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klavier · 5 years

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Formulary for a New Urbanism by Ivan Chtcheglov

SIRE, I AM FROM THE OTHER COUNTRY

We are bored in the city, there is no longer any Temple of the Sun. Between the legs of the women walking by, the dadaists imagined a monkey wrench and the surrealists a crystal cup. That's lost. We know how to read every promise in faces--the latest stage of morphology. The poetry of the billboards lasted twenty years. We are bored in the city, we really have to strain to still discover mysteries on the sidewalk billboards, the latest state of humor and poetry:

Shower

Bath of the Patriarchs

Meat Cutting Machines

Notre Dame Zoo

Sports Pharmacy

Martyrs Provisions

Translucent Concrete

Golden Touch Sawmill

Center for Functional Recuperation

Sainte Anne Ambulance

Cafe Fifth Avenue

Prolonged Volunteers Street

Family Boarding House in the Garden

Hotel of Strangers

Wild Street

And the swimming pool on the Street of Little Girls. And the police station on Rendezvous Street. The medical-surgical clinic and the free placement center on the Quai des Orfevres. The artificial flowers on Sun Street. The Castle Cellars Hotel, the Ocean Bar and the Coming and Going Cafe. The Hotel of the Epoch.

And the strange statue of Dr. Philippe Pinel, benefactor of the insane, in the last evenings of summer. To explore Paris.

And you, forgotten, your memories ravaged by all the consternations of two hemispheres, stranded in the Red Cellars of Pali-Kao, without music and without geography, no longer setting out for the hacienda where the roots think of the child and where the wine is finished off with fables from an old almanac. Now that's finished. You'll never see the hacienda. It doesn't exist.

The hacienda must be built.

All cities are geological; you cannot take three steps without encountering ghosts bearing all the prestige of their legends. We move within a closed landscape whose landmarks constantly draw us toward the past. Certain shifting angles, certain receding perspectives, allow us to glimpse original conceptions of space, but this vision remains fragmentary. It must be sought in the magical locales of fairy tales and surrealist writings: castles, endless walls, little forgotten bars, mammoth caverns, casino mirrors.

These dated images retain a small catalyzing power, but it is almost impossible to use them in a symbolic urbanism without rejuvenating them by giving them a new meaning. Our imaginations, haunted by the old archetypes, have remained far behind the sophistication of the machines. The various attempts to integrate modern science into new myths remain inadequate. Meanwhile abstraction has invaded all the arts, contemporary architecture in particular. Pure plasticity, inanimate, storyless, soothes the eye. Elsewhere other fragmentary beauties can be found -- while the promised land of syntheses continually recedes into the distance. Everyone wavers between the emotionally still -- alive past and the already dead future.

We will not work to prolong the mechanical civilizations and frigid architecture that ultimately lead to boring leisure.

We propose to invent new, changeable decors....

Darkness and obscurity are banished by artificial lighting, and the seasons by air conditioning; night and summer are losing their charm and dawn is disappearing. The man of the cities thinks he has escaped from cosmic reality, but there is no corresponding expansion of his dream life. The reason is clear: dreams spring from reality and are realized in it.

The latest technological developments would make possible the individual's unbroken contact with cosmic reality while eliminating its disagreeable aspects. Stars and rain can be seen through glass ceilings. The mobile house turns with the sun. Its sliding walls enable vegetation to invade life. Mounted on tracks, it can go down to the sea in the morning and return to the forest in the evening.

Architecture is the simplest means of articulating time and space, of modulating reality, of engendering dreams. It is a matter not only of plastic articulation and modulation expressing an ephemeral beauty, but of a modulation producing influences in accordance with the eternal spectrum of human desires and the progress in realizing them.

The architecture of tomorrow will be a means of modifying present conceptions of time and space. It will be a means of knowledge and a means of action.

The architectural complex will be modifiable. Its aspect will change totally or partially in accordance with the will of its inhabitants....

Past collectivities offered the masses an absolute truth and incontrovertable mythical exemplars. The appearance of the notion of relativity in the modern mind allows one to surmise the EXPERIMENTAL aspect of the next civilization (although I'm not satisfied with that word; say, more supple, more "fun"). On the bases of this mobile civilization, architecture will, at least initially, be a means of experimenting with a thousand ways of modifying life, with a view to a mythic synthesis.

A mental disease has swept the planet: banalization. Everyone is hypnotized by production and conveniences sewage system, elevator, bathroom, washing machine.

