It was a hypothetical: "Entertain for the moment that the field of rye represents Holden's feelings of codependency, an excessive preoccupation with the needs of others, as in the urge to protect the innocent and vulnerable."
Codependency has existed as long as modernity; it just didn't have a label until a couple of decades ago.
Codependency has existed as long as modernity; it just didn't have a label until a couple of decades ago.