is madness its own cure? austrian literature and the ... · madness and its social effects, and...
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IsMadnessitsOwnCure?AustrianLiteratureandthe
BeliefinAnomaly
GeoffreyC.HowesBowlingGreenStateUniversity
AustrianStudiesAssocia;onConferenceMay4,2013
Theproject
• TheRepresenta=onofMadnessinAustrianFic=on– Literatureasasourceofnon‐clinicalknowledgeaboutmadnessanditssocialeffects,andhenceaboutAustrianculture.
– Thisknowledgeisembeddedincomplexculturalstructures,whichallowsaviewofmadnessasanintegralpartofsociety.
Construc=vistapproachappliedtotheeffectsbutnottotheoriginsofmadness
• Theprojectwillassumeonthebasisofrecentresearchinneurology,physiology,andgene;csthatthee=ologyofmadnessisextremelycomplexandindividual.
• Theprojectwillnotaskliteraturetohelpshowhoworwhyasocietyproducesmentalillnessesinsomeofitsmembers,butratherhowasocietytreatsthosememberswhodosufferfrommentalillness.
Construc=vistapproachappliedtotheeffectsbutnottheoriginsofmadness
• Cri;calapproachtowardFoucault’shistoricaltheoriesofmadnessandthean;‐psychiatricmovement(e.g.R.D.Laing,ThomasSzasz,KenKesey’sOneFlewovertheCuckoo’sNest)
• Thispresenta;onwilldrawinpartontheworkofMartaCaminero‐Santangelo,TheMadwomanCan’tSpeak,orWhyInsanityisNotSubversive(1998).
Beliefinanomaly:Foucault
• Foucault,MadnessandCiviliza-on(1961;Engl.1964;nowHistoryofMadness,2006)
• “…bythemadnessthatinterruptsit,aworkofartopensavoid,amomentofsilence,aques;onwithoutanswer,provokesabreachwithoutreconcilia;onwheretheworldisforcedtoques;onitself.”(288)
Beliefinanomaly:Felman
• ShoshanaFelman,Wri-ngandMadness(1978;Engl.1985)
Felmandescribes“thevanishingpointoftheuninterpretabletowardwhichtheeffortofinterpreta;onheads,butwhereitfallsapart”(32).
Interpreta;onmustenact,notexplain,thisdisintegra;on.
Madnessasan=‐reason
• FoucaultandFelmanlookforliteraturethatenactsmadnessrhetoricallyasanul;matechallengetothepowerofdiscourse(especiallypsychology)toaccountfortheworld.
• Thisprojectlooksmoremodestlyatliteratureasarhetoricalandthema;cspacewherecompe;ngdiscourses,includingthediscoursesofthemad,areshowninjuxtaposi;on.
ThePatronandtheClient
• Inmylargerproject,Ianalyzefic;onalcharactersas“clients”(themad)and“patrons.”
• Thepatronfiguresprovideanoutsideperspec;veonthemadpersonthatisneitherclinicalnorfirst‐person.
• Patronsalsoshowtheeffec;venessandineffec;venessofnon‐clinicalassistanceto,supportfor,andinterac;onswiththemad.
Madnessasitsowncure?
RobertMusil,DerMannohneEigenschaGen(1930,1932)
IngeborgBachmann,DasBuchFranza(1966)
WernerKofler,IdaH.(1978)
Howcanmadnessbeitsowncure?
• Madnessisseeninthefaceofoppressivesocialcondi;onsandins;tu;onsasarebellionagainstorrefugefromthelimita;onsofsocial,poli;cal,familial,andgenderroles.
