In her autobiographical novel Girl, Interrupted Susanna Kaysen deals with the probably most difficult and influential period in her life. At the end of the 1960s, when she was eighteen, she was committed to a mental institution after a half-hearted suicide attempt and diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. She spent two years at McLean, where also famous persons like Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Robert Lowell and Ray Charles have been in treatment.
This paper will be trying to point out the difficulties with which people, especially women, were confronted in the 1960s, when they were different in some way and how this could result in being caught in a kind of parallel universe or, even worse, being stuck in between two worlds and not knowing were they belong.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 A Borderline Topography
3 Parallel Universes
3.1 World Inside vs. World Outside
3.1.1 Susanna
3.1.2 Lisa
3.1.3 Daisy
3.2 Refuge vs. Prison
3.3 Adolescence vs. Madness
3.3.1 Suicide Attempt vs. Cry for Help
3.4 World of the Insane vs. World of the Sane
3.5 Conformity vs. Rebellion
4 What’s Normal?
4.1 The Role of Women in the 1960s: Establishment and Parental Expectations
4.2 Finding One’s Way
5 Conclusion
6 Works Cited
Objective & Themes
This paper examines Susanna Kaysen's autobiographical novel Girl, Interrupted to explore the difficulties and societal pressures young women faced in the 1960s when their behavior deviated from conventional norms.
- Borderline Personality Disorder symptoms and diagnosis in the 1960s
- The concept of the parallel universe inside McLean Hospital
- Adolescence versus mental illness and the line between normality and abnormality
- The societal role of women and parental expectations during the 1960s
Excerpt from the Book
3.2 Refuge vs. Prison
For Susanna and many of her fellow inmates “the hospital [is] as much a refuge as it [is] a prison” (Kaysen 94). They live in their own little universe which consists of meetings with their doctors, hours spent in the living room sitting together, a little conversation with the nurses or other activities that pass the time, so every day principally has the same “timetable”. A regular daily routine is important for people who suffer from mental diseases; it gives them a feeling of security because they know what they can expect from the day. This is the reason, why time actually seems to stand still; there are very little changes inside McLean. For the duration of their stay, they do not really have to bother about the future, or make any decisions. “In a strange way [they are] free.” (Kaysen 94)
In Susanna’s case, the hospital protects her exactly from what she tried to escape – expectations from society and her parents, establishment, conformity, responsibility, her job. Thus, McLean and, furthermore, her disease become a refuge for her. After a period of depersonalization, where she thinks that there are no bones in her hand anymore, she realizes that “now I was safe, now I was really crazy, and nobody could take me out of there” (104). By admitting that she is crazy, she accepts McLean as her new home, as where she belongs. This is probably the point where she gives up herself and her belief in getting better.
Chapter Summaries
1 Introduction: Introduces Susanna Kaysen's memoir Girl, Interrupted and outlines the paper's focus on the struggles of women in the 1960s who did not conform to societal expectations.
2 A Borderline Topography: Discusses the diagnostic criteria of Borderline Personality Disorder and the challenges of drawing a distinct line between normality and abnormality.
3 Parallel Universes: Explores the enclosed world of McLean Hospital, its daily routines, and individual profiles of fellow patients like Susanna, Lisa, and Daisy.
4 What’s Normal?: Examines the societal and parental expectations placed on women in the 1960s and Susanna's journey toward independence.
5 Conclusion: Summarizes key insights regarding Kaysen's institutionalization, distinguishing between genuine suicide attempts and cries for help.
6 Works Cited: Lists the academic and literary sources utilized throughout the research paper.
Keywords
Girl Interrupted, Susanna Kaysen, Borderline Personality Disorder, McLean Hospital, 1960s, Adolescence, Mental Institution, Conformity, Women's Roles, Parallel Universe
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this academic paper?
The paper examines Susanna Kaysen's memoir Girl, Interrupted, focusing on the social pressures, mental health perceptions, and difficulties faced by non-conforming women in the 1960s.
What are the central thematic areas explored in the text?
Key themes include the diagnostic ambiguity of Borderline Personality Disorder, the institutional environment of McLean Hospital, the parallels between adolescence and mental illness, and societal expectations of women.
What is the primary research objective?
The paper aims to highlight how women who deviated from social norms in the 1960s were often pathologized and confined to a parallel universe of mental institutions.
What scholarly literature and frameworks are applied?
The author applies psychological frameworks from Theodore Millon regarding Borderline Personality Disorder alongside literary analyses by Elizabeth Marshall and Alex Beam.
What topics are covered in the main body of the work?
The main chapters analyze the topography of BPD, the micro-society of McLean Hospital, specific patient profiles, the nature of adolescence, and 1960s gender roles.
Which keywords best characterize the publication?
Key terms include Girl Interrupted, Susanna Kaysen, Borderline Personality Disorder, McLean Hospital, 1960s, adolescence, and conformity.
How does the author characterize the atmosphere inside McLean Hospital?
The hospital functions simultaneously as a refuge from societal expectations and as a restrictive prison with a fixed daily routine.
What distinction does the author make regarding Susanna's suicide attempt?
The paper differentiates between a genuine desire to die and a metaphorical cry for help, suggesting that patients like Susanna require proper therapy rather than mere institutionalization.
How is adolescence compared to Borderline Personality Disorder in the text?
The paper notes significant symptom overlap, questioning whether adolescent disorientation and rebellion were wrongly categorized as personality disorders.
