effects, some writers
use a pen with an extremely flexible nib. Such artificial shading
is not regarded by graphologists as having any expressive value.
The situation is otherwise when horizontal shading appears as a
genuine displacement of pressure.
Pulver claims that true pressure displacement reveals a trans-
ference of sexual libido. The psychic energy is channeled away
from the instinctual sphere and released in extraversive gestures
in the direction of conscious goals. Such displacement may pro-
duce varying effects in the handwriting, which may be interpreted
in various ways. Though the need of sexual expression is not
really compensated by a draining off of the libido into the stream
of other activities, the substitutional gratification gives a degree
of satisfaction, and thus affords relief from tension. If the dis-
270
#286
placement occurs without loss of force and rhythm, the script
tells us about a successful redirection of psychosexual energy.
This type of displacement is frequently observed in the hand-
writings of active women. Figure #287 presents the hand of a
professional woman who is in addition a painter and writer; she
also had considerable skill in manual arts and greatly enjoyed
outdoor activities. If the displacement of pressure is associated
#287
271
#288
)~~~~~~
4 ~A-"4 ,.)~ '~I ~)~
~ ~, ~~ ~ .,.'~...,__
~ .Q.~ •.............. -)' ~ j ~
#289 '
with disturbance of rhythm, it betrays psychic frustration ac-
companied by increase of tension (figs. #240, #288, #289). The
specimen reproduced in figure #290 manifests not only disturbed
rhythm and marked tension, but also notable weakness m the
#290
~ cteL ~~ c
/~ -=~:L./~.~. G.L- ,.~._.".~~....,_
~.~e_
""'" ........... ~
272
tracing of the overlarge lower loops. The writer was a young
woman who, frustrated and blocked in the expression of her
sexual drive, found a substitute outlet in sadistic behavior.
EMPHASIS REVEALED IN PRESSURE
A sporadic intensification of shading, as in a single stroke or
letter, or a whole word or passage, means that an onset of strong
feeling has been suddenly discharged in pressure, with more or
#291
, )""
'--
less spread of emphasis. An instance of such pressure in upstrokes
appears in figure #291. Such accentuations occur in oral as well
as in written expression. The speaker's or the writer's meaning
may be revealed more by the specific emphasis placed on a given
word than by its literal content. Listening to speeches delivered
by orators or actors, we cannot fail to realize that effective em-
phasis "speaks louder than words" and often eliminates or illumi-
nates ambiguities.
In a written communication we conventionally emphasize by
means of sentence structure, punctuation, underlining, or special
spacing. This is a conscious emphasizing. But we also emphasize
unconsciously and underline, so to speak, without being aware
273
of doing so. Such underlining-unintended italicizing, as it were-
varies the pressure accent and colors a script much as modulation
enriches speed. This kind of emphasis springs from the depths
of the inner life and communicates an emotional content (p.
162). This content is directly perceived even by those who because
of some preconception do not like to admit that so indirect and
ambiguous a gesture can be regarded as a communication. On the
other hand, the fact that pressure emphasis in writing is a key to
hidden emotional content has long been known and applied by
"mind readers." This recognition is the stock-in-trade of profes-
sional soothsayers and carnival "handwriting experts." Pressure
#292
emphasis on a capital letter, for example (fig. #292), may enable
the "clairvoyant" to guess the initial of the given name of the
writer's sweetheart.
The location of pressure emphasis is as telling as the emphasis
itself. According to the zone in which emphasis is concentrated,
we can see from which sphere the emotional impetus is breaking
through. In figure #293, we see excessive pressure emphasis on
upper loops in the handwriting of a mentally sick poet, who thus
#293
projects his passionate love for a nonexistent "Edith." Although
the emphasis is spread over the whole word, the upper zone is
stressed by the disproportionately upreaching loops and the very
high placement of the heavy i dot as well as by the unusual up~
thrust of the terminal stroke ending in a bulge. The treatment
of the capital M reproduced in figure #294 reflects the inner
conflicts of an emotionally disturbed person. The disproportion
274
#294
between height and width betokens an imbalance between soar-
ing ego pretensions and severe inhibitions in actual functioning.
The exaggerated stress on the downstrokes expresses not force but
merely strain. The slack, tremulous tracing of the upstroke and
the thinning of the massive downstroke to. a spearhead contradict
the idea of force. Thus the stress is spread over the middle and
the upper zone and fails in the lower zone. Graphologists hold
that the kind of emphasis on a downstroke here exemplified
stands for an attempt to exert force that fails because of lack of
stamina. Emphasized downstrokes ending in spearheads appear
in the script shown in figure #295.
#295
In figure #296, the pressure emphasis on the tips of the sterns
of the capital K takes added significance from the peculiar forma-
tion of the letter. The unusually high, backward twisted upper
stems reach up like arms outstretched from a drastically mini-
mized, practically nonexistent torso; they seem to lift the weighted
275
#296
tips into the stratosphere. There is also an unusual, antenna-like
accessory at the top of the a. The writer, according to his case
record, was a professor of history who was institutionalized after
reporting that he was hearing "voices" promising to reveal to' him
a way of saving the world from "annihilation."
Flooded ovals, and strokes marked with swoops, swellings, and
nodules, have been discussed earlier as symptoms of emotional
disturbance in puberty, arising from anxiety, shame, or guilt feel-
ings (p. 72). A different evaluation is given to similar symptoms
#297
appearing in the handwriting of adults. Figure #297 reproduces
the old-fashioned script of a nineteenth-century bride-to-be
addressing her future husband. Here the indices belonging to the
pubertal level of development appear in the expression of a
physically and socially mature person. The nodules in the lower
loops and the pressure swellings in the elaboration of the capital
B indicate disturbances in the emotional sphere, particularly in
relation to sex. This writer later was found to be schizophrenic,
and her two sons and her grandchild were similarly deranged.
Figure #298 shows an abnormal and illegible handwriting. The
middle zone predominates, as regards size and emphasis. Upper
extensions are minimized, while the weak lower loops are not
276
#298
integral parts of the letter structures but are rather fitted on. The
dominant form in the middle zone is an outspread ellipse filled
with ink. According to the formula of earlier graphology, this
formation might be interpreted as standing for the "black spot"
in the life of the writer. Actually this emphasis betrays pre-
occupation with some secret that is choking the inner person. The
case history reveals the writer as a homosexual with a background
of excessive masturbation. He was constantly under the pressure
of hidden entanglements and of the need of safeguarding himself
against exposure by means of bribes.
277
XIV
TENSION AND RELEASE
The pressure phenomenon involves two components-first, the
energy expended in the writing activity, and second, tension,
representing a quantum of unexpended energy. Earlier graph-
ologists distinguished, apart from tension, two kinds of pressure
in writing-first, the pressure brought to bear by the point of the
pen upon the writing surface, i.e., "point pressure," and second,
the pressure exerted by the fingers in gripping and holding the
pen, i.e., "grip pressure.t'+": 139 However, the more recent studies
and experiments of Pophal and the present author have produced
evidence that grip pressure is a function of tension, significant
only as a visible indicator of tension. 58, 122
Every muscle of the body is in a certain state of permanent
tension, even during test. This persisting tension is called muscle
tone, or tonus. Tension increases with physical or emotional
stress, and diminishes with satiation and sleep. It may be reduced
under hypnosis or narcosis, but it persists until death. This
sustained muscular tension passes over readily into movement; it
creates a state of permanent readiness, a potential available for
future action. When stimulation induces the act of writing, several
muscles become involved in a co-operative action. To bring about
the series of movements called for, they contract in order to extend
or flex the fingers. One group of muscles moves the fingers in one
direction; another muscle group moves them in the opposite direc-
tion. Thus the muscles that extend the fingers are said to be
"antagonistic" to those which flex them. The movements required
in, writing proceed smoothly if the two muscle groups are not
278
contracted at the same time; that is, when one group responds to
the stimulus by contracting, the other by relaxing correspondingly.
The antagonism of the two groups gives rise to an interplay of
tension and release. In any given individual, this interplay has a
specific dynamic pattern that is unique as against the pattern of
any other person.
What determines this pattern? A first determinant resides in
the needs and desires of the individual. The stimulations arising
from hunger, sexual desire, anxiety, ambition, etc., increase tension
and direct the activities of the organism toward desired goals.
Fulfillment of such needs induces a temporary release of tension.
A second determinant is the kind of motor response that follows
upon stimulation (p. 178). The response may take the form of a
free and unhampered movement, with adequate release of tension.
However, the response may be overcontrolled; in that case the
release is not complete, and some tension persists. In this type of
response the movement is inhibited, and the muscles remain taut.
Increasing inhibition leads to sustained high tension, and motor
activity may be completely obstructed. Any part of the body thus
strait-jacketed is incapable of actual movement, and the blockage
results in muscular rigidity or spasm.
GRAPHODYNE STUDY OF TENSION-RELEASE PATTERNS
The use of handwriting analysis for disclosing the most subtle
variations of muscle activity is well established in clinical research,
and is validated by both early and recent work.F: 53. 60 The
tension-release pattern peculiar to any given person can be made
visible and measurable by means of a graphodyne recording of
his writing movement. The crests and troughs of the resultant
tracing show the increase and decrease of pressure and the pattern
of alternation. Figure #299 presents a schematic drawing designed
to demonstrate the points discussed above. The over-all height of
the tracing (H) records the amount of energy applied to the
writing (total writing pressure), comprising two components:
279
H =r rotal writing pressure
Pressure A =energy expended
in grams (action pattern)
To=persisting tension
(m uscle tone)
Time in seconds
#299
(A) the energy expended in motor activity (action pattern);
(To) the energy remaining unexpended and accounting for per-
sisting tension (muscle tone). The ratio between the amount of
the active energy (amplitude of oscillations) and that of the
unexpended energy (blank area above base line) expresses the
existing state of tension in the individual at the given time. The
tension is considered normal if the tracing shows an output of
energy at least twice as great as the amount of the retained energy.
The tension is considered high when the amount of the retained
energy is twice or more than twice the amount of the discharged
energy.
Further essential factors are the frequency and regularity of
the oscillations, which produce the wave form, i.e., the specific
pattern (fig. #300). In previous studies, the author has repeatedly
emphasized the significance of the individual tension-release pat-
tern as a fundamental expression. A balanced tension-release
pattern is indicative of a well-balanced psychosomatic state; con-
versely, an abnormal pattern is symptomatic of a state of im-
balance. It is generally held at present that disturbances of
muscular performance occur not only where disease interferes
with neuromuscular activity, but also where emotional factors,
such as anxiety, conflict, pent-up aggression, and mental strain,
are present.f Thus the expressions "tense" and "relaxed," as re-
ferring to states or attitudes of personality, are obviously derived
from their association with the muscular states they primarily
describe. Kraepelin long ago demonstrated by means of his pressure
scale how mental or emotional strain influences tension.P" For
280
GRAPHODYNE RECORDINGS # 300
OF THE GRK WAVY-LINE TEST
1. NORMAL TENSION 2. HIGH TENSION
(E,F=blockage)
A~_
B
c c~
O~
EC~-
F ~__ FL J
A~~.3._LOW TEBNSION~
281
example, subjects asked to write numerals in series from 10 to 1
displayed more tension in doing this than they manifested when
writing the more familiar series from 1 to 10.24
PSYCHOSOMATIC ASPECTS
Among recent graphodyne studies, special importance attaches
to the attempt to record and measure the changes in muscular
tension in persons afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis and in cer-
tain nonarthritics such as hypertensives.P'' A preliminary study
was carried out at the Institute for Psychosomatic and Psychiatric
Training of the Michael Reese Hospital and the Institute for Psy-
choanalysis in Chicago, with the collaboration of the present
author. The significant differences found in the tracings produced
by the two groups of patients, as compared with those obtained
from a control group of "normal" subjects, substantiated the
assumption that a muscular dysfunction exists not only in persons
suffering from rheumatoid arthritis but also in hypertensives.
This dysfunction appears essentially to be a disturbance in the
synergic use of the muscles, interfering with the interplay of
tension and release during the act of writing.
Further studies are required to determine in what other con-
ditions similar disturbances of the dynamic pattern occur. That
neurotic conflicts and pent-up aggressive impulses, which are
accompanied by increased inner tension, may be among the
determinants of a state of persistent high muscular tonus or
dyssynergy, is suggested by Alexander" and his collaborators. It
can be assumed, on the basis of other psychosomatic studies, that
long before the actual symptoms of arthritis develop, there are
physiological antecedents, such as special sensitivity to emotional
stimuli. These susceptibilities in themselves can be uncovered by
means of handwriting analysis supported by graphodyne tracings.
The use of graphological technique in such investigations justifies
the outlook for the development of a distinct field of "medical
graphology.t+?
An experiment initiated by the author dealt with the hand-
282
writings of young men and women students of architectural and
industrial design and fine arts. This study was undertaken for
the purpose of testing the assumption that adequate muscle tone
and a well-balanced interplay of tension and release are usually
associated with general well-being, emotional stability, and good
vocational adjustment, whereas persistent raised tonus and a dis-
turbed tension-release pattern accompany emotional instability,
neurotic conflict, and poor adaptive capacity. On the other hand,
individuals with low tension-their energy potential being reduced
-would show less adequate equipment for sustained effort under
stress and strain. In this test each subject was asked to draw a
wavy line consisting of either garlands or arcades, according to his
own preference, first with light and then with heavy pressure. In
figure #3 00, the graphodyne recordings of the performances with
heavy pressure are grouped according to the degree of tension
revealed in each case. These investigations by means of grapho-
logical techniques afforded considerable insight regarding the per-
sonality patterns of the individuals studied. The findings accorded
well with the information obtained from teachers and through
medical examination of some of these students, and helped to
explain their success or failure in school and life situations.
EXPRESSIVE SIGNIFICANCE OF TENSION AND RELEASE
The recognition of the importance of the tension-release pattern
and of the factor of balance has become the cornerstone of various
graphological hypotheses. One of Klages' main assumptions is that
all features of graphic expression can be classified in two cate-
gories-as indices of either Bindung ("being bound") or Losung.
("being released"). He follows his own mystical concepts by
assuming that these contrasted functions represent antagonistic
forces within the human being, i.e., the mind and the soul. The
former, as the controlling and regulating agent, inhibits and thus
creates "binding" or tension. The soul, a "spiritual, cosmic life
force," is responsible for the release of tension and the rhythmic
283
recurrence of this process. The interplay of these two forces is re-
flected in the distinctive rhythm of movement found in writing.P''
Needless to say, present-day graphology has outgrown the stage
of mythology and seeks objective data in the place of such as-
sumptions.
The hypothesis that the alternation of tension and release may
be regarded as a function of expressive movement was put to
experimental test by Lewinson and Zubin?' and by Wolfson.170
They assumed that the degree of a writer's emotional control is
expressed in his handwriting by corresponding graphic indices.
These authors developed a scale for the analysis of writing by
means of geometrical measurements and qualitative ratings.
In everyday graphological practice, however, it is not feasible
to employ complicated scales or graphodyne tracings. Further-
more, Klages' lists and charts of indices pertaining to the tension-
release phenomenon as he conceived it, are obsolete. On the other
hand, we have learned through experience to recognize degrees
of tension and release by means of certain graphic characteristics,
and the reliance on such empirical criteria is supported by the
fact that the findings tally with the results of medical and psycho-
logical experimental work and of psychometric procedures. As a
rule movements tending downward, or downward and leftward,
or simply leftward, symbolize retention, the attitude of taking
and holding on; the concomitant muscular state is that of con-
traction without adequate release, i.e., tension. Movements tending
upward, or upward and rightward, or simply rightward, sym-
bolize an attitude of openness to the give and take of life, a free
approach to persons and situations. The concomitant muscular
state is that of release following on an interim of tension.