• Howeverisola;ngitmaybe,madnesssome;messeemstoinflictlesssufferingthanconformity(andtreatment)andcreateaspaceforfreedomandindividuality:ifsocietyenforcesmadness,madnessrejectsthatforce.
h.c.artmann(1921‐2000):“woseaumschdaahofdarad”
Source:ÖsterreichischeGesellschaGfürLiteratur
WOSEAUMSCHDAAHOFDARADh.c.artmann
artmann:“WhatI’ddoatSteinhof”con;nued
Musil,DerMannohneEigenschaGen(1930,1932)
Source: wikipedia
PatronsandClientsinTheManwithoutQualiYes
• Patron1:Ulrich(themanwithoutquali;es)– Client1:Clarisse,thewifeofUlrich’schildhoodfriendWalter,anaesthete.
– Client2:Moosbrugger,ani;nerantworkerwhomurdersapros;tuteduringapsycho;cbreak.
• Patron2:Clarisse– Client:Moosbrugger:“DieserMörderistmusikalisch!”;andheembodiesthe“AustrianIdea.”
Clarisse’sUtopianbeliefinanomaly
• ClarissewantstovisitMoosbruggerat(theunnamed)Steinhofbecauseheseemstorepresenthervisionfora“mad”alterna;vetosociety.
• Ulricharrangesthevisit.
• Clarissetriesandfailstointeractwiththeinmates,andnevergetstoMoosbrugger.
• “DieHölleistnichtinteressant,sieistfurchtbar.”
IngeborgBachmann:DasBuchFranza
Source: oe1.orf.at
PatronandClient
• Firstconfigura;on:– Patron:Franza’sbrotherMar;n
– Client:Franza,whohasfledhercruelpsychiatristhusbandandseeksrefugeinherhometowninsouthernAustria.Depression.
• Secondconfigura;on:– Patron:Franza,whowantstofleetoEgypttoescapethe“Whites”andforgesavisatodoso.
– Client:Mar;n,whoiscompelledbythemanicFranzatotakehertoEgypt.
Franza’sUtopianbeliefinanomaly
• IfshecanescapetoEgypt,shecanescapetheworldinwhichsheisavic;moftheoppressionofpatriarchy,psychiatry,andtheirembodimentinherhusband.
FromTheBookofFranza,“Dieägyp;scheFinsternis”:reappropria;ngthelanguageofpsychiatry
• “SiesindindieWüstegegangen.DasLichterbrachsichüberihnen,derAuswurfdesHimmels,voneinemheißen,sauberenGeruchbegleitet.DiegroßeHeilanstalt,dasgroßeunverlaßbarePurgatorium,obgleichnachallenSeitenoffen…DieAnstalthanesieaufgenommen.”(90)
• “IchbinindergroßenGummizelleausHimmel,LichtundSand.”(91)
Theendofutopia
• ButonceinEgypt,FranzadiscoverspowerstructuressimilartothoseinEurope.
• Ul;matelysheisrapedandcommitssuicide.
WernerKofler,IdaH.(1978,rpt.2000)
Source: buecher.de
PatronandClient
• Patron:Herbst,awriterwhoknowsIda,afrequentpa;entinSteinhof,andwantstomakeadocumentaryfilmexposingthepoorcondi;onsinthementalhospital.HetriestoengageIdaintheprojectandbecomesinvolvedinhercomplicatedlife.
• Client:Ida,aformerfashionmodelwhohasbeendiagnosedwithschizophrenia.
BeliefinanomalyinIdaH.
• Herbst’sUtopia:touseart(wri;ngandfilm)toexposetheterriblecondi;onsinthehellofSteinhof(whichisatfirst“interes;ng”)–prac;calandar;s;can;‐psychiatryasameansthroughsocialprotesttofreedomandequalityforthe“mad.”
