Girl, Interrupted
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Girl, Interrupted is a best-selling[1] 1993 memoir by American author Susanna Kaysen. In the book, Kaysen relates her experiences as a patient in a psychiatric hospital in the 1960s after being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. The memoir's title is a reference to the Vermeer painting Girl Interrupted at her Music[2].
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[edit] Specifications
- Author = Susanna Kaysen
- Cover illustrator =
- Series =
- Genre = Memoir
- Publisher = [[wikipedia:Random House|Turtle Bay Books]
- Country = United States
- Publication Date = 1993
- Nature of Rarity =
- Number in Existence =
- Estimated Value =
[edit] Background
While writing the novel Far Afield Kaysen began to recall her almost two years at McLean Hospital[3]. Once done with the book she obtained her file from the hospital with the help of a lawyer and began to write Girl, Interrupted.[4]
In 1999, the memoir was adapted into a film of the same name starring Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie. It was directed by James Mangold.
[edit] Plot introduction
The plot of Girl, Interrupted does not follow a linear storyline, but instead the author provides personal stories through a series of non-chronological vignettes and personal reflections on why she was institutionalized.
[edit] Plot summary
In April 1967, 18-year-old Susanna Kaysen is admitted to McLean Hospital, in Belmont, Massachusetts, after attempting a half hearted suicide. She denies it was a suicide attempt to a psychiatrist who suggests she take time to regroup in McLean, a private mental hospital. Susanna is diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, and her stay extends 18 months[5].
Fellow patients Polly, Cynthia, Lisa, Lisa Cody, Georgina and Daisy highlight Susanna’s experience at McLean as she describes their personal issues and how they come to cope with the time they must spend in the hospital. Susanna also introduces the reader to particular staff members, including Valerie, Dr. Wick and Mrs. McWeeney.
Susanna reflects on the nature of her illness, including difficulty making sense of visual patterns, and suggests that sanity is a falsehood constructed to help the "healthy" feel "normal." She also questions how doctors treat mental illnesses, and whether they are treating the brain or the mind.
During her stay, Susanna undergoes a period of depersonalization, where she bites open the flesh on her hand after she becomes terrified that she has "lost her bones." Also, during a trip to the dentist, Susanna becomes frantic after waking from the general anesthesia and no one will tell her how long she was unconscious. She fears that she has "lost" time.
Some months after leaving McLean, Susanna visits Georgina, who is now married and still quite unconventional. Outside of a subway station, Susanna bumps into Lisa who has a son and lives in Brookline. Georgina is now discharged and is living a normal life outside the hospital. Daisy commits suicide. Polly's whereabouts are unknown. Lisa Cody is a "junkie" heavily addicted to drugs. Cynthia's whereabouts are unknown.
[edit] References
- ^ The Unconfessional Confessionalist, Time Magazine, July 11, 1994
- ^ Girl, Interrupted, Variety, December 10, 1999
- ^ A teenager's interrupted life, Knight Ridder Newspapers, December 1, 1993
- ^ Girl, interrupted.(Reel Life) Clinical Psychiatry News, August 1, 2003
- ^ Susanna Kaysen finds stablity in examining youthful 'insanity', Knight-Ridder Newspapers, August 4, 1993
