Mental illness in fiction

Works of fiction dealing with mental illness include:

Literature

• Ajax, circa 450 - 430 BCE tragedy by Sophocles
• Hamlet, circa 1600 tragedy by William Shakespeare
• Don Quixote, 1605 / 1615 two-volume novel by Miguel Cervantes
• The Sorrows of Young Werther, 1774 epistolary novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
• Faust I, 1808 tragedy by Goethe. The collision of a natural love-desire with her conscience and with the norms of the society around her evokes radical inner conflicts for the female hero Margarete.
• The Bride of Lammermoor, 1819 historical novel by Sir Walter Scott
• Diary of a Madman, 1835 farcical short story by Nikolai Gogol
• Lenz, 1836 novella fragment by Georg Büchner depicting the unfolding of mental disorder with the German poet Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz
• Madame Bovary, 1856 novel by Gustave Flaubert
• Crime and Punishment, 1866 novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky
• Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, 1886 novella by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Hunger (Sult in the original Norwegian), 1890 novel by Knut Hamsun depicting a man whose mind slowly turns to ruin through hunger
• Ward Number Six, 1892 short story by Anton Chekhov^[1]
• Remembrance of Things Past, 1913-1927 seven-volume novel by Marcel Proust
• Swann's Way, 1913 work by Marcel Proust
• Flight into Darkness (German original: Flucht in die Finsternis), 1931 novella by Arthur Schnitzler
• Tender is the Night, 1934 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• The A.B.C. Murders, 1936 detective fiction novel by Agatha Christie
• Of Mice and Men, 1937 novella by John Steinbeck
• And Then There Were None, 1939 detective fiction novel by Agatha Christie
• The Royal Game (or Chess Story; Schachnovelle in the original German), 1942 novella by Stefan Zweig, depicting a monarchist who develops, and then cannot again shed, the custom to separate his psyche into two personas, having been urged to maintain his sanity by playing chess against himself in solitary confinement
• Earth Abides, 1949 post-apocalyptic science-fiction novel by George Stewart
• The Catcher in the Rye, 1951 novel by J. D. Salinger
• Lover, When You're Near Me, 1952 science fiction short story by Richard Matheson on a man being traumatically steered in his will by a woman of a dull extraterrestrial race who covets him sexually
• Dear Diary, 1954 science fiction short story by Richard Matheson. Diary entries from the years AD 1964, AD 3964, and LXIV (=64) all show the same dissatisfaction with the current situation and the same desire to live either some thousand years later or earlier, that from 3964 also due to the unpleasant inventions of another inhabitant of the writer's plastic skyscraper, which enable him to see her through the walls.
• The Two Towers, 1954 high fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien
• The Mind Thing, never completed 1960 science fiction serialization, later published as a novel, by Fredric Brown. An extraterrestrial being has been sent to Earth as a punishment and tries to influence people's and animal's minds so that they would help it creating the technical means it needs to return home.
• To Kill A Mockingbird, 1960 novel by Harper Lee
• Unearthly Neighbors, 1960 science fiction novel by Chad Oliver. The anthropology professor Monte Stewart and the linguist Charlie Jenike get tough towards each other on a hot day after having killed a member of a race between apes and men on a planet of Sirius, together, in revenge for a deadly attack of the man's tribe onto their wives and a colleague. Jenike totally loses his mind and drowns himself in a nearby river, shortly after.
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, 1962 novel by Ken Kesey about the treatment of mental illness^[2]
• The Bell Jar, 1963 novel by Sylvia Plath, a fictionalised account of Plath's own struggles with depression^[3]
• I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, 1964 autobiographical novel by Joanne Greenberg
• A Wrinkle in the Skin, 1965 post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by John Christopher. The hero and a boy meet a captain who has lost his mind, in his ship on the bottom of the English Channel that has fallen dry through an earthquake. They are welcomed heartily, but forbidden to take any food with them, when they leave.
• The Bird of Paradise, 1967^[4] work by R. D. Laing, often available with his non-fiction essay The Politics of Experience about schizophrenia and hallucinogenic drugs
• The Ethics of Madness, 1967 science fiction short story by Larry Niven
• Bedlam Planet, 1968 science fiction novel by John Brunner. A crew of astronauts tries to live on the animal and vegetable food growing on a planet of Sigma Draconis, which evokes mental disorder, but also sets free survival instincts that have so far been hidden.
• Knots, 1970 work by R.D. Laing
• Breakfast of Champions, 1973 novel by Kurt Vonnegut
• Woman on the Edge of Time, 1976 novel by Marge Piercy
• The Cat Who Went Underground, 1989 detective fiction novel by Lillian Jackson Braun
• Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command, 1991 trilogy of novels by Timothy Zahn
• Mariel of Redwall, 1991 fantasy novel by Brian Jacques
• Regeneration, 1991 novel by Pat Barker, based on the historical experiences of the poet Siegfried Sassoon, explores shell-shock and other traumatic illnesses following World War I^[5]
• Amnesia, 1992 novel by Douglas Anthony Cooper
• She's Come Undone, 1992 novel by Wally Lamb
• Effie's Burning, 1995 play^[6][7] by Valerie Windsor
• Maskerade, 1995 comic fantasy/detective fiction novel by Sir Terry Pratchett
• Myst: The Book of Atrus, 1995 novel (re-released in a 2004 omnibus) by Rand and Robyn Miller with Dave Wingrove
• Fight Club, 1996 novel by Chuck Palahniuk
• The Green Mile, 1996 serial novel by Stephen King
• Glimmer, 1997^[8] novel by Annie Waters
• I Know This Much Is True, 1998 novel by Wally Lamb
• The Underground, 1998 science fiction book by K. A. Applegate. A form of oatmeal is found to drive extraterrestrial body-snatchers insane.
• Cut, 2000 novel by Patricia McCormick
• Oxygen and The Fifth Man, 2001 and 2002 science fiction duology by Randall S. Ingermanson and John B. Olson.
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, 2003 novel by Mark Haddon, written from the point of view of an autistic child
• The Unifying Force, 2003 science fiction novel by James Luceno
• The Good Patient: A Novel, 2004^[9] novel by Kristin Waterfield Duisberg
• Hello, Serotonin, 2004 work by Jon Paul Fiorentino
• High Rhulain, 2005 fantasy novel by Brian Jacques
• Human Traces, 2005 novel by Sebastian Faulks
• Love Creeps, 2005 novel by Amanda Filipacchi
• Darkness Descending, 2007^[10] novel by Bethann Korsmit about a man who suffers a mental breakdown and various other mental problems, and the people who help him to overcome the obstacles in his life
• All in the Mind, 2008 novel by Alastair Campbell which draws on the author's experiences of depression and alcoholism^[11]
• Atmospheric Disturbances, 2009 novel by Rivka Galchen
• Diving into the Wreck, 2009^[12] novel by Adrienne Rich
• Radiant Daughter, 2010 novel by Patricia Grossman
• A Better Place, 2011^[13] novel by Mark A. Roeder
• Saint Jude, 2011^[14] novel by Dawn Wilson

