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Abstract

Aspects of power and control, both institutional and individual, are examined in Susanna Kaysen’s novel, McLean, and these issues are of particular interest to the author’s target audience. Kaysen contends that such strict manipulation and control of individuals who are already suffering from mental illness and agony pulls them even farther into their disease and anguish, and that it may prevent them from recuperating and reentering society in the way in which they would like. When she was a patient on the mental ward, she explains how she and her other inmates were exposed to different sorts of manipulation and control on a regular basis.

Introduction

She found it difficult to fathom the notion of “checks” when she first came in McLean, and this was particularly true for her since she was new to the country. The nursing staff members visit patients’ rooms every five, fifteen, or thirty minutes to watch what they are doing and make sure that no one is injuring themselves or others while doing their tasks as part of these inspections. At the time of Susanna’s arrival in McLean, she considered this to be one of the most difficult things to understand, and it was one of the most difficult conceptions to accept. After a while, she was able to accept what had happened. In this episode, it is determined when Susanna’s “murder time” has gone, which gives her the sensation that her life is being drained away one minute at a time via a “drain.” In Susanna’s opinion, the check-in system, rather than functioning as “lullaby, metronome, and pulse,” (Dow 2005) hinders the women on her ward from completely experiencing, much alone relishing, their own lives. Even while she recognizes the need of “checks,” she argues that the practice of conducting them inhibits people from completely experiencing, much alone relishing, their own lives. Sharps, as well as any other sharp things that might be used to cause injury to oneself or others, are absolutely prohibited. “It is true that the prohibition on sharps is in place for the benefit of the patients who are housed on the ward, but it also creates an atmosphere of complete control and a lack of personal freedom among those who work on the unit in question” (Kaysen 2000)

All of the female patients on Susanna’s ward who choose to shave their legs must do so under the direct observation of a nurse who is on duty at all times. It’s also against the rules for them to have any personal belongings, such as nail files or jewelry, and they’re even forbidden from using metal plates at mealtimes, among other things. “Both of these restrictions are intended to reduce the amount of physical violence and self-harm that occurs on the ward” (Longhurst 2021) however, “they serve to demonstrate the complete control that has been exercised over Susanna and her fellow patients, who are constantly being observed and interrogated by the authorities”(Dow 2005). Many of the other women on the unit have not recovered from their symptoms, and some have even worsened, according to Kaysen, who believes that the pressured environment in which they work is a contributing cause to their lack of recovery or worsening. What she believes to be right is what she has said thus far, When Kaysen first arrives at McLean Hospital, she immediately learns that, despite the appearance that incarceration necessitates the sacrifice of freedom, the contrary is often true in reality. The ward is set up in such a way that patients are always under the inspection of the professionals. Every room, with the exception of one, is practically open to the public, thanks to periodic nurse checks. The “seclusion room,” (Marshall 2006) which is located at the far end of the main corridor, is reserved for out-of-control patients who are a danger to themselves or others or who are just causing too much of a nuisance. Patient placement in the room is also an option, causing Kaysen to comment that “freedom was the price of privacy.” (Marshall 2006) For a length of time, a patient may be blessedly alone in this facility, free from observation and companionship but nevertheless being confined to even more restrictive conditions. The seclusion room serves as a microcosm for the overall experience of being confined to a medical facility. According to Kaysen, McLean is “a haven as much as it is a jail.” Without school, a job, money, parents, or the rest of the world to contend with, the girls are free to shirk their responsibilities, despite the fact that they have been relieved of such responsibilities. Kaysen discovers that this seeming contradiction is not limited to the medical setting. As Kaysen contemplates her future at McLean after almost two years, she discovers that her hospitalization has made her a liability in the eyes of prospective employers. Her life is turned upside down when she receives a marriage proposal. “Everyone could comprehend a marriage proposal,” (Dow 2005) she says, despite her near-complete lack of confidence in her fiancé’s suitability or the attractiveness of marriage in general. Kaysen’s engagement frees her from the constraint of the hospital, but it also restricts her options in the future.

Treatment specialists have a significant impact on Susanna’s life when she is admitted to and stays a patient in a mental hospital, or so they believed. The fact is that they effectively have great control over her and are even capable of using her to physically accomplish their aims via manipulation, which is a huge development. Among the many things she has to say about the authorities is that “they largely lacked jurisdiction to grant or cancel privileges, help us in evicting unpleasant roommates, or stop assistance from harassing us.” (Węda 2015) Following that, she maintains that the only true power they had was the ability to drug us, or at least that was their perception of it at the time. Susanna’s therapist, who essentially recommended that she be admitted to the facility, visited with her for just fifteen minutes before the facility accepted her, which is really rather important. She was effectively accepted to the facility on the suggestion of Susanna’s therapist, which is, for all intents and purposes, a rather important development.”Whether the therapist took this action because he saw her as someone who was delicate and unstable, and who needed to be protected from the outside world—a judgment that he was in no position to make after such a brief interaction with her—or whether the therapist took this action because he saw her as someone who needed to be protected from the outside world,” Susanna wonders. “If the therapist took this action because he saw her as someone who needed to be protected from the outside world,” (Longhurst 2021) Susanna wonders Although Susanna had meant to remain for just a few weeks, she ended up spending the next eighteen months in McLean, despite the promises she had from her therapist and the fact that she had originally planned to stay only for a few weeks.

Susanna”s very entire quality of life significantly improved as a result of her sessions with this therapist, who generally had no previous knowledge of Susanna’s pretty particular experience. The fact that Susanna believes him to be a “good friend” does for all intents and purposes little to assuage her fears about her therapist