This state of affairs, arising out of a struggle against poverty, has overshot its ultimate goal--the liberation of man from material cares--and become an obsessive image hanging over the present. Presented with the alternative of love or a garbage disposal unit, young people of all countries have chosen the garbage disposal unit. It has become essential to bring about a complete spiritual transformation by bringing to light forgotten desires and by creating entirely new ones. And by carrying out an intensive propaganda in favor of these desires.

We have already pointed out the need of constructing situations as being one of the fundamental desires on which the next civilization will be founded. This need for absolute creation has always been intimately associated with the need to play with architecture, time and space....

Chirico remains one of the most remarkable architectural precursors. He was grappling with the problems of absences and presences in time and space. We know that an object that is not consciously noticed at the time of a first visit can, by its absence during subsequent visits, provoke an indefinable impression: as a result of this sighting backward in time, the absence of the object becomes a presence one can feel. More precisely: although the quality of the impression generally remains indefinite, it nevertheless varies with the nature of the removed object and the importance accorded it by the visitor, ranging from serene joy to terror. (It is of no particular significance that in this specific case memory is the vehicle of these feelings; I only selected this example for its convenience.)

In Chirico's paintings (during his Arcade period) an empty space creates a full-filled time. It is easy to imagine the fantastic future possibilities of such architecture and its influence on the masses. Today we can have nothing but contempt for a century that relegates such blueprints to its so-called museums.

This new vision of time and space, which will be the theoretical basis of future constructions, is still imprecise and will remain so until experimentation with patterns of behavior has taken place in cities specifically established for this purpose, cities assembling--in addition to the facilities necessary for a minimum of comfort and security-- buildings charged with evocative power, symbolic edifices representing desires, forces, events past, present and to come. A rational extension of the old religious systems, of old tales, and above all of psychoanalysis, into architectural expression becomes more and more urgent as all the reasons for becoming impassioned disappear.

Everyone will live in his own personal "cathedral," so to speak. There will be rooms more conducive to dreams than any drug, and houses where one cannot help but love. Others will be irresistibly alluring to travelers.... This project could be compared with the Chinese and Japanese gardens of illusory perspectives [en trompe l'oeil]--with the difference that those gardens are not designed to be lived in all the time--or with the ridiculous labyrinth in the Jardin des Plantes, at the entry to which is written (height of absurdity, Ariadne unemployed): Games are forbidden in the labyrinth. This city could be envisaged in the form of an arbitrary assemblage of castles, grottos, lakes, etc. It would be the baroque stage of urbanism considered as a means of knowledge. But this theoretical phase is already outdated. We know that a modern building could be constructed which would have no resemblance to a medieval castle but which could preserve and enhance the Castle poetic power (by the conservation of a strict minimum of lines, the transposition of certain others, the positioning of openings, the topographical location, etc.).

The districts of this city could correspond to the whole spectrum of diverse feelings that one encounters by chance in everyday life.

Bizarre Quarter--Happy Quarter (specially reserved for habitation) -- Noble and Tragic Quarter (for good children)--Historical Quarter (museums, schools)--Useful Quarter (hospital, tool shops) --Sinister Quarter, etc. And an Astrolaire which would group plant species in accordance with the relations they manifest with the stellar rhythm, a planetary garden comparable to that which the astronomer Thomas wants to establish at Laaer Berg in Vienna. Indispensable for giving the inhabitants a consciousness of the cosmic. Perhaps also a Death Quarter, not for dying in but so as to have somewhere to live in peace,and I think here of Mexico and of a principle of cruelty in innocence that appeals more to me every day.

The Sinister Quarter, for example, would be a good replacement for those hellholes that many peoples once possessed in their capitals: they symbolized all the evil forces of life. The Sinister Quarter would have no need to harbor real dangers, such as traps, dungeons or mines. It would be difficult to get into, with a hideous decor (piercing whistles, alarm bells, sirens wailing intermittently, grotesque sculptures, power-driven mobiles, called Auto-Mobiles), and as poorly lit at night as it is blindinglylit during the day by an intensive use of reflection. At the center, the "Square of the Appalling Mobile." Saturation of the market with a product causes the product's market value to fall: thus, as they explored the Sinister Quarter, the child and the adult would learn not to fear the anguishing occasions of life, but to be amused by them.