"It has only recently been recognized that valuable new facts and insights are vouchsafed by a study of Freud's relationship with Arthur Schnitzler. That Schnitzler, the Viennese physician-poet and contemporary of Freud's, wrote strikingly "Freudian" plays and stories has, of course, long been common knowledge. For many years it was widely assumed that Schnitzler was merely one of the earliest and most perceptive of Freud's many literary disciples. In 1953, however, it was demonstrated that the relationship was more complicated, that in fact Freud and Schnitzler had not only read one another's early publications but had then regularly read one another's works as they appeared; that Schnitzler had eventually referred to Freud as his "double"; and that Freud, late in life, had called Schnitzler his "psychic twin, " and described him as a pioneer and independent master of depth psychology."^[15]

Motion pictures

Many motion pictures portray mental illness in inaccurate ways, leading to misunderstanding and heightened stigmatization of the mentally ill. However, some movies are lauded for dispelling stereotypes and providing insight into mental illness. In a study by George Gerbner, it was determined that 5 percent of 'normal' television characters are murderers, while 20% of 'mentally-ill' characters are murderers. 40% of normal characters are violent, while 70% of mentally-ill characters are violent. Contrary to what is portrayed in films and television, Henry J. Steadman, Ph.D., and his colleagues at Policy Research Associates found that, overall, formal mental patients did not have a higher rate of violence than the control group of people who were not formal mental patients. In both groups, however, substance abuse was linked to a higher rate of violence. (Hockenbury and Hockenbury, 2004)