Writing in which there is a proper balance of tension and re-
lease is usually characterized by shading, i.e., an alternation of
thick and thin strokes, or, in a very fluent hand, by slight, even
pressure. Continuous flow, free handling of forms, predilection
for curvatures and round i dots, and regularity in the sense of
rhythmic periodicity-all these are indices of adequate release
(figs. #65, #105).
284
#301
Effort, control, or repression increases tension. With increased
muscle tone, the stroke becomes as taut and rigid as the :fingers
that produced it (:fig. #301b); the outlines of round forms are
broken, angularity predominates, ligatures become irregular or
vanish. Word endings dart back sharply, taking the form of
:fishhooks or harpoons; i dots are distorted, stretched into streaks,
or carried into the next letter.
In any appraisal of tension, angles and curves are particularly
revealing. For example, a capital E formed with angles points to
a considerable degree of tension. The same letter made with strokes
rounded like two parentheses, run together in a little loop at the
#302
mid-point, reflects fairly released movement (fig. #302). In
figure #303, the predominance of curves, and the total absence of
angularity, make for an overly relaxed handwriting. An extreme
degree of tension appears strikingly in figure #304. The skidding
strokes betray spastic movement. The right, narrow letters (m,
n), and the frequent leftward and downward impulsions, betoken
#303
285
#304
retention and retreat. The tangled pattern thus produced is elo-
quent of involvement, of a compulsive holding on, of a life process
mired in its own complexities.
In figure #305 we see extreme narrowness, and a withholding,
contracting motion in the last stroke of the h. The m's and n's
are so narrow that the strokes overlie each other. This script was
produced by an extremely inhibited left-handed boy. In figure
#306, we can see how excessive tension affects an essentially
#305
#306
286
I
-
#307
sweeping hand, and breaks the flow and continuity of the move-
ment. Forms are rigid and distorted, connections irregular or
lacking. The word endings dart back sharply, in fishhook or har-
poon formations, and the i dots are stretched. The writing pre-
sented in figure #307 shows extreme tension, expressed in every
feature. The stroke is uniformly rigid, the connective forms are
acute angles, the lower loops are broken into triangles, and their
ascending stems are deflected into horizontal thrusts emphasized
by pressure displacement. Such manifestation of tension in lower
loops is found mainly in the handwriting of those women who
vent pent-up emotional tension in domestic tyranny.
Figure #308 is used by Pophal to illustrate high tension.P? In
this hand, smoothness and fluency are hampered; tension inhibits
(a)
.(b)
#308
287
free play of the fingers, so that the writer produces shorter letters
than he would like to make. Similarly, his speed diminishes pro-
gressively. Fatigue and stiffening set in prematurely; this is
reflected in the cramped loops and the antenna-like i dots (as in
the first word of the second line). Another result of tension is the
"fan phenomenon" (fig. #308b). Here the first and the last down-
stroke slant in different directions. Increasing irritability and
fatigue impede momentum and divert the slant. In figure #309,
#309
the harpoon-like, snapped-back endings in the upper zone result
from the tension that sets in when stretching movements are re-
quired.
High tension appears in the handwriting of Tschaikowsky (fig.
#288). The strokes are rigid, the loops are extremely lean or
transformed by an angular juncture of downstroke and upstroke.
There is no regular emphasis on the downstrokes; the pressure
shifts to a horizontal stress. The total picture is that of an irritable
and erratic personality. The scripts of Romain Rolland (fig. #270)
and Anatole France (fig. #271) exemplify two extremes: Rolland's
pattern is one of utmost tension, with pressure shifted sideward,
while the handwriting of France shows the free expenditure of
energy characteristic for a forceful and sensuous personality.
288
( x v
ARRANGEMENT
The term arrangement, as applied to the handwriting pattern,
refers to the manner in which the writing as a unitary configura-
tion is adapted to the writing space. In studying this spatial
organization, we must take into account both movement and
form. It is the rhythm of movement, and the balance of form it
produces, that reveal the structure and dynamics of the given
personality. Furthermore, the way in which the writer covers the
page is an index not only of his aesthetic sense and his regard for
economy but also of his integrative capacity.P?
The writing as a whole presents a structured mass, by reason
of the contrast produced by the dark line pattern against the
light background. This line pattern makes up the body of the
writing. It is usually set off by a more or less defined frame of
blank space---the margins at top and bottom and at the sides. The
graphologist notes whether the elements of the line pattern are
crowded together or loosely distributed. As a corollary to this, he
must judge whether the blank spaces that separate the writing
lines from one another (interlinear spaces), and separate the
words from one another (word interspaces), serve as clarifying
and articulating factors (fig. #313) or disturb the integrity of
the pattern (figs. #314, #326).
SPACING
A page that shows liberal spacing in all its features betokens a
self-assured, expansive personality (fig. #310); a crowded page
289
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~.
('
,
[ t-
---t 1:
\f ~
~
~ ~
~ l
\l ~
6- )
i y ~
l~ , J..).......>
<;..(j
#310 <;
290
#311
may imply a thrifty bent or a miserly disposition (fig. #311). An
imbalance in the use of space-inconsistent spacing, crowding in
spots and looseness at other points-shows conflict. This may
stem from an opposition between the aesthetic and the economic
motivation, or from an unconscious attempt to balance a niggardly
trend with a gesture of liberality. Conversely, it may reflect a
bountiful nature struggling against the limitations of time and
space (fig. #312).
291
# 312
ALIGNMENT
A child In learning to write uses ruled paper gIvmg him a
visible line as a guide upon which to base his letters. The practiced
writer relates his letters to an imaginary base, hardly aware that
he is doing so. In conformity with traditional usage in Western
writing, the lines of his script run parallel, with some measure
of space between each two. In a well-spaced script, the lower ex-
292
l./L1 ~ ~i 5-e. -
-trt~./ ~e..-<-
#314
tensions of the letters of one line do not touch the upper extensions
of those of the next. The writing line as a unit is understood to
comprise the total configuration of the line-not only its compact
middle zone, but the extensions above and below this zone as
well, and also such accessoriesas i dots, t bars, punctuation marks,
etc.
The spaces separating lines may be large, medium, or small. No
school models set an explicit standard in this respect.
Good line spacing has its roots in a sense of order. This is an
attribute of individuals who not only have the ability to organize
their daily routine, but also the capacity to assimilate emotional
experiences and maintain their essential integrity (fig. #315).
Some scripts present lines in which the letters spill out beyond
their allotted bounds; stems and loops jump the fence, so to speak.
This is an expression of impulsiveness (fig. #312), inner unrest
(fig. #311), or emotional confusion (fig. #304).
# 315
"rf\",,~v~G:': ~ ~-.. "t\ \C.....\. ~ \._~ ~~ ,"- \~
~ ~ ~ -iJ1rl: ,.._,~ l~-"S. So -- -' ~ ~ 't
293
e.....,_-d ~ ~ .._..-- ....--..~..-. -....-...~....-.
#316
In regard to the alignment of the writing, i.e., the trend of the
lines across the page, we distinguish between the steady horizontal
or the sinuous, the uphill or downhill, the steplike or serrated,
and the concave or convex line.
To shape a row of letters, keeping a straight course along .the
line of an assumed base, requires a sense of direction, firmness,
and ability to maintain drive and move straight ahead to a goal
(figs. #163, #316). Such abilities characterize the individual who
persists in his aims and follows through in an undertaking, and
who is not easily deflected by inner or outer interferences (fig.
#314). There are writers who use ruled paper or underlay the
writing sheet with a ruled guide, in order to keep their lines
straight. This is betrayed, however, in the mechanically regular
alignment that results. For others even this crutch is of no avail;
their lines still totter (fig. #317). Still others deliberately sail
above or below the ruled line, as though rejecting the help they
have sough t ( fig. # 318). All these are manifest! y attempts to
# 317
~~,Wf'~k~~_~~"-
"""",";ta.a... .....u.. ,~.~ ~....-.:r 1""":" ~ cat' ,- •• : ..... .n..
...,Jr.--_ -t~~ ~~~ r~~~
~..f~ k~dqy5t,u=·.t~~
~ .v.""" ~ ~I ~ _.a..,._J._~. ~
#318
294
#319
compensate for an uncertain sense of direction, and a confession
of deep-seated insecurity.
Lines that undulate, or waver in direction, express indecision or
hesitancy-an inclination to hold back in order to avoid com-
mitment. Such lines are related in form and expression, to the
threadlike connective form (p. 216). They signify a hedging
attitude, a preference for compromise, or a crafty or diplomatic
disposition. A commonly cited example of this type of line appears
in the handwriting of Talleyrand, the French statesman who out-
witted the Revolutionary Tribunal, Napoleon, and Metternich.
The undulating line appears similarly in the script of Eduard
Bene'S, the Czech statesman, whose handwriting was judged by
friendly graphologists to reveal a "diplomatic" mind, while hostile
interpreters found in this feature the mark of insincerity (fig.
#319). Broken lines staggering across the page may be a manifes-
tation of incoherence in thought or action. The phenomenon may
mean that the writer is a person who cannot "think straight," or
who is going to pieces (fig. #320).
lM\t- ~ F / #320
- ( ~ ~
~~rf~~-~~ ~~2J!'l~
295
In lines that take an uphill or downhill course, the direction
is largely determined by the condition of the individual while
he writes. When the writer's arm slackens and tends to droop,
the line slopes downward. This may indicate simply physical
fatigue after a considerable period of continuous writing, or it
may be due to a temporary state of low tension and its psycho-
logical equivalent, low spirits. It may express passing discourage-
ment or sadness, or a fundamental pessimism. Downward tending
lines may be regarded as symptomatic of a depressive state in. the
clinical sense, when found in association with small-sized letters,
low pressure, slack connective strokes, leftward tending arrange-
ment of the whole pattern, and a signature placed in the lower
left-hand portion of the page. As A. H. Maslow says: "If a per-
son is depressed, he is depressed all over."?" Lines that run uphill
#321
296
express some degree of excitement, prevailing at least during the
act of writing (fig. #321). The excitement may be due to tem-
peramental eagerness or hopeful anticipation, or to more acute
excitation, reflecting a state of rage or exultation. However, in
order to ascertain whether a rising or falling trend of the lines is
indicative of a fundamentally optimistic or pessimistic outlook,
or due merely to a temporary emotional state, it is necessary to
weigh it against the evidence of all the other features of the script
in question. Thus the writing of a hypersensitive and moody
person will show extreme variability as regards alignment.
A different deviation in alignment appears in the writing of
individuals who struggle against depression and seek to overcome
fatigue and low spirits. The struggle may be expressed in a bowed
line forming a concave arc (fig. #322). The downward trend at
the start of the line reflects the sinking mood; the up curve
registers recovery of spirits. The same struggle may be expressed
in a stepped or serrated line, in which the initial letter of each
word stands higher than the succeeding ones, which sink down, so
#322
297
.Db
,
#323
~---/~
:J
(b)
that the whole word seems to droop (fig. #323 a). These stepped
lines indicate that the fight against weariness is supported by a
strong feeling of responsibility. The inverse of the concave line,
the convexly bowed line, shows that the start was made with
upflaring interest and eagerness that just as quickly gave out (fig.
#324). The stepped or serrated line in which the start of each
word stands lower than its end may be regarded as an attempt
to put a brake on impulsiveness that nevertheless reasserts itself
again and again (fig. #323 b).
Long study of the various ways in which handwritings main-
tain or depart from normal alignment makes it plain that the
deviations are conditioned by significant emotional or somatic
states. These in turn are closely related to functional variables
-blood-sugar level, tite dynamics of blood pressure, muscle
tension. Therefore any generalizations-to assert, for instance,
that uphill alignment betokens optimism, and downhill alignment
indicates pessimism in the writer, are oversimple and undiscrimi-
nating and can have no claim to validity. The letter of Andre
Gide reproduced in fig. #324 was written when he was past
eighty, in the period of his last illness. He says to his friend, "It
tires me to write, and I have only just enough strength to em-
brace you." Here the downhill line is manifestly the index of an
enfeebled bodily state. However, the organization of the writing
298
~ ...·
:...v.... · ~ ... ,...... ;) ~CO&". t;.4."'c.......~~.,ra'.dP""'c-. ~~
Vi tI~I/..;& ~A-"t t;4;" c.o ~ 0' ~~4. • •• f4. ...__.
r~""'- t!'4~~ J·.·""ut ... -'/- r...'~;r...~
).~t"" t!!-- p.~'~ if' .....~.e,."._,~c.-... a;c.., 6i.
""'dca.., ,. ""I.... ~ ht.oAJ
~,~~~-..;.A ~~
rv~~J'
pattern, and the rhythmic flow of the movement, are proof that
neither illness nor age have destroyed the integrity and spiritual
force of the personality. The ascending line of the signature,
exactly reproducing the tilt of Gide's earlier signatures, testifies
to a resilient hold on life.
There is a kind of irregular alignment in which the lines begin
with ample word and letter spacing and end in a tangle of pinched
and distorted characters piled almost on top of one another, the
last words curving precariously into the margin for lack of space.
This line expresses improvidence and wasteful use of time and
energy, and lack of organization and foresight. It typifies those
individuals who dawdle in the morning and rush about helter-
skelter by evening, or those who spend lavishly at the beginning
of the month and live like misers at the end of it, or who con-
sume the time and patience of others with preliminaries and are
then obliged to rattle out desperately at the moment of leave-
taking what they wanted to say when they came in (figs. #312,
#32r5). · (;(_t,
.-j~~
~~9L/'J
# 325 -u-ce.: ,~
~,
WORD INTERSP ACES
Words and the spaces separating them have an organic relation
within the unity of the line. Hence the analysis must concern
itself not less with the function of blank space than with the
tangible graphic forms. The interpolations of blank space in
300
wntmg, like the pause in music or the dance, or the caesura in
verse, or the breath in speech, arise as the individual's innate
response to the demand for order and differentiation (fig. #229).
A prolonged pause may accent and give impressiveness to what
follows. Writing that moves forward without a pause betrays
something altogether different-a submission to the flow of free
associations with no time for selection and organization (figs.
#304, #311).
It goes without saying that the size of the interspace must be
considered in relation to the size and expansion of the letters of
the script. As regards proportions within the writing line, the
graphological criterion is that the spaces between words should
have approximately the width of one character of the script.
Overlarge interspaces interrupt the continuity of both pattern
and expression. The words appear to be isolated from one an-
other, and this disturbs the normal impression of relatedness (fig.
#326'~). Such interspaces indicate that the writer is isolated from
-I~ #326
1(T;;I,!n.
Wn,j,_ h~
~•:.j...:._1 t -
• Courtesy Thea Lewinson Hall.
301
#327
environmental relationships, either socially or psychologically.
When the words in a line are set too close together, there is an
impression of a disregard of the normal function of space-e-i.e.,
its function of maintaining a proper separation of things (fig.
#327). The effect of inadequate interspaces is to destroy clarity,
form articulation, measure and rhythm. In terms of personality
expression, such spacing bespeaks the individual who does not
keep his distance, who has no feeling for privacy and is always
close at another's heels. It is an index of insecurity, of an unsure
ego, and of a craving for contact. Where it appears in association
with markedly narrow letters and extreme compaction within the
words, it reflects anxiety, sometimes even obsession.
