Mental Illness and Mrs. Dalloway
The book Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf talks about mental illness portrayed in the early 20th century through the character Septimus Smith. Septimus is a World War I veteran, and World War I was a different war than wars fought in the past. Military technology evolved rapidly between the last "big" war in Europe, which was the Franco-Prussian War (the War of 1870), and World War I. However, military tactics stayed the same. The result is a lot of casualties because people just get outgunned when they charge the enemy line, because guns had a bigger range.
The magnitude of causalities caused many veterans, including Septimus to have PTSD (known as shell-shock at the time of the book). Today, PTSD is considered a serious disease and people diagnosed with PTSD get treatment as soon as possible. In Septimus' time however, mental diseases in general were not regarded seriously. This is partly because most doctors at the time have never witness how much different World War I was and just assumed that World War I veterans were weaker that previous war veterans.
Septimus was eventually diagnosed with rest cure by Sir William Bradshaw. However, according to this 1999 study, rest cure did not improved the patients health at all. This study tells us how inadequate mental health/"regular" health treatment was back in Mrs. Dalloway's time (rest cure is used today for people who are pregnant, or people who have back pain). Bradshaw believed that Septimus needs to be forced to rest, even when he is not tired at all. The rest cure probably was the reason why Septimus committed suicide, since his delusions has been getting worse as time grew on, and the bed did not help at all.
In summary, doctors in early 20th century do not have a lot of information about mental illness and Septimus has a better chance to survive if he lived in the 21st century,
Septimus was eventually diagnosed with rest cure by Sir William Bradshaw. However, according to this 1999 study, rest cure did not improved the patients health at all. This study tells us how inadequate mental health/"regular" health treatment was back in Mrs. Dalloway's time (rest cure is used today for people who are pregnant, or people who have back pain). Bradshaw believed that Septimus needs to be forced to rest, even when he is not tired at all. The rest cure probably was the reason why Septimus committed suicide, since his delusions has been getting worse as time grew on, and the bed did not help at all.
In summary, doctors in early 20th century do not have a lot of information about mental illness and Septimus has a better chance to survive if he lived in the 21st century,
You are definitely right that Septimus would have had a better chance to live in modern society. I also think you make an interesting point that World War I was more bloody and scary that previous wars, and that people at home, particularly doctors, didn't know. I get the feeling that the doctors of that era didn't really think the rest cure would help the patients, but at least it would keep them from being seen or negatively affecting others. If you look at the bigger picture, this might not be a terrible idea, as people in society could be mentally damaged from seeing someone like Septimus walking around and having an extreme reaction to seeing a bush. I would also mention that the looming potential of being sent to undergo the rest cure doesn't seem to have been the main cause for Septimus' suicide, but rather a fear of being pursued by Dr. Holmes.
ReplyDeleteThe point you make about Septimus' case of shell shock being brushed aside by doctors is an interesting one, and you connect it well with the idea that World War I was a 'different' kind of war. Doctors were not familiar with the mental illness of shell shock and just attributed to the case of just being a weaker man. I do also certainly agree that if Septimus had lived in the 21st century, his outcome would have been totally different simply because of the fact that doctors would have been more educated.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the rest cure killed Septimus: in all honesty, the rest cure was probably very similar to solitary confinement, because he was away from all the "knowns" in his life like Rezia. Typically, those who have mental illness do better when they know what/who is around them and are familiar with a routine, so that they don't get surprised. If you look at it from that perspective, then it's not surprising Septimus committed suicide after being placed in a new environment away from the people he knew and was comfortable around.
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