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Susanna Kaysen has a borderline personality disorder Throughout her novel-length autobiographical work, Girl, Interrupted, Susanna Kaysen tells her reader about her own life with borderline personality disorder. She chronologically traces her life from before her admittance to McLean Hospital, to life during McLean, and finally, to life following her stay. As she does this, Kaysen also illustrates her improvement as far as dealing with her disorder. As an individual reader, I interpreted her improvement as being credited for the most part to her fellow "crazy" friends Susanna Kaysen, upon admittance to the McLean Hospital, was profoundly depressed and exhibiting a patternless life.
She had slipped into a "parallel universe. Since it was scientifically proven for borderline personalities that "their interests, values, mode of dress, and mannerisms shift as the nature of their attachments change", her psychiatrist suggested she admit herself to McLean to find the? right" attachments for her. She reported feeling a strong sense of aloneness, which should also be cured during her stay at McLean.
This was Susanna's doctor's reasoning behind sending her to McLean. She clearly needed help; although, she could not recognize the extent of her problem by herself. Polly is the first girl that Kaysen mentions in her book. Polly had attempted suicide by setting herself on fire, and as a result, had formed scar tissue on parts of her body. Susanna, still being unstable, interpreted the scar tissue as not having any character... becuase that was how she felt about herself.
As she explains it: It's like a slipcover. It shields and disguises what's beneath. That's why we grow it; we have something to hide. (Kaysen 16) Whether she realizes it or not, Kaysen is demonstrating her detachment from the world. She views the scar tissue as inanimate, which is how she invision's herself. Polly, by burning herself, had accomplished something Susanna could not... she had done something irreversible.
She had burned the miseries of life out of herself, and Susanna envied her for this. This clarity made me able to behave normally, which posed some interesting questions. Was everybody seeing this stuff and acting as if they weren't? Was insanity just a matter of dropping the act? If some people didn't see these things, what's the matter with them? (Kaysen 41 - 42) Once she was admitted to McLean she was labeled and forced into an identity -- that of a crazy person. It may have seemed odd to normal people that it is beneficial to be grouped with lunatics intentionally, but now she had a specific, consistent identity all her own.
She had the reassurance of knowing she was a part of something. After all, there were only two categories of people at McLean: lunatics and staff (and she was certainly not on staff). Her experiences at McLean eventually teach her that she is not alone in her mental condition. In the "outside world" she didn't relate to parents or teachers, and she felt shameful and lost between what she is and what others want her to be. She begins to recognize her place and "role" at McLean and begins acting accordingly. As she explains; "We are their six lunatics, so we behaved like lunatics" (Kaysen 51).
Her life has changed and improved, but her recovery is still going to be difficult. Change is never easy, and the memories will endure forever. What matters, though, is that she is free and "normal" now... Ready to continue her life and snatch it right back. It has always been hers, but she needed McLean Hospital and the people she met there to make her realize that.
She has her friends to thank for who she is today! Bibliography: web web web
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Research essay sample on Susanna Kaysen Has A Borderline Personality Disorder