Most handwritings show a remarkable degree of consistency in
regard to the size of their word interspaces. Irregularity of size
in the word spacings indicates disturbance of the rhythm of the
writing movement, and is interpreted as a sign of emotional in-
stability (fig. #255). The appearance of a single inconsistently
large space between two words means a break or gap in thought.
302
#328
•
,#6
~•..-.Av"
Such an occurrence must be interpreted within the context of the
total pattern. It may be due merely to accident, a chance
interruption from the outside, or to an interruption or dead
stop in thought. The handwritings of mentally defective or feeble-
minded persons may show a number of such gaps in the lines.
In such cases the handwriting will contain a number of other
features pointing to undeveloped or disturbed mental func-
tioning. Gaps appearing not only between words but also within
words may denote a certain seizure state-unconsciousness lasting
only a few seconds (petit mal). Such seizures may recur with
some frequency (fig. #328). Similar gaps have been observed in
the handwritings of girls just before the onset of puberty. In these
cases no signs of mental deterioration appeared later.
MARGINS
The arrangement of the writing Jines on the page produces the
margins. They reveal a number of things about the writer's out-
look and organization in time and space, in relation to both the
external world and the world within.
Maintaining a left-hand margin is a rule of writing fixed by
convention and practice, and applied automatically by most
writers. The width of this margin is set more or less consciously
by the starting point of the first line. (It is understood that for
the purposes of the exposition, paragraph indentations, etc., are
left out of discussion). From this starting point the writing moves
forward until it reaches the limit at which the writer terminates
the line in order to return-with a leftward movement back
303
across the page-to a point just under the beginning of the first
line. In the same way each new line starts approximately under
the first letter of the' preceding one. Thus the left-hand margin
as a whole is formed by the measure initially set. In contrast to
this, the right-hand margin is less consistently set. Its formation
depends upon the writer's actual impulses to end the line.
Nevertheless, in any spontaneous writing, the supposedly set
measure of the left-hand margin is scarcely ever maintained.
Carried away by the momentum of his movement toward a goal,
the writer, in order to save time, tends with each succeeding line
to shorten the span of the movement that takes him back to the
beginning of the line. He starts each time a little farther from
the left-hand edge of his page, i.e., a little more to the inside of
the marginal limit he originally set himself; thus the left margin
grows wider and wider as he proceeds down the page. Hence a
left margin increasing in the downward direction is usually taken
to indicate rapid and spontaneous writing (fig. #329).
Conversely, when the writer's spontaneity is checked, the pro-
pulsion of the movement toward the purposive goal slows down.
The movement that takes him from the end of a line to the new
starting point goes all the way to and even beyond the set marginal
limit. The result is a narrowing of the margin and also a
lengthening of the writing line, actually protracting the distance
from the start to the goal and the time required to reach it. Hence
a progressive decrease of the left-hand margin indicates slowness
and reduced spontaneity (fig. #330).
Graphological observation has shown that the tendency to en-
large the left margin and to neglect the right-hand one goes with
an extraversive nature. The writer is directing his gaze to the
threshold of the outer world-here symbolized by the right-hand
edge of the paper-which he is eager to reach. Enlarged right-hand
margins point to self-consciousness and reserve. Where in addi-
tion there are irregular inlets of blank space indenting the pattern
at the right, the graphological inference is that the writer is
expressing a wish to stand aloof and to guard his privacy. Hori-
304
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~ ~ a..-......Jl. ~/7
~~~. /7/7k
;) ~, '1 ~ ....6. /"7' --:?t:/Ce
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#329 # 330
305
-----~
#331
zontal strokes extended through the right margin and reaching
the right-hand edge of the paper (fig, #331) are interpreted as
a ritual gesture-i.e., "touching wood," or a pantomime of ward-
ing off danger. A page without any margins at the sides, and lines
bleeding off the paper, are interpreted as showing a disregard of
one's fellow men (fig, #332). Figure #333 reproduces a portion
of a letter from the hand of Robespierre, showing a small and
diminishing left margin, with the writing running off the edge of
the page at the right, and no margin under the signature.
The measure of the margin at the top of the page expresses the
degree of esteem the writer professes toward the addressee. In
Europe, the space left blank above the salutation of a letter
varies in depth according to the status of the person addressed.
A letter directed to a government ministry, for instance, will have
a specifically enlarged top margin. The size of the margin at the
1
#332 •
306
.-
# 333
307
-
bottom of the page is nowhere governed by any convention, and
seems to be of negligible importance as an expressive feature.
However, the general principles that apply in all aspects of
graphological interpretation yield certain conclusions here too. In
the script of an individual in a state of depression, the whole body
of the writing sags toward the bottom of the page, leaving no
lower margin (fig. #364). In a manuscript from the hand of
Paul Verlaine in which this symptom appears (fig. #346), We
have the additional depression indices of letter forms becoming
smaller and smaller, and lines and interlinear spaces becoming
progressively narrower, with the pattern finally almost bleeding
off the page. It is as though the writer and the writing were
sinking down below the threshold of adequate functioning within
the frame of life.
THE WRITING ON THE ENVELOPE
The writing on an envelope is appraised according to the criteria
that apply in regard to any other unitary feature of handwriting.
Since it is important that this particular piece of writing be
legible, and that letters and especially numerals be clearly
traced, most people make a special effort to address an envelope
carefully. Hence evidence of carelessness here means more than
it does when found in the body of the script. Occasionally, in
an otherwise legibly written address, a single word or name may
be fuzzy or carelessly shaped. This possibly registers the uncon-
scious effect of some ambivalent association with the word or
name.
In general, smoothly written numerals indicate that the writer
has a serious and sober attitude toward practical values, and a
good understanding of monetary matters. Numerals may be em-
phasized by enlargement, decoration, or intensified pressure. Over-
sized numerals express an overconcern with the monetary values
that numerals may symbolize, or with things that can be bought
with money. According to Pulver, this manifestation has a
308
peculiar ambivalence. It may be an expression either of the in-
dividual who is naive and impractical in money matters, or of
the Midas personality. In both cases the expression springs from
an unrealistic appraisal of the exchange value of money and goods.
Numerals of diminutive size, sharply and concisely traced, are
characteristic of individuals who have a precise and matter-of-fact
understanding of the function of numerical symbols-e.g., ac-
countants, business executives, mathematicians, physicists, etc.
Clumsily written numerals are supposed to be a mark of persons
who are poor in mathematics. Touched-up numerals denote some
neurotic reaction, possibly an anxiety turning on financial prob-
lems (fig. #334). Numerals transformed into decorative symbols
indicate a fantasy excursus from the realistic aspect of material
values.
#334
An envelope contains a message sent out into the world. If we
apply our general graphological principles in examining the
arrangement of the writing on the envelope, we shall obtain some
clues regarding the attitude of the writer toward the world.
The envelope may be conceived of as divided into four parts,
the upper right-hand quarter being the space reserved for the
stamp, with the other three sections available for the writing.
A writer who places the address so high on the envelope that it
encroaches upon the space required for the stamp, can be said
to be hasty or careless. Placing of the address markedly low be-
tokens a pessimistic disposition or ~ depressive mood. Positioning
of the address farther to the right of center than is usually done
indicates outward directed interest, i.e., an extraversive personality
trend. Setting of the address farther to the left than is customary
reveals a writer whose interest is mainly directed to the world
within, i.e., an introversive personality trend. The contrast be-
tween these two latter modes of expression, standing for con-
trasting personality types, is demonstrated in figure #335. The
309
addresses were written by two sisters. Specimen a expresses a
restless temperament given to pursuit of outward interests, while
the arrangement of the address in specimen b represents the atti-
tude of a reserved and reflective person.
(a)
#335
(b)
~K~~~
-yo ~4~"'- If
~~~~
~
310
x V I )
THE SIGNATURE
The signature is the most distinctive of all the components
of the handwriting. Ever since written personal marks have been
used, the signature has been recognized as unique and funda-
mentally expressive; that it is a peculiarly revealing symbol of
the self is common knowledge.
The usual signature in our culture consists of three or four
parts-the given name, middle name, and family name, and, in
most cases, a final appendage. This may be merely a simple dot or
a terminal stroke; it may also be a complicated flourish or curlicue,
or a characteristically formed jumble of lines. The signature may
also as a whole present an undecipherable configuration of slurred
letter forms and embellishing strokes that the writer habitually
uses as his personal device.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SELF
This kind of individual name writing develops at an early age,
since even the very young child has need of such a visible repre-
sentation of himself. He practices it on every bit of paper he
happens to find. In contriving his particular form, he may try to
imitate the signature of his father or of some other adult, because
of a wish to identify with a personality ideal, or he may find an
outlet for inventive imagination in fashioning an original con-
figuration for his name, emphasizing or ornamenting the form
according to his heart's desire. Thus the foundation for the ulti-
mate pattern of the signature is laid in this formative period of
life. This is outstandingly illustrated 10 figures #336 and #337;
311
the two pairs of autographs also show how the trend of personality
development may be foreshadowed in early signatures.
#336
Figure #336 a presents a signature affixed by George Wash-
ington at the age of seventeen to the formal record of a land
survey; specimen b of this figure shows a signature penned ap-
proximately six years later, in the course of his journey to Fort
Pitt. The earlier pattern is still tentative and unsure. There is
marked ego emphasis in the attempt to merge the given name
with the family name in a unitary configuration of the initials,
but the result is an awkward elaboration hampered by con-
straint; the simple forms of the rest of the signature are executed
with greater ease. The second specimen, however, reflects a de-
cided development of personality, and shows an amazing maturity
for a writer of twenty-three. Here the G and Ware joined in
a clear and graceful design effected with a structural simplicity
uncommon for the writer's age and for the period. Now the
emphasis is only upon essentials; even the playful elaboration of
the t bar is not out of relation, for it balances the strong loop
of the g beneath it. It is also significant that Washington's signa-
ture changed little from this time onward, except for variations
in the style of the s, which is consonant with the practice of his
time.
312
#337
Figure #337, showing the signature of Wilhelm II of Germany
as.a boy of fourteen, side by side with his autograph as a man in
his fifties, in the prime of his power, provides a contrasting picture.
In this case the adult signature expresses no adequate personality
development: the definitive pattern was set in puberty and was
followed throughout life, just as persisting immaturity marked
the entire history of the writer.
It is a fairly common observation that certain handwriting
features, like other traits, may run in a family, aside from any
deliberate imitation. In the signatures of Joseph Chamberlain,
British statesman, and his two sons, who resembled him in their
career aspirations, there is resemblance both in general and in
certain features that would scarcely be noted by the layman; how-
ever, they stand out with telling effect to the eye of the
313
#338
graphologist (fig. #338). For instance, there is in all three a
characteristic formation of the letter m, in which the first of the
three downstrokes is somewhat higher than the others. The
graphological interpreter regards this as an indicator of personal
ambition and of pride in accomplishment. The fact that here this
basic character trait comes to expression only discreetly in an
unconspicuous graphic element is in itself a clue to another trait
marking the three writers in common-modesty in public de-
meanor.
IMAGIN ATIVE PROJECTION
It is a remarkable fact that the signature as a unitary pattern
develops earlier and is stabilized sooner than the handwriting in
general. Moreover, it does not always develop in step with the
maturing of the handwriting as a whole. In the first stages of
personality development, the individual apparently has a need to
project an image of himself charged with his wishes and day-
dreams, his anxieties and frustrations; this projection finds a
suitable vehicle in the signature. With maturation, however, most
of us clothe our self-assertion in the rationalized forms of con-
ventional penmanship. Yet it may be observed in the case of many
314
an individual that, while the body of his script is in keeping with
the maturity of his personality, the signature retains some qualities
of infantile expression.
For the same reasons, the signature reflects more of free creative
quality than the text writing. In the signature the fancy takes
a freer course, and the constraints of conventional forms are
somewhat less operative than in the rest of the writing. Thus in
the signature, to a greater extent than in the general script, the
way is open for imaginative projections.
Because the signature has a sphere of expression all its own, it is
intensively scrutinized for the especially meaningful pattern it
constitutes in itself. As in graphic pattern in general, we dis-
tinguish two major types of pattern in signatures, the pictorial
and the linear (p. 82). It is understood of course that there is no
such thing as exclusively pictorial or exclusively linear patterning.
In signatures, 'however, pictorial configurations are more frequent,
and may even undersign a predominantly linear body script.
Such imagery as appears in the configuration of the signature may
yield valuable information. In some cases the meaning is so mani-
fest that it virtually hits the graphologist in the eye. The layman,
however, may not at once perceive the meaningful motivations
behind the configuration that he customarily sees only as an in-
dividual vagary of the handwriting.
THE ROOTS OF GRAPHIC IMAGERY
The fact that graphic forms may carry projections of uncon-
scious imagery is understandable in the light of the development
of the writing symbols. In the beginning of communication,
the picture stood for the thing: there was an obvious identity
between the form of the symbol and the form of the object it
represented. In the course of time, the simple concrete character
of these naive symbols changed; several meanings were compacted
in one form -, i.e., one symbol came to represent a combination
of things or ideas. Further, as this multidetermined picture
315
#339
accreted ideational and associational content, the emphasis shifted
from the realistic representation to the abstract significance. The
given form might stand for an idea, an association; it became a
sign of recalling a sound-an element of speech-and as such
eventually a symbol of written language. It was said of Gaudier
Brzeska, a sculptor keenly perceptive of meanings in form, that he
could read Chinese writing to a certain extent without ever having
studied the syllabary. On seeing the Chinese ideogram for a horse
(fig. #339), he remarked, according to Ezra Pound, "Of course
you can see it's a horse."124
#340
The specimen reproduced in figure #340 is taken from an
address written on an envelope and reading literally, "Wien II."
A noted Austrian interpreter of handwriting, Scherman, who
worked only on an ideographic basis, saw in it immediately the
image of a steamboat, with the outlines of a smokestack and its
smoke, as well as the wake of the ship. This image, as it turned
out, was indeed potent in the writer's unconscious; his wishful
daydream was to cross the ocean. The specimen presented in
figure #341 shows how such a pervasive wishful imagery-
which in this case came to actual realization-may stamp the in-
dividual's script throughout life. This writer in his childhood
was poor and supported himself by working as a "candy butcher"
316
#341
\
c-- ~ __ L. •
, •
A.A----~
g...Q--~~ .-- -
d
\-.""'$>-_ ..._..__ ....+_-=-~~~
- c:::~
on railway trains. All of his boyhood phantasy centered on rail-
roads; his daydreams were filled with images of locomotives and
lines of rails cutting through unexplored wildernesses. The adult
handwriting is patterned in parallel lines running like railroad
tracks. Many of the word configurations suggest speeding loco-
motives, notably the word. "the" in the first line. The effect of
streamlined motion in this script arises from its extraordinary
combination of functional and pictorial quality. In its individual
features it yields an array of indices of mental speed, keen grasp
of essentials, technological vision, and artistic imagination-adding
up to basic creative drive and sustained practical purposefulness
as the keynote of the graphic portrait of Sir William Van Horne,
the builder of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
317
Clearly enough, even though pictorial imagery no longer has a
place in our modern writing, the deep source from which it springs
is still at work, and remains discernible in handwriting. Such
imaginative creation lives itself out most overtly in the signature.