The principal activity of the inhabitants will be the CONTINUOUS DÉRIVE. The changing of landscapes from one hour to the next will result in complete disorientation....

Later, as the gestures inevitably grow stale, this dérive will partially leave the realm of direct experience for that of representation....

The economic obstacles are only apparent. We know that the more a place is set apart for free play, the more it influences people's behavior and the greater is its force of attraction. This is demonstrated by the immense prestige of Monaco and Las Vegas--and Reno, that caricature of free love--although they are mere gambling places. Our first experimental city would live largely off tolerated and controlled tourism. Future avant-garde activities and productions would naturally tend to gravitate there. In a few years it would become the intellectual capital of the world and would be universally recognized as such.

#formulary for a new urbanism #ivan chtcheglov

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helatherwhite · 7 years

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Does Juicing Work for Detox–or Is It Just a Fad?

Today, please welcome Erin from Eat Real Stay Sane who is sharing about juice detox with us. Erin is a juicing enthusiast because of how it has helped her in many ways, and because of the science behind it.

When Erin asked if I would be open to her sharing a post on juice detox, I was hesitant.

Here's why I was as well as why my thinking has changed.

My Personal Thoughts on Juicing for Detox

I personally have shied away from juice cleanses or juicing for detox since I have always been concerned about blood sugar levels and adrenal issues and any kind of juicing or fasting. However, I have been rethinking all of this in recent days.

First of all, in this post on the benefits of intermittent fasting, I learned that fasting can have real health benefits that I never would have thought possible.

Secondly, I always thought about juice cleanses or juice detoxes as being something that focused on a lot of fruit. As such, I felt that the glycemic load would be way too much for almost anyone.

However, I am now rethinking things.

First of all, juicing can be totally focused on veggies and not on fruits. And as long as you aren't juicing tons of carrots, you can keep the carbs way down. I personally would add a bit of stevia to the juice to make it more palatable without adding additional sugar.

Additionally, while Erin is her talking about doing a juice cleanse for detox for about a week, I think that this concept is pretty flexible and that the benefits of juicing don't need to be something that one is “all or nothing” about. I'll share more about that at then end of the post, but let's just say that I personally have been experimenting with doing some basic forms of juicing, and I too have been having some amazing results.

So here's Erin….

Does Juicing Work?

I love when people ask me, “Does juicing work for detox?”

I usually reply with, “YES!!!” Really the only downside to juicing is not being able to eat and chew the food you want – which is a big deal for some people. But amazing results usually come with some sort of sacrifice right?

Since my real foodie journey started in 2011, I’ve discovered that good health comes down to two main things:

Diet and

Toxin Removal

I can go on for days about diet – like how 60% of American calories come from ultra-processed foods!

But today I want to talk about toxins in our bodies and how we can help our body detox and answer the question, “Does juicing work?”

But first, why do we even need to detox in the first place?

Toxins in our food, personal care products, cleaners, and beauty products are known endocrine disruptors. That means that the hormones our bodies produce are not able to perform their function and get our cells to work together. That can lead to obesity, autoimmune disorders, diabetes, developmental delays, birth defects, stunted growth, infertility, and cancer to name a few. No biggie, right?

Toxins destroy your gut health. Philippe Pinel (father of modern psychiatry) said “the primary seat of insanity is in the region of the stomach and intestine.” When toxins destroy your helpful gut bacteria, that can lead to body-wide damage and disorders./

Our bodies aren’t perfect at detoxing and toxins can accumulate in the body:

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted the Fourth National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals. On average, the CDC’s report found 212 chemicals in people’s blood or urine, 75 of which had never before been measured in the U.S. population. It is known that many of the detected chemicals can be harmful to human health and capable of contributing to chronic disease and other health concerns.” (source)

Some argue that our bodies are already great at detoxing and there’s no need for stuff like a juice cleanse. If that were true, then why did that CDC report come back full of toxic chemicals?

Even though certain toxins are easily excreted from our bodies, those same toxins come back over and over again and cause damage. I think about how I used to use Clorox wipes on my counter every single day for an example.

Our bodies naturally form free radicals, but toxins can exacerbate free radical production. Free radicals are unpaired electrons that go around and cause damage to our bodies by breaking molecular bonds.

Fruits and veggies contain massive amounts of usable antioxidants, which mean they neutralize free radicals. Free radicals in your body cause you to use up your antioxidant stores, leaving the free radicals to wreak havoc (like cause cancer). (source)

So does juicing work you ask? Well, what better way to provide your body with an abundance of antioxidants than through a juice cleanse?

