Borderline_Personality_Disorder__Meursault_vs._Susanna_Kaysen

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, borderline personality disorder is a serious mental illness characterized by pervasive instability in moods, interpersonal relationships, self- image, and behavior. “Girl, Interrupted”, a film directed by James Mangold, is based on the true story of borderline- inflicted Susanna Kaysen. Susanna has been admitted into a mental institution after an attempted suicide. Although she does not acknowledge her illness, she agrees to treatment at Claymoore to “get some rest”. The Stranger, written by Albert Camus, tells the story of a psychologically detached figure named Meursault. Mersault’s indifferent attitude towards all aspects of life makes him a societal outcast. Based on the unmistakable similarities between Susanna Kaysen and Meursault, one may conclude that Meursault is affected by borderline personality disorder. This can be seen through both characters’ social relationships, impulsive behavior, and unresponsiveness toward convention. A main feature of borderline personality disorder is instability in interpersonal relationships. “He was just a nice guy, that’s all, and it made me feel bad”. These words are spoken by Susanna Kaysen to describe her reaction to her boyfriend’s draft into the war. Although he will not report for months, Susanna refers to Toby in the past tense and interprets his draft as an ultimate death sentence. In the same way, Meursault has little to no reaction over his mother’s death. He expresses this in the opening line of the novel when he says, “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know” (3). Meursault’s inability to remember the date on which his mother died displays his lack of interest or concern. During the trial, when the magistrate asks Meursault whether he loved his mother, Meursault replies that he “loved her as much as anyone” (67). Similarly, Susanna does not have much of a relationship with her family. When she leaves for Claymoore, her parents arrange a cab to make the transition “less emotional”. Although Susanna is fully aware that her own family is overtaxed by her peculiar attitude towards life, she understands. She does not expect anything more of them. Likewise, when the judge asks Meursault if the decision to put his mother in a home tormented him, Meursault explains that both he and his mother did not expect anything from each other anymore. Impulsive behavior is a common characteristic of borderline personality disorder. The viewer is never given an explanation regarding why Susanna attempted suicide, but she steadily denies the accusation during her treatment. When she is first referred to Claymoore by a doctor, he reminds her that she chased a bottle of aspirin with vodka four days prior. Her response is, “I had a headache”. When he is put on trial, Meursault denies having returned to the beach with the intention of killing the Arab. When the judge asks him to clarify his motivation for the crime, Meursault answers that he did it “because of the sun” (103). Susanna and Meursault’s impulsiveness is also seen in their desire for immediate pleasure. When Susanna obtains a doctor’s file including her mental evaluation, it suggests that she is “uncertain about goals” and engages in “impulsive activities that are self-damaging such as casual sex”. Before treatment at Claymoore, Susanna was fairly promiscuous. She had indiscriminate sexual relations, even with married men. She defends herself by asking the question, “What kind of sex isn’t casual”' Correspondingly, Meursault is not particularly selective when choosing sexual partners. Meursault runs into Marie Cardona, a former co-worker of his, the day after his mother’s death. He admires her beauty, and she eventually spends the night with him. Meursault’s relationship with Marie is purely based on physical attraction. Unresponsiveness toward convention could also be a result of borderline personality disorder. In the beginning of the film, the viewer learns that Susanna falls asleep at her own graduation. Likewise, Meursault finds the atmosphere in the mortuary pleasant and dozes off during his mother’s vigil. Both events, supposedly paramount to the life of any person, mean nothing to either of these individuals. This unresponsiveness is also represented by their disinterest in professional endeavors. When Meursault’s boss offers him a position in a new office in Paris, Meursault replies that it is all the same to him. He states, “When I was a student, I had lots of ambitions like that. But when I had to give up my studies I learned very quickly that none of it really mattered” (41). When Susanna starts out at Claymoore, a doctor asks her what she plans to do with her life. She responds that she plans to write. When the woman shows distaste, Susanna replies, “I’m not going to burn my bra, or drop acid, or go March on Washington. I just don’t want to end up like my mother”. The doctor says that women have more choices than that, to which Susanna replies, “No they don’t”. Both characters also hold defiance for institution. Neither Susanna nor Meursault embrace religion. Meursault believes that he has to time to waste with God, and the chaplain tells Meursault that his “heart is blind” (120). He also hates police, which he expresses when asked to fetch a police officer after his neighbor beats his mistress. Susanna shows the same contempt. After being reprimanded for consoling a fellow patient after curfew, Susanna refers to Claymoore as a “fascist torture chamber”. This is because Claymoore represents society. Those deemed insane are sent there to be healed and conformed to societal “norms”. In the same way, the courtroom represents society for Meursault. He becomes very uncomfortable and states, “…for the first time in years I had this stupid urge to cry, because I could feel how much all these people hated me” (90). The similarities between Susanna Kaysen and Meursault could lead one to believe that Meursault is affected by borderline personality disorder. Through their relationships with others, impulsive behavior, and unresponsiveness toward society, it is apparent that both of these individuals share a peculiar way of life. Toward the end of the film, Susanna is released from the institution on the postulation that she is cured. She begins to accept treatment and regains control of herself. In a way, one could say that Meursault was cured as well. Not “cured” in a sense that he conforms to society, but cured of how own self- dissatisfaction. After an outburst with the chaplain Meursault states, “I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world. Finding it so much like myself-so like a brother, really- I felt that I had been happy and that I was happy again. For everything to be consummated, for me to feel less alone, I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate”(122).