• Psycho, a 1960 American film which features a man who exhibits multiple personality-disorder (includes several prequels or sequels or remakes)
• Marnie, a 1964 American film which features a woman with obsessive fear and distrust
• Oil Lamps, a 1971 film by Juraj Herz, based on the same named novel by Jaroslav Havlíček, describing the life of vivacious girl and her matrimony with a sardonic man, who suffer from emerging paralytic dementia
• Benny & Joon, a 1993 American film which features a schizophrenic woman
• Memento, a 2000 psychological thriller film which is about a man with anterograde amnesia which renders his brain unable to store new memories.
• A Beautiful Mind, a 2001 film which is a fictionalised account of the schizophrenic mathematician, John Nash^[16]
• The Soloist, a 2009 film depicting the true story of Nathaniel Ayers, a musical prodigy who develops schizophrenia during his second year at Juilliard School, becomes homeless and plays a 2 two stringed violin in the streets of downtown Los Angeles/ California

Television

Many popular television shows feature characters with a mental health condition. Often these portrayals are inaccurate and reinforce existing stereotypes, thereby increasing stigma associated with having a mental health condition. Common ways that television shows can generate misunderstanding and fear are by depicting people with these conditions as medically noncompliant, violent, and/or intellectually challenged. However, in recent years certain organizations have begun to advocate for accurate portrayals of mental health conditions in the media, and certain television shows have been applauded by mental health organizations for helping to dispel myths of these conditions...

One show, Wonderland, went on the air in 2000 and only lasted several episodes. It was largely critically acclaimed, but pressure from mental health advocates and people with mental health conditions who felt that the show perpetuated stereotypes and contributed to the stigma attached to them led to the show's cancellation.

In 2005, the shows Huff, Monk, Scrubs and ER all won Voice Awards from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for their positive portrayal of people who manage mental health conditions. Neal Baer, executive producer of ER and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit also won a lifetime achievement award for his work in incorporating mental health issues into these two shows.

See also

• Mental illness in film
• List of films featuring mental illness

Notes

1. ^ "... 'Palata No. 6' (1892, Ward Number Six) is Chekhov's classical story of the abuse of psychiatry. Gromov is convinced that anyone can be imprisoned. He develops a persecution mania and is incarcerated in a horrific asylum, where he meets Doctor Ragin. Their relationship attracts attention and the doctor is tricked into becoming a patient in his own ward. He dies after being beaten by a charge hand. — The symmetrical story has much similarities with such works as Samuel Fuller's film The Shock Corridor (1963), and Ken Kesey's novel One Flew Over Cuckoo's Nest (1975). ..." [1]. An online version of the story can be found at Project Gutenberg. [2]
2. ^ Kent, Deborah (2003). Snake pits, talking cures & magic bullets: a history of mental illness. Twenty-First Century Books. pp. 118. ISBN 0761327045. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=wzlJWvCoNKQC. 
3. ^ Poplaski, W. E. (2007). 360 of Reading: A Literature Guide for the College Bound. Dog Ear Publishing. pp. 19. ISBN 1598583794. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=S_eTl_OJvFgC. 
4. ^ Famous Psychologist: R.D. Laing. Psychologistanywhereanytime.com, retrieved March 23, 2011
5. ^ Furst, Lilian R. (2003). Idioms of distress: psychosomatic disorders in medical and imaginative literature. SUNY Press. ISBN 0791455572. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=j2_U8NdM2WwC. 
6. ^ Books › "Effie's burning". Amazon.com, retrieved March 23, 2011
7. ^ Effie's Burning Pb (Acting Edition). Amazon.com, retrieved March 23, 2011
8. ^ Books › "Annie Waters". Amazon.com, retrieved March 23, 2011
9. ^ Books › "kristin waterfield duisberg". Amazon.com, retrieved March 23, 2011
10. ^ Books › "darkness descending". Amazon.com, retrieved March 23, 2011
11. ^ "All in the Mind by Alastair Campbell - review". Daily Telegraph. 6 November 2008. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/fictionreviews/3562930/All-in-the-Mind-by-Alastair-Campbell---review.html. Retrieved 4 December 2009. 
12. ^ Books › "Diving into the Wreck". Amazon.com, retrieved March 23, 2011
13. ^ Books › "a better place by mark a. roeder". Amazon.com, retrieved March 23, 2011
14. ^ Books › "Dawn Wilson". Amazon.com, retrieved March 23, 2011
15. ^ Freud's "Double": Arthur Schnitzler. Frederick J. Beharriell, Ph.D.
16. ^ Perkowitz, S. (2007). Hollywood science: movies, science, and the end of the world. Columbia University Press. pp. 192. ISBN 0231142803. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=npB0HPVn44MC.