Girl, Interrupted

Though not initially aimed at an adolescent and post-adolescent audience, Kaysen’s memoir became very popular with a “young adult” reading demographic. What are the central features of adolescence in American culture? How do you think the book understands this period in life? Is the young Kaysen unusual (pathological) or typical?

6 thoughts on “Girl, Interrupted

  1. Kati Daczkowski

    I think Kayson’s final section of the memoir speaks to the question of adolescence in American culture and how authority figures in society are able to “diagnose” mental illness in teenagers simply because they deviate in some way from established conventions. I really enjoyed reading everyone else’s thoughts and they inspired me to think more about Kayson’s second experience with the Vermeer at the Frick. A few pages earlier, as Kayson discusses her diagnosis, she notes that part of the criteria for borderline personality disorder is, “social contrariness.” Admittedly, she is confused by the parameters of this term, especially since it is never actually defined in the manual. Kayson argues that anything deviating from society’s conception of “normal,” then, can technically be framed as this criteria for mental illness. Looking back on her diagnosis years later, Kayson writes that if she were to question the rationale behind it now, she would be open to accusations of “resistance” and “defensiveness.” As Kayson views the female student in the Vermeer painting for the second time, she tears up, saying that the girl just wants to “get out.” This is a key moment as Kayson realizes the changes in the meaning that she has prescribed upon the artwork, how this relates to the judgements others have prescribed upon her mental health, and the resulting entrapment that a judgement of one’s character creates. Kayson discusses how she can never escape the impacts of her time in a mental facility upon her life and how she will never have the power to argue against her prescribed “insanity” because her mental capacity could again be questioned. She is forever entrapped by the authority of society’s ideas of normalcy, just as the girl is trapped in the painting, her thoughts interrupted, under the authority of her music teacher.

  2. Emory Payne

    I agree with everyones comments below; Kaysen taps into many aspects of young adult life. I think when I was a teenager, I hated when adults told me how insecure teenagers were. Of course, at that time I pushed back hard on this concept, when I look back at this time I really do feel as though insecurity was a central theme. I think Kaysen also taps into this by having her characters be insecure (openly so) about their bodies, social status, and futures. I think this novel was certainly relatable, with the opportunity of distancing oneself from the characters so it remained interesting. With the exception of the active suicide attempts, I thought Kaysen was typical. Perhaps she was a little impulsive, like with accepting a marriage proposal as Layla mentioned.

  3. Layla Santos

    Kaysen’s memoir grapples with ideas on conformity, which seems central to adolescent life. When she mentions her classmates, she states “they were all seventeen and miserable, just like me” (157). Still, Kaysen was different, more “miserable”. She didn’t go to college, she didn’t do her history assignments. She believes that although her perception of her own self-image was correct, her parents and teachers saw something different; “their reality was based on their needs and wishes” (155). This strikes me as relatable portrayal of the societal expectations and pressure teenagers often feel. It is not uncommon for teens to feel as though they are misunderstood or not really “seen” by the adults in their lives.

    Kaysen straddles between “sane” and “insane”; the ambiguity in her mental illness allows her to become a symbol for “lost” youths. I agree with Morgan, Kaysen does seem to embody “the dysphoric, disillusioned teenager”. Adolescence is a perplexing; it is fraught with hormones and questions pertaining to sexuality and the body. Throughout the memoir, Kaysen is able to effectively communicate the confusion and vulnerability of adolescence. Ultimately, although these are patients in an asylum, they are teenagers; and the experiences and interests of these girls correlate with those of other young women. The memoir has many moments discussing these typical things: pimples and romantic lives. Kaysen and the other women see themselves in the young student nurses. With these trainees, they asked “…what movies they’d seen and how they’d done on their exams and when they were getting married” (91). These sort of instances in the book made it much harder to label Kaysen as “insane”.

  4. Morgan Grady-Benson

    I think one of the reasons that the memoir resonates so much with young adults is that Kaysen embodies the dysphoric, disillusioned teenager. Kaysen may be diagnosed and pathologized, yet a lot of the manifestations of this diagnosis center around fear of entering adulthood, navigating sexuality, and defining identity. Hearing about other young women grappling with these questions can be comforting for the reader. I think this might also be paired with a level of fascination with mental illness, especially in relation to the other cast of characters. Seeing them through the eyes of Susanna, someone “like them,” teenage girls can witness pathology. This voyeurism has existed since the beginnings of asylums and it hasn’t gone away. People love to hear stories of what is deemed “crazy” behavior.

    1. Meredith Tallent

      Kaysen really does emphasize the point that people need to compare themselves to others to deem how “sane” they are. She writes, especially near the end, about how people would become so interested in hearing about her stories or about her personal qualities after she revealed she stayed in a mental hospital. That way, people can compare their own attributes to someone who has already been diagnosed “pathological” and then decide if they are “normal.”

      I agree with Morgan’s analysis of the popularity of the novel with the “young adult” audience — that the story follows a young woman who feels lost in her life, but not for one specific or concrete reason. Many young adults in their late teens and early 20s experience this same kind of identity crisis, unable to find a purpose or a path. Though the novel is about asylums, the themes of the novel follow that of many young adult literature. A lost girl is uprooted from her life to go on a journey of self-realization. I would argue that many of Kaysen’s behaviors are typical of a someone of her position and age. I also think Kaysen is trying to make a point in the novel with the presence of a new, older perspective and the documents she adds to make the reader question what “crazy” or “pathological” really means, and how does it fit within our society.

    2. Atticus Proctor

      Without knowing otherwise I almost read “Girl, Interrupted” as a novel targeted at the young adult reading demographic. One facet of being an adolescent in America that hasn’t been touched on here in the blog is that of rebelliousness. There are numerous times throughout the novel where Kaysen and the other girls exhibit this trait. For example when Torrey is going to catch a taxi to the airport the girls get together, pool their money, and want to help Torrey escape. Even though Torrey is the only one who with the possibility of getting out of McLean, the sense of rebelliousness in the girls drives them to help her using the means they can. Another example of this rebelliousness can be seen when Kaysen goes to the dentist the first time for the infection in her wisdom tooth. The dentist recommends pulling the tooth immediately, but Kaysen refuses and goes on antibiotics instead. While a different situation than the Torrey’s escape plan, the sense of rebelling against authority is appealing to Kaysen in this situation. From those two examples, I think that a lot of young people reading Kaysen’s book would really relate to the feelings of rebellion that the girls in McLean feel. One could even related these feelings of rebelliousness to campus life here at Middlebury whether through protest or stubbornness.

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