Often a signature embodies an image symbolic of the vocation
of the writer. A painter may use the form of a palette (figs. #146,
#260); a composer or conductor may use the image of a clef or
a baton: such emblems appear for instance in the signatures of
Franz Lehar, Johann Strauss, and Max Reger (fig. #342). The
#342 (c)
sword will appear as a favorite. device of military men, as notably
in the signatures of Napoleon (figs. #274a, #354, #355); the
cross is an emblem often found in the signatures of ecclesiastics.
Figure #343 shows a complex construction of strokes that might
stand for the coils of a motor or the blades of a propeller; this is
the signature of Charles Levine, who won the distinction of being
the first transatlantic plane passenger. Figure #344 represents an
excerpt from a letter written by a young air-force pilot, whose
graphic gesture manifestly suggests the motion of flying. The
#343
318
signature of Walt Disney (fig. #345) is full of animated details
as ingenious as those of his well-known cartoon creations. The
graphic thrusts and leaps reflect the same dynamism as the swift
and playful antics of his little story creatures.
#345
However, since subjective recogmtions of this kind amount
merely to tentative and suggestive highlights, they must be
checked and confirmed on the basis of a thorough analysis of both
text and signature. As P. M. Symonds acutely remarks:
A projective technique is not a test in the sense that it can be
used to measure something. A projective technique is most
valuable for throwing light on the meaning and underlying
motivations of behavior. In my judgment every interpretation
of a projective technique is frankly a guess, a hypothesis, a sur-
mise which has to be verified by further evidence.' S3
CONGRUENCE OF SIGNATURE AND BODY SCRIPT
The implication is plain that we cannot detach the signature
from the handwriting to which it belongs, but must examine and
319
interpret it in the context of the whole pattern. It is particularly
important to compare the expression of the signature with that
of the handwriting in general. If the character of the signature
is not congruent with the style and the essential features of the
script as a whole, the indication may be that the role the writer
plays in his own phantasy is somewhat at odds with his actual
personality. But if the body of the writing and the signature
accord in style and expression, and both are natural and balanced
in size, emphasis, and arrangement, we may conclude that the
writer is making a valid self-assertion (fig. #341).
tJ/-~n ~J~-' ~~,~~,~..;_~t . ~!r c-;;I -h-i--~~./~~ );___~H~
&'{4~~,~~~
2>~ ~~L-d~ ~:«:::::< ' y
~~"~~/ ~,,t,l_,~-c..L- ~ c;../JL~.".~~-.-
~t-~~/
#346 -
A small signature, paired with a larger body script, indicates
underestimation of the self (fig. #346). This humility may be
artificial, an attitude based on a desire to appear modest, or it
may be a true expression of neurotic self-depreciation. There are
signatures in which the capitals are smaller than the other letters.
This symbolizes self-devaluation-an expression that as a rule is
corroborated by other features of the handwriting, especially by
the size of the capital I when standing for the personal pronoun
(p.163).
Inferiority feelings giving rise to a defensive behavior pattern
may impel the writer 1::0 heighten or enlarge his signature or initials
320
#347
#348
beyond good measure (fig. #347). Figure #348 shows the sig-
nature of a physician who compensates his deficient self-esteem
by emphasizing his professional standing with an oversized capital
D in his title. Often the signature as a whole is larger and more
ostentatious than the writer's general script; here the intention is
to impress people and to suggest stature and prestige (fig. #349).
'II"v ~ Q~#~'{!/).J ~
tfa4~~~ /~~ ~_f~u-_dJ
<-;#J.--eLL::? 1~/u)~:"~----z:J' ~ {' d
/a#~~ do,.;z)-~~:_ 4~-
U#4--~.¥"~
/_ :J~J-- ~~
r<~_ ?tY0~ _--;7 #349
321
#350
In the signature shown in figure #350, the aggrandizement of the
initial of the given name serves the purpose of "front."
RELATION OF GIVEN AND FAMILY NAME
The proportional relation between the given and the family
name is a direct expression of the writer's reaction to family ties
and to parent-child relations. In the signature, the family name
represents the social ego, whereas the given name speaks for the
more intimate part of the ego. Balanced proportion between the
given name and the family name within the signature as a unit
reflects a harmonious interaction of private and social roles.
Overemphasis on the family name or on an acquired last name
may indicate family pride or feelings of prestige and preoccupa-
tion with status. Amplification and embellishment of the given
#351
name suggests a narcissistic urge to attract attention. Figure #351
reproduces the signature of a man who forsook the business of
his prominent and wealthy family in favor of an artist's life
abroad. To express his inner gratification at having made this
choice, he embellishes his first name and contrastingly simplifies
and belittles his family name (p. 366). Figure #352 shows the style
322
#352
)
adopted by an unprepossessing seamstress for wntmg her given
name, thereby acting out a wishful phantasy that postured her as
a melodramatic figure.
PERSONALITY CHANGES AND THE SIGNATURE
An individual's signature may change with changes in his life
situation. Jacoby demonstrates this phenomenon in the signature
of Benito Mussolini. The changes in size and emphasis in signatures
written respectively prior to, during, and after his ascent to
power record a progressive enlargement of self-esteem and self-
assertion. It is strikingly apparent that the signature expanded
concurrently with the increasing inflation of the personality and
the enhancement of its power over the environment. The process is
particularly to be noted in the initial M, which grows broader as
the writer moves from success to success.i''
The signature of Napoleon Bonaparte is a mine for the graph-
ologist.10B For in its changes in the course of that extraordinary
life, it offers a series of key revelations packed with staggering
~urprises.
#353
323
#354
Figure #353 presents his signature as a young sublieutenant of
artillery signing his military oath of allegiance in 1791. The
signature in figure #3>4 was penned at the height of conscious-
ness of power. The mighty stroke underlining the name lifts the
writer above the ordinary plane of life, emphasizing his stature.
The forceful swing of the dense, sharp-edged terminal stroke
expresses the pent-up life energy of the ambitious man who, when
opposed, crushes his enemy. The autograph in figure #355, which
belongs to the period just before the signing of the Peace of Tilsit
(June 22, 1807), is even more impressive, reflecting a sensuous
delight in the feeling of power. Here a single initial stands proxy
for and actually fills up the space of a whole signature. The attitude
expressed is obviously that this overwhelming N, mounted on a
coiling spring of force and culminating in a titanic sword thrust,
can stand for no one but Napoleon Bonaparte. . ')
#355 ,.. #356
But after the retreat from Moscow there is a decisive change.
In the pattern seen in figure #356, we have a protagonist losing
ground, shuffling cautiously like a baflled boxer. The expression
clearly heralds a dramatic reversal. The narrowness of the letters,
and the self-covering strokes, especially in the meaningful N,
324
#357
show consuming anxiety and tension. But the writer is not giving
up. In the contraction the movement gathers force and rises up
sheer as with some superhuman new access of strength. The end
stroke is the most telling indicator of the drastic change in atti-
tude. Instead of boldly inviting challenge as before, the signature
now erects a barrier-a magic wall of defense against the un-
certainties of the future-by means of the perpendicular double
terminal stroke.
Figure #357 shows a signature on a military order written a
year later, in October, 1813. Confusion reigns. The writer is un-
sure of himself; twice he almost scratches out his name, debating
inwardly. In figure #358, we see him two weeks later, at Erfurt,
desperately trying to conceal his feeling of defeat. He now puts
into practice the actor's technique he learned from the tragedian
Talma: harnessing all his remaining powers, he makes a supreme
-~
• •I•• #358
325
• #359
effort. By July 14, 1815, in the hand that appears in figure #359,
we have the stark picture of a totally collapsed ego. Size has
\ shriveled to the vanishing point, all. firmness is gone. The features
are now pressureless and pastose. This microscopic signature con-
veys a self-image drawn in to mousehole proportions.
ELABORATION AND APPENDAGES
The inclination that leads to elaboration of the signature runs
a tremendous gamut in designs and styles. Almost every signature
has some sort of embellishment; it may be anything from a simple
end stroke to some one of those fanciful accessories which en-
circle, under- or overline, emphasize or adorn.
The simplest type of accessory is a dot. In general interpretation,
a dot always registers some sort of retention. When the tracing of
the signature itself begins with a dot, it indicates a deliberate
concentration before the start (fig. #93). A dot appearing arbi-
trarily within the signature is a sign of some inhibitive mechanism
at work (fig. #288). A dot following the signature reflects an
impulse to come to an end, to cut off (figs. #212, #221). It may
at the same time be symptomatic of distrust, a gesture of safe-
guarding.
Another simple accessory is the end stroke that finishes off the
signature with a swing. The release of surplus energy it stands
for may express a playful or an aggressive attitude. Playfulness
expresses itself in an outswinging, easy, ascending, looping stroke
(figs. #342a, #342d, #344, #345;) aggressiveness finds vent in
downward curving strokes shaped like a scimitar (fig. #351) or
spurting to the right, as in the signatures of Napoleon. When
strokes of this kind turn leftward, cutting across the name, they
326
manifest displaced aggression. The writer, instead of thrusting
outward into the environment, is deflecting his belligerence back
upon himself, in a gesture of self-destruction. An instance of this
appears in figure #368 c, where also we may note another sig-
nificant formation, the drooping end stroke, which marks a
dwindling away of energy. Such a stroke registers, in greater or
lesser degree, a .dying out of movement, sometimes with visible
breaks in the tracing (fig. #346). French graphologists have given
this expression the name of brisement douloureux de la vie
Cgrievou~ break in life").
#360
A quite different meaning attaches to the stroke underliiiing
the name (fig. #360). This stroke, whatever its quality, betokens
ego emphasis. According as it is clear-cut and firmly drawn, it
shows the degree of poise and firm footing possessed by the writer.
'The encircled signature has a basic meaning. The circle or
closed ring is a common symbol of anxiety, of the desire to en-
close and shelter the self - to protect it from harm as in a magic
circle. Encirclement may also indicate withdrawal. Figure #361
reproduces the signature of a writer who, although he maintained
social relationships, was essentially unapproachable. His autistic
trend appears to have been one manifestation of his schizoid
personality pattern. A number of his descendants-the progeny of
327
#362
(aJ (bJ
intersanguineous marriages over several generations-developed
schizophrenic psychoses. Figure #362a shows the initial of one of
this writer's grandsons, who never signed his full name. The
initial, always followed by a certain cryptic pattern of lines, Was
not placed in the lower right-hand section of the page, but was
shifted toward the left. The expression of withdrawal is rein-
forced by the graphic device itself-the three vertical lines con-
stituting a part of the cryptic pattern represent a triple barrier
against the world. Such an interpretation is supported by the
expression of the G-a posture of rigidity, inhibition, and repul-
sion. In later life the writer developed schizophrenia with delusions
of persecution. On his fiftieth birthday he left a note on his
desk saying that he had gone to a certain mountain top to hang
himself. The family rushed to the spot and found him very much
alive, with a thick rope in his hand. It was learned that he had
acquired the rope some twenty years before and kept it hidden
in his closet. This event revealed the meaning of the enigmatic
loop in his one-letter signature. It symbolized a hangman's noose,
and as an image of a resolution of the problem of his hopeless
life, it had enabled him to maintain a certain poise for decades.
An amazing recurrence of this symbolic gesture of schizophrenic
withdrawal was found many years later in an identically formed
initial (fig. #362b) appearing in the signature of the same man'S
great-grandniece, daughter of a schizophrenic mother. The girl
had never seen nor known of any of the writing of her insane
relative. 56
Among more complicated patterns, some consist of jumbles of
lines ostensibly as playful as the scribblings of children (figs.
#9-11). The writer seems to take unconscious pleasure in adding
328
such a flourish to his name, and though he may rationalize the
gesture, he does not really know why he makes it. The explana-
tion, usually offered is that a complicated signature is more
difficult to imitate than a plain one. Laymen are always surprised
to be informed by experts that the genuine swing of a simple
signature is inimitable, while an elaborately constructed pattern
offers greater opportunity for successful imitation.
Other signatures of the complicated type can be shown-as
has been done earlier in connection with handwriting in general
-to embody definite images projecting the inner life of the
writer. These reveal repressed wishes, unsuspected attitudes,
dominating concepts fixed from early childhood on, or simple
daydreams or other mechanisms of escape from reality.
#363
Figure #363 reproduces the signature of a provincial justice of
the peace whose main job was to perform marriage ceremonies.
He lived as a bachelor in a country town, and his public life
was a model of order. In the initial capital we see the design of a
ring, common symbol of wedlock. But it cannot be too often
repeated that symbols are multidetermined, and that without
knowledge of the writer's possible associations with the symbols
he produces, no positive interpretation can be made. In this design,
for instance, the graphologist may also see a common symbol of
universal meaning, the male and female sexual organs in copula-
tion.
In this fantastic capital j, the large upper-zone element floats
above the middle zone in complete dissociation from an enormously
329
inflated lower-zone loop. The bisected initial may be the projection
of a sharply split body image. The middle zone as a whole is so
dwarfed and sprawled out that it lacks all body and strength.
Since symbolically this zone is the sphere of projection of the ego
in its adaptation to reality, the proportional reduction of this zone
as against the other two shows a total incapacity of the ego to
cope with the phantasy activity manifested in the upper as well
as in the hugely distended lower zone. The dimensions and the
emphasis given to the lower zone disclose sexual urges of a violent
and obsessive kind. These, since they are incompatible with the
cringing ego (shrunken middle zone) and the writer's awareness
of social and ethical demands (upper zone), hold the libido
prisoner in the depths of the phantasy life. And when this celibate
and respected civil servant died, his neighbors were shocked at
sight of the obscene "pin-up" collection that entirely covered
the walls of his bedroom.
PLACEMENT OF THE SIGNATURE
The location of the signature on the page is a significant index
in itself, and therefore should be interpreted according to the
principles that apply in analyzing the factor of location in
any other feature of the handwriting. Convention places the
signature in the lower right-hand section of the page. A signature
shifted toward the extreme right betrays an impatient person
consumed by nervous energy. Displacement toward the left
suggests an attitude of withdrawal from the environment. When
such displacement to the left is extreme, and the signature is
written in a small and narrow hand, we have an expression of
anxiety, of either temporary or permanent nature. Dropping of
the signature far down on the page reflects a state of depression
(figs. #346, #364); this dejected attitude will of course be ex-
pressed also in other features of the given script. In the farewell
notes of suicides, the signature often appears very low at the
left.63
330
It is clear that the signature has several distinct expressive func-
tions. It speaks for the social personality, delineates the facade
that the writer wishes to present to the world. At the same time,
quite without awareness on his part, it illuminates the hidden
aspects of his ego. But even though it furnishes these two major
and pregnant avenues of exploration, the interpretation of the
signature must be regarded as merely highlighting some significant
aspects of the personality. The full portrait must be sought in a
detailed analysis of both body script and signature.

SAMPLE ANALYSES
WITH USE OF WORKSHEETS

I. HANDWRITING OF A YOUNG WOMAN APPLICANT
FOR A SECRETARIAL POSITION
This is a brief analysis made for the purpose of ascertaining to
what extent the subject was qualified for a position as secretary
and technical laboratory assistant in a .doctor's office. The requisites
specified, in addition to technical skills, were: (1) general relia-
bility; (2) high ethical standards; (3) good general intelligence;
(4) ability to get along with others; (5) punctuality; (6) per-
severance.
Upon examination of the handwritings of all of the available
small group of applicants, it was concluded that the personality
traits disclosed in the handwriting of this subject most nearly
approximated the stipulated personal qualifications.