Toxins are in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and many of the products we use in our everyday lives. Unfortunately we can’t get away from them. Adrienne thankfully gives lots of great advice of how to avoid toxins!

Plus, most of us just don’t have our bodies firing on all cylinders!

Does Juicing Work? Yes and No

Now, you’ll certainly find a ton of information and opinions out there answering the question, “Does juicing work?” Most will say a juice cleanse detox is unhealthy, unnatural, it will make your hair will fall out, and will cause all sorts of issues.

I partially agree – there’s certainly a right way and a wrong way to do it. And the wrong way can make you sicker. There’s more to juicing than just drinking juice. But you also have to remember, you’re not going to only be drinking juice for the rest of your life – just a week or so. I know you can do it!

If you are taking certain medications or have a certain diagnosis then you will definitely need to talk to your doctor before doing a juice cleanse. Hopefully you have a doctor who will listen to you and work with you.

My Personal Experience with Juice Cleanses

I’ve studied juice cleanses extensively, including learning under my naturopath. I’ve written a book about juice cleanses and I’ve frequently done them and I feel amazing afterwards.

My skin is clearer, my injured knee no longer hurts, my brain is clearer, and I have more energy to chase my kids.

Why should I do a juice detox?

Before we answer that question, let’s have a quick nutrition talk.

Your diet consists of food (obviously) which is made up of nutrients. Nutrients are separated into macronutrients and micronutrients. Macronutrients are fat, protein, carbohydrates. These are necessary for energy and structure like building muscles.

Micronutrients are pretty much everything else and make the rest of your body function. Goodies like vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, antioxidants, etc. Micronutrients are mostly found in fruits and vegetables. Consuming fruits and veggies has been proven to prevent a whole slew of health issues and chronic diseases.

And yet, in 2015 less than 18% of the American adult population ate the recommended amount of fruit, and less than 14% consumed the recommended amount of veggies. (source)

I don’t think it’s gotten any better. No wonder we’re all getting sick!

Bad Food = Bad Gut

Another problem is that most of us have crappy gut health because of things like SAD (standard American diet), antibiotics, and toxin build up. That makes it so our gut can’t break down the food into the nutrients our bodies need. The meager nutrients your body does manage to get goes toward keeping everything running and not so much towards healing.

There’s a reason why Hippocrates said “all disease begins in the gut.” Without our gut getting proper nutrients out of our food, our body can’t function, detox, or heal properly.

Your gut works hard ALL DAY EVERY DAY. In fact, about 5-15% of your daily calories go towards keeping your intestines sorting micronutrients from garbage. That’s hard work, made worse because most of us have atrocious gut health.

It’s time to make healing our nutrient-sorter a priority – and that begins by giving it a rest and going on a juice cleanse.

On a juice cleanse, there’s minimal work your gut will have to do and no bad toxins are going to interfere with your digestion. These micronutrients are giving your body the stuff it needs to first maintain your body, and then get out there and unclog your systems and get stuff working right again.

It’s like giving Bob the Builder an energy drink with a toolbox.

Our bodies are machines that are ALWAYS working towards optimum health. It uses nutrients to enhance the immune system, boost the liver and kidney detoxing functions, and get the mechanics for detoxing and healing fired up and working.

A juice cleanse means you’re drinking insane amounts of vegetable and fruit juices in an effort to flood your system with massive amounts of beneficial micronutrients. In real life you’d have to eat like 46 cups of spinach to get enough micronutrients to cause a healing effect and be sustainable.

Ain’t nobody able to eat that much green stuff! That’s why you want to do a juice cleanse detox! Throw it all in a juicer and drink it all in one fell swoop.

Does juicing work to detox our bodies?

Now as far as detoxing, the main way a juice cleanse works is by supporting your natural detox mechanisms. It’s not really about the juice itself. Now that your body’s hopped up on healing nutrients, all of your internal mechanisms start working better. And now you can flush out some toxins you haven’t been able to before.

Your body isn’t so hung up on trying to just keep it running!

One study showed that after a 3 day juice cleanse, participants showed significant changes in the intestinal microbiota that are associated with weight loss, decreased lipid oxidation (free radical damage), and higher levels of nitric oxide in the blood and urine which play a significant role in reducing cardiovascular disease. (source)

Some veggies (like cilantro and parsley) are known as chelators, meaning they actually help with heavy metal toxicity from things like lead and mercury and remove them from your body.

