Naomi Delavan, Mayella Ewell Psychological Report

CONFIDENTIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL REPORT

For professional use only

Name:	Mayella Ewell	Birth date:	Unknown
Age:	19	Date of Examination:	July 12, 1935
Education:	Unknown	Examiner:	Naomi Delavan

PURPOSE FOR EVALUATION:

Mayella Ewell was reported to have been beaten and raped by Thomas Robinson on November 21, 1934. During the trial of Thomas Robinson, reports of the events that the trial concerned varied from witness to witness. It is possible that Mayella’s state of mental health could have something to do with the testimony she gave.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Mayella lives with her father and seven siblings, of whom she is the oldest. Mayella’s mother died some years ago, though it is unknown specifically when. Her father is unemployed, and has been known to drink. The Ewell family lives off of a provided monthly relief check that does not provide enough to support the family. Mr. Robert Ewell (Father) is left handed, as pointed out by Atticus Finch in trial. As Mayella’s face was heavily bruised on the right side after the incident, this might be evidence of abuse, though nothing has been proven. As stated before, testimonies given in trial vary. According to Robert Ewell and Heck Tate, Mayella was beaten and taken advantage of by Thomas Robinson. However, in the defendant’s account, it was Mayella who imposed herself upon Mr. Robinson. 

MENTAL STATUS EXAMINATION:

When asked questions about the sequence of events in court, Mayella answered the first few questions with short and limited responses. After a prompting to tell her side of the story from the prosecutor, Mayella began to cry, and attested that she didn’t want Atticus Finch (The Defendant’s Attorney) questioning her the way he had her father. Mayella proceeded in her testimony without much interruption. Mayella tended to use hand gestures such as pointing in favor of words, and was twisting her handkerchief in her hands while giving testimony. 

When Mr. Finch prepared to question Mayella, there were some signs of distrust from her, and she accused Mr. Finch of mocking her by calling her “ma’am” and “Miss Mayella”. Atticus Finch asked Mayella who her friends were, to which Mayella responded by asking again if Mr. Finch was mocking her. Under Atticus’s questioning, Mayella also revealed that her father was usually tolerable, except when he had been drinking, though she attested that he had never beaten her. When asked if November 21 was the first time she had let Mr. Robinson onto the Ewell property, Mayella struggled more to answer the question, eventually answering in the negative. She also contradicted herself when answering Atticus about whether or not she remembered Tom beating her around the face, first saying she didn’t remember, then saying he had. She then reported that it had all happened very quickly, and accused Atticus of mocking her again. When Atticus asked her for the second time if Mr. Robinson had hit her in the eye, she testified that he had hit her left eye, contradicting Mr. Heck Tate’s account that her right eye had been bruised. Atticus also pointed out the sudden amount of detail that she had avoided earlier. Atticus proceeded to ask Mayella a long string of questions about the details of the event, most of which Mayella refused to answer. After this, Mayella clearly declared that Mr. Robinson had taken advantage of her, and that if they didn’t want to admit that, they were cowards. She brought up again Atticus’s use of “ma’am” and “Miss Mayella”, and began to cry again. After that, she refused to give any more testimony.  

Throughout her testimony, Mayella had several words and phrases that she repeated several times. Her speech had a slight accent, and some words were pronounced irregularly.

Thomas Robinson, during his testimony, stated a completely different story than Mayella. According to Mr. Robinson, Mayella had invited him into the Ewell house to do an unknown chore. Once inside, it was Mayella who imposed herself upon Tom Robinson. She had apparently revealed that she sent her siblings into town, and that she had been planning the events of that day for a very long time. According to Mr. Robinson, she also said “she never kissed a man before and it might as well be a n*****. She says what her papa do to her don’t count.” It is unclear what Mayella meant by what her father does to her, but it could be implied that he beats her or even possibly takes advantage of her. It can also be implied from Tom’s testimony as well as from the defence case, that it was Mr. Ewell, not Mr. Robinson, that beat Mayella on November 21.

RESULTS OF EVALUATION:

One possible condition could be PTSD. Though there was not a clear consensus on the actual sequence of events, it was apparent that Mayella was definitely exposed to harsh treatment when her father had been drinking, and even possible abuse. It is also possible that she was raped by Tom Robinson, and if not, that she was beaten by her father for her passion. 

Mayella experienced psychological distress while giving testimony that she said was due to Atticus calling her “ma’am” and “Miss Mayella”. This may be due to some other event or connection in Mayella’s past, but it can also be noted that Tom Robinson reported to have called her “Miss Mayella”.

Mayella found some questions of Atticus’s difficult to answer, and contradicted herself several times. Her persistent conviction that Atticus was mocking her might also be a possible symptom of PTSD. From her display of mistrust at the trial, it is possible that Mayella also displays irritable or frustrated behavior at other times, another possible symptom of PTSD. 

SUMMARY/RECOMMENDATIONS:

At this point, a full diagnosis is not possible. More research should be done into Mayella’s current habits in her home, as well as how those have changed since November 21. Even if Mayella has no mental condition, the home life of her and her siblings should be investigated. If, indeed, their father is abusive, steps should be taken to protect them.

PTSD can distort a person’s memory about the traumatic event in question. It can also add negative emotions towards stimulus that can further distort memories and how a person relates the events. This could be the case with Mayella Ewell and her testimony in Thomas Robinson’s case.