UsingIdaH.’sanomalousexperiencesassocialcri;cism
• “HerbsthaneeinenBeitragüberSteinhofvorgeschlagen:dieAnstaltvonaußen,alsAbfolgeschönerBilder,AblichtungeinererholsamenParklandschap,während,alsTonzudiesenBildern,derBerichtvonIdaH.,einerehemaligenInsassin,überdasDrinnenzuhörenist;dieGeografieeinesErholungsgebietesalsBild,dieGeografieeinesKrankensaalesalsTon.”(Kofler2000,p.10)
“dieKomische”
• “Übersie,über‘dieKomische’habemansichzwardieverschiedenstenGeschichtenerzählt,dieSteinhof‐undElektroschockgeschichtenunddieNackt‐im‐Stefansdom‐,Nackt‐mit‐der‐Mao‐Bibel‐im‐Stefansdom‐Geschichte(weswegensiejadaserstemal‐)aberalsEben‐auch‐irgendwie‐AusgeflippteunterAusgeflippten…
Aneccentricamongeccentrics
“…unterAnhängernfernöstlicherHeilslehrenundErnährungsfilosofen,zwischenRäucherstäbchenund;betanischenGebetsmühlenseisieeigentlichnichtweiteraufgefallen,zumindesthabeersiezuBeginnihrerBekanntschapgarnichtsokomischgefunden.”
(Kofler2000,p.25)
TheAnrac;onsandRepulsionsofIda’sAnomaly
• Tobeabletoexistwithinsociety,outsideofSteinhof,andavoidthelossofherrights.
• Herapproach:escapingSteinhof,goingoffhermeds,livingwithfriends,workingwhenshecan,butmainlydoingwhatshewantsorwhatsheiscapableof:
Ida’sAnomaly
• “‐Niemandhatjegerngehabt,daßichimBenlieg,überall,woichhinkomm,wollendieLeutenicht,daßichimBenlieg…ichverbringeigentlichamliebstenmeinenganzenTagesablaufimBen,unddaswillniemandhaben.Selten,daßichLeutegetroffenhab‐diemüssenauchsoseinwieich…
“ImBenistesamgemütlichsten”.(182)
Thelimitsofanomalyarethelimitsbetweenmadnessandsociety
• InMusil:Clarisse’sanemptstomakeMoosbruggerthesymbolofAustriafailbecauseacommunityofthemadisimpossible.
Thelimitsbetweenmadnessandsociety
• InBachmann:Franza’sanemptstotakecontrolofherownmadnessandfleehersocialcontextfailbecausethatcontextisnotescapable.Hermadnessisculminatesinhersilence.
Thelimitsbetweenmadnessandsociety
InKofler:• Ida’sanemptstoresistpsychiatrybyintegra;ngherselfintotheworldoutsideSteinhoffailbecausehermadselfcannotbeintegratedintothatworld.
• Herbst’sidealofsocialcri;cism(inwhichdiscoursestrumpprac;ces)failsbecauseitcannotturnIdaintoitsinstrument.
MartaCaminero‐Santangelo:TheMadwomanCan’tSpeak
• “Farfromembracingthespaceofmadnessofferedtoaberrantwomenbydominantdiscourses,however,thewomenwritersIexaminegenerallysharethepremisethatinsanityisthefinalsurrendertosuchdiscourses,preciselybecauseitischaracterizedbythe(dis)abilitytoproducemeaning—thatis,toproducerepresenta;onsrecognizableasmeaningfulwithinsociety.”(11)
Aclosingthought
• Caminero‐Santangelolocatesthelimitofdiscoursesasthepointbeyondwhichcommuni;esofmeaningcannotfollowandstatesthatinsanityisthefinalsurrendertosuchdiscourses.
• IwouldadjustthisforthetextsIamconsidering:Thefailureofmadutopiasisalsothesurrenderofsuchdiscoursestoinsanity.Theauthorsandpatronscannotfollowtheirclientsintotheirmadness.
Aclosingthought(2)
• Caminero‐Santangelonotesthattheauthorsshediscussescounterrepresenta;onwithrepresenta;on,andtheirmadwomenretreatintosilence.(11)
• IwouldaddthattheauthorsIdiscussnotonlycounterrepresenta;onwithrepresenta;on,theyalsocountertheirownrepresenta;onswiththesilenceofthemad,whichisportrayedbythelossofcollabora;on–evenwiththebestwillandinten;ons‐betweenthepatronandtheclient.