Also, we know that fruits and veggies are proven to reduce inflammation in our bodies and neutralize free radicals (both issues can be caused by toxins). In other words, you’re less likely to experience chronic disease and pain – especially cancer.

Here are some examples of the benefits of different fruits and vegetables for health.

Benefits of Fruits and Vegetables for Juicing Detox

Beets are proven to lower blood pressure. They are nutrient powerhouses, including betacyanin that may help the liver to produce more detoxifying enzymes.

Cruciferous vegetables lower cancer risk.

Blueberry and mulberry juice prevent obesity development, insulin resistance, and decrease cholesterol levels.

Garlic has been found to protect against heavy metals.

Onions contain a source of sulfur-containing nutrients that help our livers to produce detoxifying enzymes.

Pineapple contains bromelain, a nutrient that may help to promote digestion and may also help cleanse the colon.

Artichokes contain a nutrient called silymarin which is an antioxidant that helps the liver process toxins. Artichokes also contain another nutrient, cynarin, which is an acid that supports liver’s ability to break down fatty foods.

Apples contain pectin that helps our bodies remove food additives and metals from the system. Apples also contain quercetin that may help to promote production of detoxifying enzymes by the liver.

Parsley contains nutrients that can help stimulate production of bile that is key for the detoxification process.

Broccoli and cabbage are members of the cruciferous vegetable family that contain sulfur-containing nutrients that can help the liver to produce more detoxifying enzymes.

Citrus fruits like lemons, limes and oranges contain vitamin C. This may help to clear the digestive tract and also promote cleansing of the liver too.

(Sources 1) (Source 2)

And that’s just a teeny sampling of how produce helps us heal!

The point is, ALL produce contain nutrients, minerals, enzymes, bioflavonoids, and other phytonutrients that are meant to heal our bodies. And it’s delivered in the most easily digestible form possible – liquid.

So, does juicing work for detox? Oh yes siree!

People get too hung up on the macronutrients you’re missing on a juice cleanse. You aren’t going to die without your macronutrients for a week.

And one final thing: I read this testimonial on Reboot With Joe. It almost sounds like magic how this guy went from on death’s door to feeling like a teenager. Read it! You’ll feel like a juice cleanse is the missing part of your healing process.

That isn’t the only testimonial I’ve read about or heard straight from the source about the truly miraculous healing effects of juicing.

And if juicing sounds like something you might be interested in doing, we can help! Download our free eBook “10 Surefire Signs You Need a Juice Cleanse.” You’ll see if some of the symptoms you experience in life could be cured by a juice cleanse!

Making a Juice Detox work for you

This is Adrienne back with some of my thoughts on this whole topic in addition to my personal experience. I might write more later on this, but here are some basic thoughts.

Plus I have an offer for you.

What to use for juicing:

I have never bought a juicer. Personally, I have a Vitamix that I love for making smoothies and juices. It's great since it leaves the pulp and everything in with the juice, which helps to mitigate the blood sugar issues, plus it keeps all of the benefits of the produce in with the juice. Using a whole food juicer like the Vitamix remove, or at least reduces, some of the common concerns that people have about juicing such as:

impact on blood sugar

waste

time

I think that the idea of using and cleaning up a standard juicer would just keep me from doing this at all. And I have a blogging friend who just posted about how much she LOVES juicing, but doesn't do it often. I suspect this is the reason why.

Another thought, however, is to use powdered produce that you would just rehydrate using water.

I can personally attest to the benefits of this from recent experience.

About a month ago, I heard about a company that had a supplement that was being tested for its ability to remove glyphosate from the gut. I was super interested in this and actually it has now been proven to do so in clinical trials, PLUS it has also been proven to reduce C Reactive Protein by almost 75%. That's really amazing.

Anyhow, the company has super high quality standards for purity and nutrition, and I can tell you that I have my energy back. I am taking the supplement for gut health (Biome Medic) and using the Bio Fruit and the Green Spectrum with Lemon and also have really enjoyed adding in the Power Shake and a protein shake now and then, as well as their Apothecherry for sleep. I truly think I'm removing toxins and flooding my body with goodness.

For me, it's like super fast, lazy person juicing. If you are getting high quality powders, I don't see any difference between this and buying a bunch of produce and juicing.