MATERIAL (FIG. #365)
The material submitted for analysis consisted of a biographical
record, including data on the professional background of the sub-
ject, written twice-in printscript and in a cursive hand. The
excerpts here shown present a specimen in each style.
PROCEDURE
The graphic features are noted on the accompanying work-
sheet. Detailed analysis yields the following essential findings.
335
• tl
~ "
)~. .)~
<,
~s ~~
\l
~
#365
336
WORKSHEET
~ 3 65" Name A.B., 5«",,,,,,,,..,,, t...1.." ...... ,,"$1.."[. Age)., (, Sexr Predominanr features -,t(
MOVEMENT Remark!
Expdfuion: in height extensive C...:\P.I:rA,c,.::,., I;)('.T£'N:;'.I.v.~/, F.'-I/...I-
in width extensive .,C.°N~.E_A.I,./NG !io11?.q~f;.s, ..
Co~ordi.nalion
Speed
Pr8SJIH'6
nroke
Tension
stroke
Directional. trend
terminal strokes o.~f-~S'.Q~A.L:4-Y L~rrWAH,.t> PA. ~r
Rhy,hm flowing q~~. $.LI<:!Hrl-oy. .D'ST.v.f{e~Dp~:~~.~.r
.FORM
S'y18 pictorial
natural
Leuer shape!
.T.R..~I-:\V.I,.Q.v..;$ ~~.~.v.~..~...
loops WAY~~'N<s. ..
Connective form!
Rhythm
.ARRANGEMENT
Pdllem, over-at!
.hythm
Margins: 10f) broad
left broad
righ'
A#gtJmem: ti'JBJ
Word intC1'JpaCBJ
Z01Jat pro/JortiollI· ..... ,VPP,ER ,l.QOp.s. ,9;0;:.';", .6.g.Q,U,N ...
L<U
balanced
S!4nt righrward
upright
i dOll HIQN
b"" ct arrt:t
SIGNATURE
Congruence with text
Emphasis on
Placement
U ---tlpIIO,. zone
The fact [hac a given quality is noted in [he right- or the left-
M--middle zone
hand listing has no implication of positive or negative evaluation
L -lowe,. zono
GRAPHIC INDICES· PERSONALITY TRAITS
pattern organized desire for neatness, organization,
spacing clear general efficiency
left margin large
middle zone: degree of connected- good average intelligence, sufficient
ness high to organize everyday activities
purposefully
forms ample retentive memory
letter shapes conventional, lack of imagination
legible
trend rightward adequate speed
writing line fluent articulateness
upper zone: large ethical sense
i dots placed high
pressure slight quiet, soft-spoken manner
t bars light
capitals large, full, curved deferential attitude
SIGNIFICANT TRAITS
a's and o'r closed m. troversio.n
terminal strokes occasionally curved
leftward
connective form: arcade reserve
slant rightward sensitivity
lower loops full-bodied; ascending tendency to evade intimate rela-
stems not carried across base tions
line
upper loops occasionally broken or susceptibility to fatigue
tremulous
stroke pastose proneness to passive acceptance
a's and o's flooded
lines stepped refusal to admit weariness or to
words sinking complain
• The student is cautioned against taking any single graphic feature as an index of
a specific character trait. Each feature must be evaluated in the light of its relation
to all others in the script, and of the role it plays in the pattern as a whole.
338
ANALYSIS
General reliability good
Ethical standards high
General intelligence average plus
Ability to get along with others excellent
Punctuality dependable
Perseverance steady, despite tendency to fatigue
General characteristics and ability are judged to be satisfactory
for the position in question. However, to assure steadily efficient
performance, due regard must be given to certain fundamental
traits. These are oversensitivity, refinement of feeling, and re-
serve, in addition to limitation of physical strength. Applicant
should not be overworked, since she will never complain, admit
fatigue, nor talk about herself.
339
II. HANDWRITING OF AN AMERICAN ARTIST
The handwriting here interpreted is that of a distinguished
American artist, aged seventy and living in Paris at the time of
writing.
MATERIAL (FIG. #366)
The specimen is part of a note taken from a series of letters,
all similar in style and expression. The hand retains traces of the
Spencerian penmanship of the latter half of the 19th century.
#366
WORKSHEET
#367 Name H.ENRY.. MO ..5.LER ... Ag, ..70.... Sex M . Predominant features *
Marked ModeraJe Marieed Osber JaiienlM:OVEMENT tealurei
Expansion: in height extensive
in width extensive
CO·01'ain41ion
Speed fast
pUSJNre heavy
stroke sharp .O:~~. f.IJ.).,.~P'~.I.~,.':-:-?~.~~ ...
shaded ~~A.Q~_Q ...S:~.,!-,v.~~I:'.~~:?,.
Tension high
Jlroke
Directional trend
terminal, strokes .qy~,s."~::~':':'.~.P!H.~9!.~.r;;T.~.C;>'N&$
Rhylhm flowing ............ ~P~.~f.'.~~~ ..QJ.$.r~.~.~F.-P..
~ 0 RM
Slyk pictorial
natural
,.~q~~ m~$".':"\).s/."'NP..~!~N~.Y.4;-.~.1l
..I..~.~.~.~~~.~~.~
narrow".
divergent
undulating
descending .........I".r~~HAN."'IN(; ....
overlapping
W'ora inJef'SpaC6S inadequate
Zonal p1'oporliotJs* M > extensions
L)U
unbalanced
slAnl leftward
fluctuating .... :~~~~"( ..
......~ ~.I.~.~~.":"'.~F?..
i dOll
..... ~ ..~?":'.~~~.9....~.!~.'.:.I~~X.~ ..~.?~O&
t btKl l!_N ROO F FORMATION
~lGNATURE
Congruence with lext
EfI"ph,uif on family narne ... V....
pjMemen' .s.'tJI..NDAR.O ...
U -upp61'%on.
The fact rhat a given quality is noted in the tight- or [he left-
M-mjJd/$ zone
hand listing has no implication of positive or negative evaluation
L »--lower ZOtlB
PROCEDURE
OVER-ALL The script is highly developed, individualistic, strik-
IMPRESSION ingly vigorous and dynamic.
MOVEMENT The dynamism of the hand is produced by an inter-
play of force and speed. The intensity of pressure-
seen in the quality of the stroke-and the un-
hampered pace indicate spontaneity and forcefulness,
i.e., a forthright discharge of life energy.
PRESSURE The strokes are dark, sharp-cut, of varying thickness.
stroke The downstrokes are emphasized. Distinctive quali-
shading ties appear in the controlled, springy curvatures with
broad crescent-formed shadings, the hairline begin-
nings of first strokes in the words, the pin-point
thrust of terminations of end strokes. There is a hold, balanced
extensions thrust in the upper and lower extensions and in the
horizontal strokes, seen notably in streamlined
coupling coupling strokes, as in "the fall" and "I hope."
strokes These effects are due to heavy pressure exerted by a
hand that has perfect command, so that it can in-
co-ordination tensify and relax pressure at will. Thus the writer,
tension-release though maintaining high tension, is able to relax
pattern and to handle the pen as facilely as a paintbrush.
pastosity This results in pastosiry, warm, colorful strokes, and
filled-in loops.
ARTISTIC This variation in the texture of the stroke is a
QUALITY unique characteristic of the writing pattern, and a
diversity major contribution to its artistic quality. Other main
balance factors contributing to the aesthetic effect are the
unity imaginative diversity of the forms and their bal-
rhythm anced distribution in a unified, rhythmic pattern.
PERSONAL PACE These features reveal a man who moves under erno-
impetus tional tension, and whose impetus is not checked by
streamlining overcontrol. Nervous impatience prevents elabora-
fluency tion of details. In his rushing forward movement, the
writer is unwilling to slow down even on reaching
the edge of the paper-e.g., in "compliments"
(fourth line) parts of letters are omitted, and the
force of an unavoidable sudden braking at the end
swing of the word distorts the final s, while the surplus
energy thus checked finds outlet in a stroke that
342
finally shoots with a horizontal forward thrust
i dots through the t. Moments of anger or irritation are
signalized by i dots distorted into commas or
asterisks.
ILLEGIBILITY Occasionally entire words are illegible. Such negli-
gence, as in the closing "Sincerely and Paternally
Yours," also highlights the writer's defiance of con-
vention and his insistence on doing as he pleases.
CONNECTIVE Willfulness and self-righteousness are indicated par-
FORMS ticularly in the acute angularity of some n's and
angularity m's, with their heightened first strokes, as well as
in the triangular formations-as in the f in "fall"-
t bars and notably in the remarkable t bars placed ex-
tremely high over the stems. No other stroke in the
handwriting is as clear an index of vigor, determina-
tion, and disposition to command as the t bars traced
so firmly and extended so conspicuously to roof over
a whole world. They are begun with heavy pressure
that lessens as the movement proceeds and tails off
at the end. This stroke symbolizes the writer's atti-
tude toward his fellow men. It stems from a desire
to exert power.
DIRECTIONAL But as a counterbalance to the group of features
TREND expressing arbitrary and autocratic disposition, we
have another significant group. The rightward trend
slant of the movement, the rightward slant, the generous
spacing, the warm pasrosiry, as well as the ample
LOOPS AND loops and the rounded a's, e's, and o's,' indicate a
OVALS sensuous, fundamentally human approach, a genuine
rapport with and sympathy for persons who have
appeal for the writer. Thus the motive of domina-
tion is sublimated to protectiveness.
SIGNATURE The signature in style and expression is congruent
congruence with the script as a whole. Thus it may be concluded
that its individualistic character is the genuine self-
assertion of a free and integrated personality.
relation of The relation between the given and the family name
given and is somewhat less balanced than that between the
family name signature and the body script. The given name is
emphasized by the size and ornamentation of the
343
initial capital, recalling the flourishes of the Spen-
cerian style, and by the two forceful end strokes.
The family name is contrastingly plainer in design
and written with less ebullience. This reflects the
writer's attitude toward his family and toward him-
self. While he dwells with pleasure on his self-image,
the reference to his clan induces a less vigorous
response.
PERSONALITY SKETCH
The writer, at the age of seventy, is revealed as a vigorous and
temperamental person of decidedly independent and spontaneous
behavior. Energy and drive are the key to his relatively youthful
dynamism. He moves quickly, with the impetus of a fighter. He
appreciates and is at home with power, and derives considerable
pleasure from asserting dominance. He wishes to see everything
about him on a grand scale, and is not deterred by financial con-
siderations in achieving this end. He is willful, impatient, and
irritable, and his relations with other persons are seldom smooth
and sometimes unpleasant. However, his ideas are generous and
he has a genuine desire to help and protect others.
The subject reacts sensitively to color and form, and has highly
developed artistic perceptions. He is continuously engaged in the
artist's struggle for self-realization. Although extremely indi-
vidualistic, and guided only by his own code of conduct, he has
a strong desire for approval and recognition.
BIOGRAPHICAL DATA
The handwriting is that of aman who detached himself from
the social milieu of his wealthy American family to live an artist's
life in Paris. His paintings were the first works by an American
ever to be purchased by the French government. The facts of his
life are sufficiently known to supply definite confirmation of the
graphological analysis.
344
III. HANDWRITING OF A DELINQUENT GIRL
The subject, Mary, was a young girl of 13 years and 6 months
who was being seen once a week at the Treatment Clinic of the
Manhattan Children's Court in New York City. After three
months of therapy, a graphological analysis was undertaken in
order to evaluate progress.
MATERIAL (FIG. #367)
This specimen is the manuscript of an original poem that repre-
sents a spontaneous expression of the subject's basic mood and her
sentimental yearnings.
'----:;::--~~..c........::.___.~~~7~
#367
345
WORKSHEET
#366 NameMAKY Sex E Predominant features *-
MOVEMENT Remarks
Expension: in height
in width
Co-ordination
Speed
Pressure
stroke
Tension
stroke
Directional trend
terminal strokes
Rhythm
FORM
Sryie
Letter shapes
loops
Connective forms
Rhythm
ARRANGEMENT
Pastern, over-all
rhythm
Margins: top
left
right
Alignment: lines
Word interspaces
Zonal proportions-
Slant
i dots
t bars
SIGN ATURE
Congruence with text
Empha.Jis OtJ
Placement
U --upper ZOnE
The fact that a given quality is noted in the right- or the left-
M-middle zone hand listing has no implication of positive or negative evaluation
L -low" zone
I PROCEDURE
OVER-ALL The handwriting reveals at first sight a spontaneous
IMPRESSION and impulsive nature. The general impression sug-
gests precocious maturation-mental, sexual and
emorional- in an adolescent. It shows further a
lack of originality and formalistic emulation of a
conventional writing style.
<1RRANGEMENT The writing pattern is properly set upon the page.
The words follow one another narrowly. The align-
ment follows the guidelines of the ruled paper. The
interlinear script does not depart from this visible base. The
spaces resulting interlinear spaces, though consistent and
liberal in size, do not serve as a clarifying and struc-
turing factor, since they are filled up with over-
extended loops and stems, and with appendages of
capital letters. This points to an inability to assimi-
late emotional experiences and to maintain enough
word inter- integrity to organize daily routine. The narrow word
spaces inrerspaces, on the other hand, are characteristic of
an individual who does not keep her distance, who
has no need for privacy, and who craves contact.
They further suggest a fear of being left behind or
margins left alone. The margins, in view of the fact that the
script is in verse form and on ruled paper, are of
minor importance. The left-hand margin, decreasing
slightly toward the bottom of the page, shows a
slowing down of writing speed, denoting a dying
our of initial impulsiveness.
€)(PANSION The showy expansion of the handwriting is inti-
mately bound up with Mary's need for self-display
and her desire to be the focus of attention and love.
Special indicators of this attitude are the pretentious
height height of the overelaborated capitals and the ro-
mantic feeling projected upon the ego-representative
capital I capital I. Further characteristics are the outreaching
initial and terminal strokes which first shoot for-
ward, and-after this impetus is spent-swing back-
ward in a released counterclockwise movement. The
347
relation of relation of height to width is somewhat unbalanced
height to and inconsistent. The capitals and upper loops are
width ample, and their width appropriare to their height;
the unizonal letters are less outspread and fluctuate
width in size and width. Such letters as 0 and e are deflated,
and the m'» and n's show restriction: the distance
between two strokes is less than the standard require-
ment. The narrowness is emphasized by up-and-
down strokes running too close together. This results
concealing in strokes that cover and conceal each other, a
strokes feature that is an index of anxiety.
ZONAL PRO- The writing line shows a dominant upper zone, an
PORTIONS undersized middle zone, and a fairly balanced, well-
middle zone developed lower zone. The middle zone tells of an
ego oppressed and depressed by the outside world.
upper zone The elements of the upper zone reveal a tendency
to daydreams and illusions, a flight from the "pots
lower zone and pans" of practical life. The elements of the
loops lower area, especially the smooth loops, suggest
aroused sexual urges that seek normal outlet. The
stems overshooting, curved stems point to an imperative
need for emotional grati.ficatio~.
SLANT This picture of the ego functioning is reinforced by
the evidence of other features, such as the slant. The
extreme rightward slope freely expresses the aban-
doned attitude of a spontaneous, sensitive young
person who wallows in sentimentality, and whose
approach to life is determined less by reason than
by feeling. This excessive rightward slant and the
increasing tilt increase in tilt toward the end of a word and toward
the end of the writing line indicates uncontrolled
behavior and low frustration tolerance. It also dis-
closes a tendency to give up connection with reality
and to falsify actualities to suit demand. This creates
a need for substitute gratifications, and thus a dis-
position to drift into alcoholism or the 'use of nar-
cotics.