Anyhow, if you are a likely lazy juicer like me, and you would like to try these products, just use code wholenewmom to save $50 off your purchase of $75 or more. You'll also get 15% off of any future order and 25% if you order within 30 days, making their products quite affordable. Plus your body will thank you!

How Long and How Often to do a Juicing Detox

While Erin talked about doing a juice cleanse for detox for about a week, I say do what you think is best.

First of all, just adding juicing to your diet for detox is a great thing to do, even if you aren't avoiding all other foods.

You could just juice once a week or once a day and add that to your routine.

Or you could do a juice detox once a day as a substitute for a meal Or do a juice cleanse for detox for one day or longer.

Really, it's up to you and regardless, you should see some kind of benefit

I can tell you that I for sure am!

Please, however, consult with your physician if you are concerned about juicing for any period of time.

Have you ever done a juice cleanse for detox? What was your experience? Would you do a juice detox after reading this?

Erin and Cameron Smith teach people how to adopt a healthy lifestyle that includes eating real food, eliminating toxins, and overcoming chronic illness.

The post Does Juicing Work for Detox–or Is It Just a Fad? appeared first on Whole New Mom.

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sarajeandeegan-blog · 7 years

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A Psychoanalytical Study of Shakespeare’s Sister: The Myth of Women and Madness

A Psychoanalytical Study of Shakespeare’s Sister

By Sara Deegan

The subtext of women and hysteria often overshadows the scientific study of mental illness and stigmatizes mental health patients seeking treatment, yet claims the vast majority of the uncertainties plaguing psychology today. However, genetic research compels societal progression through improved treatment options for patients, certain psychoanalysts refute bipolar disorder as a psychiatric condition, discourage genetic research by portraying it as a cultural myth and gender construction, and frame Woolf’s depression in terms of Freudian Oedipal and pre-Oedipal complexes, symbolizing a posthumous paradigm of the feminine archetype in male-authored psychohistory. I contend that Virginia Woolf suffered from manic depression, a neurological disorder, by juxtaposing scientific inquiries in the genre of mental health and the myth of Ophelia and madness.

Psychoanalytic history suggests Woolf’s feelings of female impotence explain her desire to write, in order to penetrate the masculine sphere, and series of psychotic breakdowns. According to the Freudian model, the female artist manifests as the mad woman, i.e. Ophelia, but never as the creative genius, i.e. Hamlet. Woolf asserts, “It would have been impossible, completely and entirely, for any woman to have written the plays of Shakespeare in the age of Shakespeare” (A Room of One’s Own, “Shakespeare’s Sister”, 39). Likewise, Ophelia’s death conveys a historical and cultural narrative of women and the myth of madness.

Traditionally, Freudian thinking is the unspoken values and unconscious assumptions that fortify common cultural stereotypes about the creative woman (Caramagno, Flight of the Mind, 8). Are Oedipal and pre-Oedipal Freudian interpretations of pathology relevant to modern scientific inquiries? Caramagno argues that Woolf’s “supposed flight from sex, or her morbid preoccupation with death--all the favorite Freudian themes which, not coincidentally, sustain sexist assumptions about the nature of the creative woman” (2). Whereas, psychoanalytical interpretations of Woolf’s illness hinder our scientific understanding of the brain, perpetuate myths about psychiatric disorders, and serve to undermine the creative woman, psychobiographer Caramagno asserts that Woolf is not a great artist because she was a neurotic. Caramagno declares that these “sexist accusations” portray the creative woman as “damaged,” “fragile,” and “oppressed” like a “wingless bird” (Flight of the Mind, 8). Caramagno encourages a scientific study of the brain for explanations of mental illness rather than speculation and psychoanalysis. He argues that Woolf did not suffer against a “twisted desire to remain ill,” but, a neurological condition: “Neuroscience tells us some very disturbing things about how complicated and problematic it is to ascribe meaning to events” (2). While geneticists investigate a deeper comprehension of how the brain and environment function together, psychoanalyst Ussher concludes that psychosis is a subjective label of deviance, thereby limiting etiology and our scientific understanding of the brain.