PRESSURE Another trait rounding out this personality picture
appears in the writing pressure as seen in the stroke.
348
The pen is guided over the paper with slight pres-
sure, and manipulative skill conduces to an easy,
sliding movement. The general tendency is to keep
rolling along and to avoid unnecessary friction. The
pastosity resulting stroke is pastose; it is almost uniform in
width, and lacks sharpness and marked shading. It
denotes a sensuous person who manages to indulge
her inclinations without reticence.
CONNECTIVE The connective forms that join the letters are pre-
FORMS dominantly of garland type, whereas the linking of
garland up-and-down strokes, as in the n's and m's, is effected
arcade by means of arcades. In contrast to these, an angular
angularity formation appears in some of the l's. This mixture
of forms reflects a striking ambivalence-relaxed
mood alternating with fear, orientation toward people
with withdrawal. The angular I formation is a gesture
of cringing-of ducking away from danger.
CONTINUITY All the letters of long words are connected in one
connectedness continuous movement, with automatic ease. The
high degree of connectedness seen in the middle
zone shows the subject's capacity for adaptive be-
havior, and ability to associate experiences on a
common-sense basis. The smooth connectedness in
the lower zone reflects facility in establishing socio-
sexual relationships. The kind -of connectedness seen
in the upper zone indicates less favorable personality
characteristics. The joinings contrived by means of
overextended swirling strokes and superfluous flour-
ishes reveal unbridled fantasy, activated without
creative force. The forms produced lack aesthetic
quality and originality; they are merely elaborate
reproductions of the features of an outmoded style
of penmanship. This shows the subject's limitations
in discrimination and taste.
349
SUMMARY
The graphic indices here discussed, together with other features
recorded on the worksheet, give the impression that Mary possesses
mental ability above the norm for her chronological age. The
handwriting further suggests an impulsive and emotionally labile
disposition, and surrender to fantasy activity.
The graphological prognosis of evaluating progress and possible
personality development was made with reservations. Mary's de-
sire for overwhelming emotional experiences, and her lack of
resistance to frustration, expose her to a compelling need for sub-
stitute gratification.
CLINICAL REPORT
Mary was first brought into court because of incorrigible be-
havior at home. She had been away from home for an extended
period of time, during which she had become addicted to narcotics,
indulged in sexual relations with an older man, and engaged in
minor stealing episodes.
Very little was known of Mary and her relationship with her
family up to the age of six, when her mother died. The girl. was
brought up by a maternal aunt. Her developmental history as de-
scribed by the latter was uneventful. Her father had a cardiac
condition and was described as an inadequate provider and heavy
drinker.
The data obtained through projective techniques and clinic
contacts revealed an oversensitive, overreactive adolescent who
had great need of self-assertion, emotional display and warmth,
but feared rejection and deprivation. She felt that she would not
be accepted, and tried hard to rationalize her general anxiety and
her frustrated need of dependence. Her lack of real warmth and
of contact with an understanding female personality made identi-
fication and acceptance of herself in a female role quite difficult.
She had been sexually stimulated and her interest in sex was
strong, but her fear and ambivalence about it were greater.
350
Mary was a girl of superior intelligence (IQ 123) who, having
been denied affection, warmth, and acceptance, attempted to :find
emotional satisfaction in any area in which she could perform
well without too much risk of being hurt. Suggestible and emo-
tionally starved, she was easily led into delinquent behavior, be-
cause on this level she could feel that she belonged to and was
wanted in a group. She appeared to have good potential, which
would serve her for a favorable development if she could obtain
supervision of a constructive kind from a warm and understanding
adult in a controlled milieu.
351
IV. HANDWRITING ANALYSIS IN
A CRIMINAL CASE
This analysis was undertaken in connection with judicial and
private examination into the circumstances of a case tried in a
criminal court in Budapest.
The sudden death of a young actress had occupied the news-
paper headlines for days, and the question of whether she had
died by murder or suicide prompted an investigation: to establish
the cause of the tragedy. The graphologist was asked by the court
to examine questioned documents in the case, and the family of
the deceased further requested an analysis of the girl's hand-
writing, for such disclosure as it might afford of a possible motive
for suicide.
MATERIAL (FIG. #368)
The three specimens are respectively from writing produced by
the subject at sixteen, eighteen, and twenty years of age. In
Hungary it is customary for the given name to follow the family
name, so that the full name appears here as "Forgues Anna."
#368(<<)
Specimen a is from an employment application blank. It con-
forms strictly to the copybook round-hand standard. Though
simple and natural, it is somewhat immature, and lacks the swing
and stamina expectable in the hand of a sixteen-year-old office
worker.
352
#368(b)
Specimen b was written two years later, when the girl had left
her position as a typist to begin a stage career. The striking change
in the script reflects an attempt to adopt a mannered style in
imitation of a so-called "society hand" favored by girls of privi-
leged class. It is apparent that the effort overwhelms and inhibits
the writer: the constrictive gesture to which she is forcing herself
impedes any natural expressive movement.
Specimen c, produced after another interval of two years, evi-
dences a startling disintegration. The accompanying worksheet sets
forth the essential findings regarding this specimen, which is dis-
cussed in detail in the interpretative analysis that follows.
353
#368(C)
WORKSHEET
#.368 Name ANNA FORGAC5 .. IIge2.Q Sex ..F Predominant features *
MOVEMENT Marked Moderale Marked RerruukJ
Expansion: in height extensive 1.~.~O_I?e.~~~,
it) width extensive . f..~,T.R,!1:M~,":-.Y .. I\J~,~R..,q~ ..
Co~o,ditl4tion
Speed
P,eSJure
stroke
Tension
stroke
Directional trend
terminal strokes long
Rhylhm
FORM
Slyle
........ MA.SK..
Letter shapes fluid
diverse
elaborate
ample
curved
. P.E.F:L.~,~P/..N.~, ~:E'~.I?$.
loop'
.... f:-:\.!.~.~P....
Connective forms
.... ~.~$.~.~~.~)~..~..~)~..
Rhylhn,
ARRANGEMENT ..~~~~/..S..~~~!,~~~.:.~P
Pallern, over-all organized
rhythm ./~P.~.H.,:(TI:1M ..good
Margins: top broad
le/, broad
nghl broad
Aligmnem: line! parallel
straight
ascending
well-spaced
Word interspace! adequate
Zonal proportions·
Slant leftward
fluctuating
idols ~.~~,~....
.~.':i.'?~.~..
t b",.,
SIGNATURE
Congruence with text ... \,~~.~~.~~ ..~.~M_~.~ ..
EmphaJit on family nam ...C..~~.I.-r.~..~. .~r.I.,=-.~!.~!?
Placement ..... ~~~~~~I?
U --upper zone
The fact that a given quality is noted in the right- or the left-
M--middle zone hand listing has no implication of positive or negative evaluation
L -lower zone
PROCEDURE
OVER-ALL The pattern appears weak and flat, unimaginative
IMPRESSION and rigid, disturbed and constricted. Spontaneity is
conspicuously absent, as well as any expression of
the youthful strength, the pulsating life, or the emo-
tional glow of a young woman who has just ex-
perienced her first triumph in a successful stage
performance. This pattern is clearly a failure as a
true self-expression, because it does not spring from
genuine feeling. It also elicits no response in the be-
holder.
ARRANGEMENT The words are almost haphazardly deposited on the
page. The letters within the words have no common
alignment base line. Irregular, inadequate spacing and inter-
twining extensions disturb the alignment and make
rhythm for a pattern in which there is no rhythm.
EXPANSION Observation is instantly drawn to the expansion of
the handwriting-its bizarre height, extreme narrow:
height ness, and unusual proportions (marked with asterisks
on worksheet). The immoderate height is an inde"
of pretentiousness, i.e., of a desire to impress people
and to attract attention; it is a mark of exhibition-
width ism, a craving to bask in the limelight. The mini-
mized width of the letters is an index of restraint
and constriction, of the writer's inability to take up
relation of her alloted space. The disproportion reveals emO'
height to tional conflict. The writer's urgent need to stand out
width and be noticed is thwarted by self-consciousness and
anxiety-so much so that she cannot swing intO
action but holds back in a frozen attitude.
concealing Compression appears also in downstrokes and up'
strokes strokes running so close together that they partiall~
loops and cover each other. From the same cause, loops an
ovals ovals become lean and deflated, e.g., the 0 (fourtll
letter) in the last word of the sixth line (udvozlel)
takes the shape of an i. In the signature this hap,:
pens also to the 0 in the family name, "ForgaCS,
while the a of "Anna" (last letter), is reduced to II
tangle of overlapping strokes. The concealing strokeS
356
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I
reinforce the impression of self-consciousness and
insincerity. The writer's natural impulses are covered
over: what she says or does is never what she really
wants to say or do.
ZONAL PRO- The middle zone is oversized, at the expense of the
PORTIONS upper zone. This indicates inordinate ego involve-
middle zone ment, concentration upon self with no attention to
spare for others. The extremely long, lower loops,
lower zone falling into the depth, thin out without forming
heads. This indicates that instinctual urges are dying
upper zone out without fulfillment. The lean and relatively short
upper loops point to a low level of aspiration. Thus
another conflict is revealed in the discrepancy be-
tween the showy total height and the relative short-
ness of the upper extensions. It means that the
writer strives toward purely narcissistic goals, with-
out higher aims or gratifications. The extremely
t bars short horizontal strokes betray timid and futile striv-
ing. They also indicate lack of imagination and of
self-confidence, preventing any planning ahead.
PR.ESSUR.E The stroke is as thin as a spiderweb. It has no body,
stroke no sharpness, no shading, and expresses no rhythmic
interplay of muscular contraction and release. The
slight energy exerted seems to be easily blocked;
the writing movement becomes taut, the stroke be-
tension comes rigid and brittle. This indicates high tension,
induced by anxiety and pent-up aggression.
ANGULARITY This finding is supported by the angularity of the
letter forms. Angles appear inappropriately, e.g., at the
base in oval forms such as a's and a's. This results
from restrained movement, and can be regarded as
the incipient stage of the deflated oval. The pin-
point attrition of the forms at the base, together
with the conspicuous lack of a firm base in words
and lines in general, betrays defective equilibrium,
both psychic and somatic.
CONNECTIVE The manner of linking down- and upstrokes and of
FORMS joining letters reflects increasingly insecure social
behavior. Specimen a shows, notwithstanding its
357
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - I
immature adherence to copybook forms, a genuine
trend to roundness of form and curving connections,
and a flexible and pastose stroke, i.e., natural gestures
garland of warmth and adaptability. In specimen b, the deep,
narrow garlands betoken shyness and restraint, al-
though the rightward slant and curved connections
point to some compliance and passive receptivity.
In specimen c mixed connective forms appear. Gar-
lands are rare, appearing only in the n's of the first
arcade two lines. Arcades predominate, denoting limited
angle receptivity and increasing aloofness. Even more
conspicuous are the angular connections, which,
however, lack all regularity. These express a show
of resolution, an effort to escape failure by obstinately
refusing to admit error or defeat.
TERMINAL The terminal strokes never swing to the right; in-
STROKES stead they are cut short, or sink down, or are turned
to the left. Their connotation is the same as that of
the end stroke of the signature (see below).
SIGNATURE Conventionally, in Hungarian writing, the capitals
capitals in a signature are emphasized. Here, however, the
initial F of the family name is mutilated, while the
A of the given name is denied capitalization and
written as a small letter. Thereby the writer expresses
rejection of her social and personal being, in short,
total selfnegation.
SYMBOLIC The monotonous quality of the tracing is varied by
GESTURES twO spontaneous srrokes=-rhe dynamic terminal
strokes of the two names. These strokes represent
highly symbolic gestures. Instead of the swing to the
right that stands for a release of surplus energy and
of possible aggressive impulse in the direction of the
external world, the end stroke of "Forgacs" turns
leftward, against the name. It stands for a violent
gesture suddenly breaking through rigidity as though
to attack the name and annihilate it. The other end
stroke grows out of the cramped, nullified final a of
the given name. However, it shows an upsurge of
energy, the writer's last attempt to lift herself by
her bootstraps. But it is followed by the endless
358
falling terminalstroke testifying to completecollapse.
This end stroke is similar in dynamic and form to
the downstrokesof the lower loops, which sink into
the depth without completion.They reveal a glaring
deficiencyin the life energyas a whole, as well as a
marked lack of sexual libido.
CASE HISTORY
Anna Forgics was the only child of an elderly lower-middle-class
couple. Her mother was a shy little woman, her father a clerk
forced to take much abuse from his superiors. He overcompensated
his frustrations by playing the tyrant at home. Nevertheless Anna
was loved and spoiled.
At the age of sixteen, after completing a commercial-school
course, the girl obtained a job as a typist, but soon gave up this
calling. Because of her good looks, her friends encouraged her to
change over to a theatrical career. She enrolled in a dramatic work-
shop, and before long managed to get a part in a professional play.
Her childishly appealing way with men won her many beaux,
but they tended to drift away after brief flirtations. One boy,
however, courted her steadily. He was an idler, always seeking
the spotlight in his group, getting involved in all sorts of ex-
travagances, but lacking the funds necessary for such a life. He
and Anna eventually became engaged.
The young man's brutal behavior and the girl's submissive
acceptance of it shortly made them repugnant to all their friends.
A newspaper gossip column once reported the following incident.
A passer-by in a certain street, noticing a gay company of several
couples, and hearing a sound of soft crying, turned around in
time to see a young man hitting a frail girl. He interceded,
knocked the bully down, and then turned protectively to the girl.
She pushed him away and bent down to comfort her escort.
"Don't bother," said the others. "She likes to be beaten up."
Anna married this boy, and some time afterward they went to
spend their deferred honeymoon at an Alpine resort. Outsiders
359
saw them as a lovely pair, and there was much teasing about their
romance. But the hotel chambermaids and some guests in neigh-
boring rooms reported that they had heard Anna crying and her
husband yelling at her.
The husband, boasting of his athletic prowess, proposed to climb
a mountain peak. In full climbing regalia, he set off with Anna,
who was to accompany him for a short distance. When she failed
to return, the hotel personnel began a search for her. She was
finally found in a ravine, with some minor bruises and completely
hysterical. Since no accident had ever before occurred on, the path
the pair had taken, Anna was questioned at length when she was
brought back to the hotel, but evaded explanation, responding
only with an occasional nod of her head. On being asked whether
she had been pushed off the cliff, she became violently disturbed
and refused all answer.
Her husband returned shortly afterward, sunburned and in a
gay mood, bringing with him a large bunch of mountain flowers.
When he was told of what had happened, he ran up to Anna's
room, and their neighbors later reported having heard crying and
commotion.
Next morning the young man strolled about in good spirits,
announcing to all concerned that Anna was feeling fine and rest-
ing quietly. That evening when the maid went to their room to
straighten the beds, she found Anna dead, her hand grippin~ an
empty package that had contained a drug.
An autopsy revealed remnants of poison in the girl's stomach.
Moreover, it was discovered that shortly after their marriage
Anna's husband had taken out an insurance policy on her life,
with himself as beneficiary.
Was it suicide or murder? The grief-stricken husband offered
evidence purporting to show that Anna was a hysterical girl and
a drug adr'vct, adding that he had repeatedly foiled attempts at
suicide on her part, on several occasions by forcibly taking the
drugs out of her hands. He revealed that soon after their marriage
she had had to be taken to a private hospital. Investigation dis-
360
closed that on the occasion described, the doctor and nurse had
suspected that the drug was not self-administered.
A complete study of the handwriting of the man, on the basis
of specimens covering a period of years, disclosed him to be a
moral imbecile; he was immature, abno_rmally egocentric, ineffi-
cient and unreliable, and given to excessively aggressive, atten-
tion-compelling behavior. The Doctor of Law diploma he bragged
about was found to be a forged document. The trend of the evi-
dence at the trial was against him, and even though there was no
final -proof of his guilt, he was indicted for murder.
SUMMARY
From the handwriting of Anna Forgacs, it may be concluded
that the girl was essentially self-oriented and consumed by narciss-
ism. She had no interest in and no love for other persons, and was
obsessed by her craving for outward success. Her weak ego was
thwarted by lack of vocational and sexual satisfaction. Deeply
frustrated, she had no appropriate resources for acting out resent-
ment and hostility. Immobilized by constant inner conflict, she
lived in a strait jacket of anxiety that blocked any possible release
or happy abandon. This state of tension was associated with feel-
ings of insecurity and isolation, guilt, and remorse. These suffer-
ings proved to be more than she could endure; they. forced her to
make maladaptive compromises and to seek in erotic masochism a
compensation for repressed aggressive reactions.
The inhibition of outward expression led her to turn aggressive
feelings inward-against herself. Unconsciously she was moved to
choose a brutal mate, a bully, as a tool for self-punishment and
self-destruction. In her obsession she saw only one way of achiev-
ing success in terms of front-page claim to attention-by focusing
the limelight upon herself as the heroine of a sensational mystery.
Though this may have been a case of suicide or murder in the
ordinary sense, graphological analysis of the two main characters
gives ground for the presumption that the girl brought about her
own death by goading the man to carry out the act of destruction.
361

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fur Menschenkunde, VI, 361-96, 1950.
1931.
151 STEIF, Antal
141 SCHILDER, Paul "Ihre]: megcgyezo jirkalasmodiil'
The Image and Appearance of ["Similarity of Scribbles in
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1935. szemle, III, 51-66, 1939.
369
152 STRACKE, Hans 161 WERTHEIMER, Max
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scbrijt durcb A1lJfuhrung einer sion,no. 1, 1925.
Nebent d uglceit;" etc . Archiv fur
die gesarn te Psychologie, vol, 162 WIESER, Rod.
LXXXIX, no. 1, 1932. Der Rhyrhmus in der Verbrecher-
handschrif t. Leipxig, 1938.
153 SYMONDS, Percival M.
163 WILE, Ira S.
"Current Trends and Develop-
ments in the Field of Projective Handedness, Right and Left. Bos-
Techniques." Personality, no. 1, ton, 1934.
1950.
164 WITTLICH, Bernhard
154 TEILLARD, Ani. Angewandte Grapholcgie, Berlin,
1948.
L'ame et I'ecriture. Paris, 1948.
165 WOLFFLIN, Heinrich
155 TEL TSCHER, H. O. "Uber d.as Recbts unci Links isn
Handwriting, the Key to Success- Bilde." Munch ncr Jahrbuch der
ful Living. New York, 1944. bildendcn Kunst, no. 5, 1928.
166 WOLFF, Werner
156 THEISS, Herbert "Die Ges taltsident itet in der
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iiber die Er jassu ng des hand- Medizin, IV, 32-44, 1929.
scbrijtlicben Ausdruchs durch
Laien," Psychologische Forschung, 167 WOLFF, Werner
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logiscber Urteilsbildting," Zeit-
157 THORNDIKE, E. L. schrift fur angewandte Psycholo-
Teachers College gie, XXXV, 385-446, 1930."Handwriting."
Record, IX, 83-175, 1910. 168 Expression of Personality: Ex-
perimental Depth Psychology.
158 WACHHOLDER, Kurt New York, 1943.
Willkiirli:he Hal tung und Bewe-
gung. Munich, 1928. 169 WOLFF, Werner
Diagrams of the Unconscious.
159 WASHBURN, Margaret F. New York, 1949.
Movement and Mental Imagery. 170 WOLFSON. Rose
New York, 1916. A Study in Handwriting Analysis.
New York, 1949.
160 WEISS, Deso A.
"Or/!anic Lesions Leading fa 171 WOLTMANN. Adolf
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vol, VII, no. 1, 1948. 2, 1950.
370
I N D E x
A Association of speaking, reading,writing, 42
Aberrations, 56 Associative conditioning, 42
Abnormality, 12, 112 A ssociative processes, speed of, 240
Abstract thinking, 83 Attention, capacity for, 48
Accentuations, 273
Adaptability, 219, 230 B
Adaptation to reality, 137
Balance, 121
Additions, 47
Base line, 13 6, 137
Address, location of, 309
Beginning of letter, 142
Adjustment, 283
socio-erotic , Biological egotism, 16823 1
Biocentr ic, 8
Adjustment-s, initial and terminal, 46
Blockage, 54, 72, 25 3
Adornments, 28, 84
Body image, 28, 140, 165, 166
Aesthetic sense, 289
Body of script, 136, 289,315
Age, chronological, 116
Brain writing, 6', 108
Age in handwriting, 5, 115
British writing, 97
Aggressiveness, 18, 21, 61, 169, 218,
262, 269, 280, 282, 327 Brisemeni douloureux de la vie, 327
Alignment, 292 If. Business hand, 45
downward, 298
upward, 298 (
irregular, 300 CAPITAL LETTERS, 161 ff., 246,
variability of, 297 274
Ambition, 142 emphasis on, 275
American writing, 99 as personality projection, 165
feminine, 99 oversized, 161 If.
Ampleness of letter forms, 81, 82 oversized in signature, 321, 322
Amplification of given name, 322 Capital "I," 77, 163 ff., 320
Anal type, 160, 161 Carelessness, 81, 308
Analytical psychology, 11 Character of writer, 7
Ancient Greek writing, 144 Characterology, 7, 8
Angularity, 93, 161 Checker motif in doodles, 32
Antisocial acts, 140 Cheerfulness, 21
Anxiety, 21, 73, 77, 235, 280, 302 Children, abnormal (see also Hand-
Arrangement, 126, 127, 289 If. writing of), 12
leftward, 296 Chinese writing, 143, 144, 316
of total pattern, 143 Chorea, 58
Arthritis, rheumatoid, 281 Circle formation, 77, 327
Artifici.lity, IS, 86 Clinical observation, 9, 10
371
Clinical psychology, 15, 17 Delinquency, 16
Complexity, 84 iuvenile, 12, 78, 262
Compliance, 187 sexual, 268
Compulsive features, 77 Delinquent constellation, 16
ideas, 37 Depression, 85, 206, 250, 296, 297,
neurosis, 36 308, 309
tendencies, 32 Depth, 136, 140
Concentration, 50, 244, 262 Depth psychology, 11, 17
Conflicts, 56, 61 If., 280, 291 Determination, 263
Confusion, 84 Developmental stages, 41, 47
emotional, 293 Developmental standards, 53
Congruence of signature and body Deviations from standard letters, 47
script, 319 If. Differentiation pattern, 16
Connectedness, 223, 228 If. Differentiation of writing features,
CONNECTIVE FORMS, 126, 199 ff. 119
Angular, 126, 199, 214 ff., 285, Direction, 125, 134, 140 If.
288 change in, 47
Arcade, 126, 199, 203, 207 ff., from left to right, 23
218, 220 from top to bottom, 23
narro1v, 211 Directional trends, 40
shallow, 210 Disconnectedness, 223, 228 ff., 233
topheavy, 210 Discouragement, 296
Double curve, 199, 200, 216 Disguise, 86
Garland, 16, 199 If., 213, 214 Dishonesty traits, 15
broad , 204 Discharge of feeling into movement,
fiatte·ned, 205 29
looped, 207 Discrimination of brightness, 48
pseudo, 206 Disorder
shallow, 205 developmental, 56
underslung, 205 functional, 72
Mixed, 218 ff. incipient, 57
Threadlike, 126, 199,200,216 ff. pituitary, 115
Connection, streamlined, 225 thyroid, 115
Contemplation, 142 Disorganization, 234
Continuity, 221 If., 235, 284 Disproportion between heigh t and
Contraction, 16, 77 width, 275
Control, 244, 285 Disturbance
Co-ordination, 52, 55, 57, 125 cmotional., 73
of visual, auditory, and motor in adolescence, 77
/1I11.cti071$, 44 Doodles, 29 ff.
Creative imagination, 103 association in, 30, 32
Creativity, 140, 317 as symbols, 29
Cri rical sense, 269 interpretation of, 32
Cruelty, 269 Dot, 134, 250
Cursive writing, 44, 45, 199 Drawings, 28, 40, 150
D drawing a man, 40Dreams, 140
Daydreams, 317, 329 Dream analysis, 32
Defiance, 187 Drives, 8, 142
372
Drug addiction, 268, 269 Feeblemindedness, 250, 303
Duality of right and left, 145 Fence motif, 36
Ductus, see stroke in doodling, 33
Dysfunction Fixation, 142, 193
endocrine, 115 Fixation span, 43
m uscul ar, 282 Flexors, 178, 278
E Flight of ideas, 232, 250Flightiness, 263
Economy, 160, 289 Fluency, 221 ff., 234 If.
Effort, 285 Formality, 209
Ego emphasis, 327 Form, 125, 127
Ego expression, 137 balance o], 289
Eiaboration, 47, 80 ff., 85 Forms
Elation, 250 broken, 72
Emotional balance, 47 hal/-completed, 85
Emotional content, hidden, 274 iutting, 72
Emotional disturbance tremulous, 72
in adults, 276, 277 meaning 0/, 5
in puberty, 72 Form level, 8, 123
Empathy, 107, 109, 122 Form niwo, 8
Emphasis, 163, 251, 273 If. Fragmentary writing, 233
Empirical criteria, 284 Frigidity, 269
End of letter, 142
Endurance, 262 G
Energy, 263 Gaps in lines, words, or letters, 25,
expended and unex pended, 278, 251, 302, 303
280 Generalizations, 228
psycho-sexual, redirection 0/, 271 Genital development, retardation of,
Enlargement of unizonal letters, 149 70
Ethics of graphologist, 132 German writing, 148
Excitability, 183, 190 Gestal t theory, 15, 40
Excitement, 297 Graphic indices, ll9, 127
Expansion, 125, 157 interpretation 0/, 129
oj grapbic pattern, 147 If. ordering of, 127
pseudo, 160, 161 of speed; 247
vertical and horizontal, 150 If. Graphological studies
Expansive personality, 289 in America, 13 If., 43
Experimental investigation, 9 ill France, 4, 5
Expression, unity of, 7 in Germany, 6 ff.
Extension, 7 in Great Britain, 15
Extensors, 178, 278 ill Hungary; 11, 12
Extraversion, 141, 157, 171, 309 in Switzerland, 11
Eye-hand control, 42 If. of personalit y patterns, 283
F Graphologyapplicatio1t 0/, 10
Fan phenomenon, 288 experimental, 17
Fatigue, 270, 288, 296, 297; systemic, motor- phYSiological, 10
232 practice of, 104
373
Graphologist in oocational and medical fields,
qllalifications of, 108 10
ethics of, 132 Handwriting interpretation
Graphodyne, 12, 64, 73, 74, 223, validity of, 17
236, 239, 279 ff., 283 Harpoon formation, 285, 286, 288
Gr aphomerer, 185 Haste, 244
Grip pressure, 278 Hebrew writing, 144, 145
Guilt feelings, n Hieroglyphic characters: 143
H Height of letters, 135, 147, 148of unlzonal letters, 150
HANDEDNESS, 145 If., 194, 213, Homosexuality, 187, 193, 268, 277
214, 234 Hysteria, 216
left-handedness, 52, 53, 64, Hypomania, 250
194 s., 286
right-handedness, 194 ff.
HANDWRITING dots, 217, 223
confused, 55 antenne-lili«, 288
deficient, S6 built-in, 226
disturbed, 56, 72 high-pll1ced, 149, 170, 172
large, 151, 154 hooked-up, 232
mature, 67 position of, 248
mechanical, 86 round, 284
over-relaxed, 285 stretched, 285, 287
small, 153, 154 Identification with the letter foem,
stylized, 270 136
ungainly, 55, 56 Ideogram, 144
untidy, 56, 60 Illegibility, 85, 276
cultural patterns in, 90 Illusions, 140
elements of, 4 Images, 28, 13 6
as expressive movement, 13 archetypal space image, 137
national characteristics of, 92 compulsive images, 79
teaching of, 41 meaning 0/, 122
of alcoholics, 188, 189 symbolic of vocation, 318, 319
0/ architects, 208 Imagery, 317
of artists, 266 concrete, 83
of cbil dren, 48 If. graphic, 229, 315 If.
of school children, 42 If., 64, 150, langltage of, 317
222, 223, 262 pictorial, 318
of high school girls, 262 Imaginative associations, 225
of disabled persons, 15 Imaginative projection, 314, 315
of twins, 12, 213 Imagination, 140
of identical twins, 53, 197, 198 ideographic, 79
in adolescence, 60 Imbalance, state of, 280
in pllberty, 60, 61 Immaturity, organic, 78
(see 01'0 puberty) Impulsiveness, 263, 293
Handwriting analysis Incoherence, 295
of children, 48 if. Indecision, 295
in diagnosis 0/ sptech disorder, Individuality, 23, 86
239 graphic, 60
374
of graphical expression in chil-
dren, 47 L
Inertia, 206, 263 Lability, 169
Infantilism, 78, 161, 315 Laterality (see also Handedness), 198
Inferiority feelings, 63, 168 deviation in, 40
Informality, 209 Leanness of letter forms, 82, 85
Inhibition, 72, 160, 214, 2H, 279, Lebenssliirung ; 9
286 Left-handedness, see Handedness
Initial adjustment, 245 Leitmotif, 317
Initial delay, 246 Libido
INITIAL LETTER physical, 263
break in, 252 psychic, 263
dwarfed, 163 sexual, 270
em pha,i, on, 162 LINE, 134 if.
first stroke of, 169 broken, 295
tall stems in, 171 concave, 297
Insecurity feelings, IlJ convex, 298
revealed in slant, 62, 302 downward, 296
Insincerity, 212, 214, 295 serrated or stepped, 297, 298
Instability, 36 straight, 294
Instinctual urges, 175 tottering, 294
Integration undulating, 295
capacity for, 127, 289 upward, 296, 297
of word forms, 64 Lines
0/ writing pattern, 231 btincbed together, in doodles, 36
Intelligence, perceptive, 50 crossed, 36
Interpretation of graphic features, Logic, 228, 231
LOOPS, 140, 148, If 0, 170, 178 if.
119
0/ personality traits, cramped, 288119
crooked, 72
Interruptions (see also Gaps), 223, disconnected, 231
227, 247 lean, 288
Interspace oddly formed, 182, 183
inadequate, 302 overshooting, 72
overlarge, 301 twirled, 72, 73
size 0/, 301 u turn. of, 178
Introspection, 142 Lower loops, 173 ff., 177 if.
Introversion, 141, 1f7, 171, 309 broken into triangles, 287
Intuition, 8, 17, 108, 109, Ill, 122, indices 0/ tension in, 287
123, 128, 228, 230 overlarge, 273
Irritability, 288
Isolated trait, 4 M
J Maladjustment, 56, 235, 263Mania, 190
Joinings (see also Connective forms) Material demands, 140
location of, 229 MARGINS, 289
retracing of, 233 bottom margin, 308
soldering 0/, 233 diminishing, 306, 307
Jumble of lines, in doodles, 21 left-hand, 303, 304
375
insufficient, 306 sweeping, 21
right-hand, 304, 305 tense, 21
top, 306, 308 two-handed, 52
Masochism, 268 upward, 284
Matching method, 13 Movements
Maturation, 12, 41, 64, 72 correspondence in, 5, 8
physiological, 67 internal consistency of, 14
sexual" 115 Muscle contraction, 43
socio-sexual, 68 Muscle tonus, 238, 278, 282, 285, 298
Meaning, fixed, 14 Muscular rigidity, 279
Measurements, 14 e. ISO, 284
Medical history of writer, 118 N
Mental development, 28, 47
Name writing, 41,311
Mental retardation, 263
Narcissism, 64, 322
Mirror writing, 195, 196
Narrowness of letters, 137, 158,286,
Misspellings, 55, 115
302
Monotony, 59, 126, 170, 183
Nationality of writer, 118
Motor behavior, types of, 10
Naturalness
Motor co-ordination, 47 (see also Spontaneity),
15
Motor development, 52, 54
Negativism, 56, 194
Motor functions, development of, 43
Neurotic conflicts, 282
Motor intelligence, 52
Nodules, n, 276
Motor pattern, 178
Non-objective modes of expression, 83
Motor play, 21
Nonsense pictures, 29
MOVEMENT,S, 23, 124 if.
angul.ar, Normality, 11221
automatic, Norms, establishment of a scale for,44
blocked, 66237
circling, Numerals, 100, 308, 30921
continuous, 47, 222 ff.
discontinuous, 224 o
downward, 284 Objective methods, 16
expressive, 8, 284 Objectivity, 228
0/ fingers, 43 Obsession, 302
flow of, 243 Obstinacy, 216
free, 21 Occupation of writer, 118
language of, 121 Omissions, 47, 115
left-ward, 14, 284 Optimism, 297, 298
loose, 21 Order, sense of, 293
measuremen t 0/ speed, 236 ff. Oeganizacicn , SO
modulation 0/, 46 lack 0/, 300
pattern of, 178 spatial, 289
probing, 250 Or ienrsrion
restrained, 21 conjused, 52
rhythm 0/, 247, 284, 289, 299 directional, 143
rigbt-werd , 141, 284 in lime, 142
sequential, 21, 222, 223 Outline.
skilled; 53 blurred, 257, 269
spastic, 237, 28S broke», 2 8 S
376
ragged, 217 Pictorial writing, 143, 144
sharp, 269 Point pressure, 278
Oval letter parts Precision, 8 I
deflated, 148 Pre-school child, 40
inflated, 148 PRESSURE (see also stroke), 7, 9,
flooded, 276 14, 23, 67, 236, 254.ff., 261 ff.
Over-all impression, 119 in adolescence, 74
Over-all pattern, 320 breakdown in puberty, 75
Overconnection, 231 as discharge of libido, 263
Overcon trol, 18 3 displaced, 277 if.
Overemphasis on family name, 322 exerted in movement, 125
p heavy, 255, 256fluctuations in, 279
Pace location of emphasis, 274
acceleration of, 248 weak, 21
dynamics of, 242 if. Pressure board, 15
personal, 53, 240 if. Printscript, 43 ff., 96, 277
Palmer system, 45, 46, 96 Projection, 136
Paper, 266 creative, 38
quality of, 260 of body image, 165 if.
ruled, 294 of has tiliry , 3 5
Pastosity, 267, 268 in signature, 3 14 if.
PATTERN OF WRITING, 6 unconscious, 137
impersonal, 86 Projective techniques, I I, 15
i"dividuaiity of, 25, 90 Protest, 193
linear, 82, 315 Psychic energy, 263
pictorial, 83, 315 Psychoanalysis, 15
professional, 99 if. Psychograms, 38
shallow, 2 J5 Psychometric techniques, 9
stereotyped, 50 Psychosomatic disturbances, 235
tangled, 2 86 Psychosomatic state, 280
vocational, 90 if. Psychosomatic studies, 282
Pattern vision, 48 Puberty, changes in writing during,
Parent-child relation, 322 64, 69 ff., 150,303
Pauses, 251, 301
Penmanship, 4!i Q
training in, 43, 96
Qualitative aspects, 16
types of, 15, 86 if.
if. Quantitative aspects, 15, 16Pen types, 257
Perception, "global," 40
Periodicity, 243, 247 R
rhythmic, 284 Rage, 297
Persever arion, 232 Ratings (see .1150 Measurements), 14,
Personal style, consistency of, 88 if. 16
Personality make-up, 119 Reading difficulties, 52
Personality picture, 129, 132 Recall, 48
Personality traits, 130, 13 I Receptivity, 203
Pessimism, 296 ff., 309 Regression, 28, 140, 142
Phantasy activity, 140, 232 Regulari ty, 125
377
Relatedness, 301, 302 Seizure state, 303
Release (see also Tension-release), Self-assertiveness, 167
16, 28, 250, 278 fl. Sci f-confidence, 170
bel ence between release and COn- Selfconsciousness, 157, 160, 248, 304
traction, 147 Self-depreciation, 320
unconscious, 29, 134 Self-destruction, 37, 327
Repetition, 14, 22 Self-esteem, 164
Repression, 28, 38,73,285 Self-expression of children, 22
Reserve, J 04 Selfishness; 142
Responsiveness, 20 J Self-reliance, 187
Resul rants, theory of, Semitic writing, 143
Retention, 284 Sensibility, 168
Reticence, 207 Sex behavior, 177 s., 183
Retouching of loops and stems, 172 clues to, 174, 175
Reversals, 51 Sex characteristics, 61
Rhythm, (see also Movement), 8, 28, Sex differences, 67, 68
66, 121, 242 Sex differentiation, 116
balance of, 16 Sex glands, 115
distribution of, 126 Shading, 13 6, 255, 270, 284
disturbance of, 272, 302 Shyness, 207
of form, 126 SIGNATURE, 17,28,29,63,311 ff.
inner, 83 ascending line in, 299
of movement, 125 changes in, 323 ff.
periodicity of, 125 congruence with body script, 320
theory of, 16 consistency of patter1l, 312, 313
unevenness of, 126 dot in signa titre, 326
of writi-ng pattern, 243 elaboration of, 326
Right-ward writing trend, 144 encircled, 327
Ritual gesture, 77, 306 end strokes, 264, 326, 327
Rorschach inkblot test, II, 32, 265 enlarged, 321
Rounded letter shapes, 92 expression of, 320
s expressive [unctions of, 331family likeness in, 313, 314
Sacre Coeur handwriting, 86 family name, 311
Sadism, 161,267, 273 final appendage, J 11
Sadness, 21 flourish in, 29
Scales given name, 315
system of, 16 jumble 0/ lines 29, 311, 328
for anal-ysis of writing, 284 location of, 330
Schizoid pattern, 170, 327 margin under, 306
Schizophrenic t r airs, 50, 59, 276, 328 middle name, 311
School children, experimental and ornamentation, J 11
srarisrical studies with, 264 fl. projection in, J 14
School of fixed signs, 5 relation 0/ given name and family
School-model letters, 47, 148, 200 name, 322
Scratching technique, 144 speed in writing, 241, 242
Scribbles, 21 ff., 40 of suicides, J 3 0
diversity of pattern, 24, 25 symbolic imagery in, 229, 318 {f.,
interpretation of, 23 HO
378
und-ulating stroke in, 327 Spencerian system, 148
"Signs," 4, 14, 28, 127; "sign" Sphere of abstraction, 137
reading, 110 Spirals, 37
Silent speech, 44, 234 Spontaneity, 28, 86, 248
Simplification, 47, 80, 84, 100; of Standard values, 12
family name, 322 Statistics, IS
SIZE Sterns, 140, 170
of letters, 147, I SO tracing of, 178 If,
ascendant and descendant grads- upper and lower, 1SO
tions of, 151 Stereotypy, 220
evaluation of, 166 Stimulus words, lIS, 251
of spaces between letters, 157 Stinginess, 160
Skill, manipulative, 80 Strain, mental, 280
SLANT, 184 If. Stratosphere, 137, 173, 269
degree of, 187 Streamlined 'forms, 47
fluctuations in, 63, 187, 192 If. STROKE, 135
left-ward, 186 If. blurred, 270
extreme left-ward, 193 broken, 221
ill'left-halldedl:efs, 196 If, broken connecting, 55
right-ward, 185, 218 circular, 40
uprigb: hand, 185 If" 192 concealing, 206, 212
Slips of the pen, 115 continuity of, 224
Slowness, 304 course of, 124
extreme, 250 diffuse, 21
Sluggishness, mental, 250 dou/nst ro]:e, 43, 251
Smeariness, 160, 267, 268 downstroke ending it. spearheads,
Snake as symbol , 33, 34 275
Social relationships, 137 forcejul, 21
Society hand, 87 horizontal, D5, 156,306
Soldering, 221, 233 intcrru ytcd , 224
Spacing, 291 If. pastose, 256, 265, 266
interlinear spaces, 289, 293, 308 qualities of, 254 If,
word inters paces, 289, 300 ff. rigid, 269, 285, 287, 288
Spasm, 279 sbarp, 269
Specimen collection, III, 112 showy, 264
Speech disturbances (see also Stutter- sideward, 155, 156
ing), 54, 51, 2H If, smootb ness of, 248
SPEED, 7, 9, 14, 47, 53, 64, 67, sl!rillgboard, In, 169,246
240 If" 260 soldered, 250
affected by writing situation, 2 SO terminal, 1 55
determined by temperament, 244, terminal dagger-lila, 267
245 terminal, right-ward, 219
deviations from average, 250 underlining, 156
excessive 1 250 of uniform width, 255
/luctuations in, 241 upstroke, 42, 255
indices of, 247, 248 tremulous, 273
of movement, 125 vertical, 135
regular, 250 weak, 270
significance o], IS zigzag, 21
379
Stubbornness, 8 f Threadlike finish, I j f
Stuttering (see also Speech disturb- Thriftiness, 291
an:es), H, ff, 2H, 238 Tracing
Style, 80 e., 126 evenness of, 46
consistency of, 103 Jim","ss of, 46
of life, 87 Trait psychology, 13
stilted, B6 Triangles, 27, 28
Snrrlevati01l, 162, 169
Swallowtails, 260, 261
Swellings, 72, 276 u
Swoops, 72, 276 Unconscious motivation, 15
Symmetry, 22, 23, 28 Uniformity, 4, 220
Symbols, 31 Unrest, 293f
of anxiet-y, 327
conditioned, 42 v
symbolic gestures, 2B, 136 Visual acuity, 48
symbolic meaning of writing Visual form perception, 48
pressure, 266 Visual-mindedncss, 83, 234
symbolism of writing space, 134
Syndrome, 119 w
Synthesis, 119, 132 Wavy line, 213, 283
T Western writing, 143Whorls, 21
bars, 223 Width of letters, 13 5, 148
broken, 72 excessi-ve, 157
coupled, 266 Withdrawal, 142, 214, 327, 328
higb-placed, 149, 172 Word endings, 285
hooked-up, 232 Worksheet, 128, 129
stems WRITING
lopsided, 72
de oelop ment in school children, 12
twisted, 72
development of writing symbols,
Tension, 8,61,73,85,169,244,250,
31 f
27B
hypertension, 281 difficulties, 52
low, 296 disturban.ces, 23 j
-niuscnlsr , 281 ejJicietlcy, j 2
pbenomena of, 10 Gal hic style, 200
relief / rom, 270 0'1"' ell uel op«, 308
Tension-release, 207, 283 if. field,l34
balance of, 287 line, 293
interplay o] , 283 pattern. as a wbole, 119
musc-ular, 46 pattern disorganized, 268
paltem 0/, 279 space, 289
Terminal letter, 1 f j symbolic -meani ng 0/ space, I I,
Test situation, 113 134,IH
Time measurements, 241 systems, 92 if.
Theory of personality, 8 techniques, 143
Therapeutic usc of graphological find- tools, 2f4
ings, j 4 WRITING ZONES, 137 if.
380
Lower Zone, 140 ff., 149, 171 ff. Upper zone, 137, 138, 142, 149,
connectedness in, 231 156,170 If.
height of, 148 disconnectedness ill, 230
Middle zone, 137, 141, 167 If. height of, 148
diminution of, 169 joinings in, 230
fluctuations in, 168 overextension 'into, 137
height o], 148, 170 oversized elements in, 173
joh,ir'gs in, 229, 230 oversized letter forms in, 171
381
INDEX o F AUTHORS
ALEXANDER, Franz, 282 MASLOW, A. H., 296
ALLPORT, Gordon W., 13, 14, 132 MEAD, Margaret, 96
ANGYAL, Andras, 8 MENDEL, A. 0., 194
ARNHEIM, Rudolf, 14, 88 MENDELSOHN, Anja, 36, 37, 38
BACHOFEN, J. J.. 146 MENZEL, Karl, 11
BALAzs, Deszo, 12, 211 MEYER, Georg, 7
BALDO, Camillo, 3 MICHON, Jean Hippolyre, 4, S, 127
BECKER, Minna, 23 MUELLER, W. H., 10
BINET, Alfred, 5, 115 NEMETH, Peter, 12
BRANDON, Henry, 34 NEWCOM.BE, Theodore, 2S0
BROCA, Paul, 234 NINCK, J., 264
BUSSE, Hans H., 7 OSBORN, A. S., 15, 86, 112
CREPIEUX-JAMIN, J., 5, 115, 162 PASCAL, J.. 263
DOWNEY, June E., 13, 110 POPHAL, Rudolf, 10, 222, 287
DUPARCHY-jEANNEZ, M., 232 POWERS, Edwin, 14
ENSKAT, Alice, 10 PREYER, Wilhelm, 6, 108
ERLENMEYER, D., 7 PROSPER, Alderisius, 3
FANTA, Otto, 11 PULVER, Max, 11, 134, 137, 115, 167,
FLANDRIN, Abbe, 4 173, 209, 26J, 270, J08
FREUD, Sigmund, 140 RIEGER, Anton, 10, 222
GESELL, Arnold, 28 SAUDEK, Robert, 14, 15, 195, 247
GOLDZIHER. Erzsebet, 12 SCHERMANN, Rudolf, 316
HAJNAL, Richard, 12 SCHILLER, Paul, 22
HARDWICK. Gladys, 43 SCHLAG, Oskar, 11
HEISS. Robert, 10 SCHONFELD, Willy, 11
JACOBY, Hans, 233 SEELIGER, Max, 88
JANET, Pierre, 5 SONNE MANN, Ulrich, 17
JUNG. C. G .• 35, 36 SYMONDS, P. M., 319
KLAGES, Ludwig, 6 If .• 16. 123. 126. THEISS. Herbert, 109
207. 216. 228. 283 UDINE, Jean d', 66
KRAEPELIN. Emil. 9. 288 VERNON, Philip E., 13, 14, 132
KROEBER-KENETH. L.. 8 WACHHOLDER, Kurt, 10
LESSING. Theodor, 7. 9 WITTLICH, Bernhard, 10
LEWIN. Kurt. 2J 5 WOLFF, Werner, 14, 17, 34, 266
LEWINSON. Thea S., 16, 284 WOLFSON, Rose, 16,284
MACHOVER, Karen, 28, 1~65., ZUBIN, Joseph, 16, 284
382
.,
, '