Ophelia’s madness, biologically preordained, inevitably results in her submissive passage into passive insanity and subsequent death. Ophelia serves to illustrate what little we know about how the brain system operates. This image is an accurate portrayal of a woman restrained by misogyny. Ophelia manifests as the feminine archetype in an oppressive culture as a gender stereotype. The madwoman, a powerful figure, rebels against patriarchal norms and becomes of a transgender nature, i.e. the “monstrous feminine” (Ussher, The Madness of Women, 153). Ussher argues that “hysteria” stems, metaphorically, from a woman’s reproductive organs (153). Hysteria, once a common medical diagnosis, affects many women in the context of their lives (153). And a hysterectomy is the surgical removal of the uterus. Showalter argues in “Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism,” because our interpretation of Ophelia depends upon our cultural attitudes, if we view Ophelia as a figure of femininity in a patriarchal culture, i.e. the “object of Hamlet’s male desire,” than her story serves as psychoanalytical criticism of femininity. Ophelia represents the “cultural links between femininity, female sexuality, insanity and representation” (1). For instance, Ophelia proclaims to think nothing. Showalter argues that nothing, in a patriarchal society, equates female sexuality (2). Hamlet responds: “That is a fair thought to lie between maids’ legs.” Ophelia states, “what is, my lord?” Hamlet retorts, “nothing” (3.2.111). Ophelia thinks nothing in her brain because nothing lies between her legs—Hamlet draws a derogatory portrait of Ophelia as a castrated man, or eunuch. Ophelia acts in the play only as a catalyst for Hamlet. She does not possess her own free will (pun intended). French psychoanalyst Lucelrigaray proclaims that female sex organs “represent the horror of having nothing to see” (Showalter, Representing Ophelia, 2). Even Ophelia’s name possesses phallic symbolism, or lack thereof. The “O” symbolizes nothing; zero (2). Similarly, the madwoman is almost never portrayed as intelligent. In “Shakespeare’s Sister,” Woolf notes, “It is unthinkable that any woman in Shakespeare’s day should have had Shakespeare’s genius” (41). Also, Showalter notes that Hamlet, the “melancholy hero’s...intellectual and imaginative genius curiously bypassed women” (Representing Ophelia, 4).

In Elizabethan drama, disheveled hair symbolizes rape. Ophelia hastily deflowers herself, drowns, and then vanquishes from her despair, prettily adorned with blossoms in her hair, and dressed all in white. Showalter reveals that the myth of “Ophelia had begun to infiltrate reality, to define a style for mad young woman seeking to express and communicate their distress” (Representing Ophelia, 4). Shakespeare’s metaphor of the repressed Ophelia frames women and madness in the context of cultural perspectives. Woolf speculates, “Yet genius of a sort must have existed among women...but certainly it never got itself onto paper,” (41). Similar to Ophelia, Woolf’s suicide by drowning symbolizes the feminine archetype’s desperate return to the womb.

Psychoanalyst J. Ussher insists that mental illness likely results from discontent in the context of a woman’s life and scrutinizes biochemistry as a possible theory for internal pathology. Female madness is a societal construction, devised by a patriarchal culture, designed to discipline women that deviate from the gender norm. Ussher clarifies, “madness” as a “gendered experience” (The Madness of Women, 12). Ussher excludes the possibility of a biochemical or neurological disorder (14). Furthermore, Ussher assumes that a woman suffering from a mental disorder likely experienced sexual abuse, violence and oppression (12). Equal numbers of men and women suffer from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia (Kay Redfield Jamison, Manic Depressive Illness and Creativity, 45). Yet, the social stigma affects more women than men. Ussher trivializes mental illness in women, and offers no explanation for the occurrence of mental illness found in men. She explains that psychosis is a psychosomatic response to an oppressive or restrictive patriarchal system, dismisses verifiable evidence and research about the effects of genetics on neurological disorders, and then offers an obsolete psychoanalytic history of hysteria and women instead: “We [women] signal our psychic pain, our deep distress, through culturally sanctioned symptoms, which allows our distress to be positioned as real” (The Madness of Women, 9). Meanwhile, psychologist Karl Jaspers speculates that manic depression is a complete fabrication: “From time to time in psychiatry, there emerge diseases which constantly enlarge themselves until they perish from their own magnitude” (Jane Ussher, The Madness of Women, 51). However, researcher Francis Mondimore argues that mania and depression date all the way back to the ancient Greeks recorded by Soranos of Ephedrus, a physician in Rome in 98-177 A.D. (Kraepelin and Manic Depressive Insanity, 49). In 1801 Pinel argues that mania is a periodic condition, occurs cyclically, and insists on humane treatments for patients (49). Kraepelin’s work on manic depression and mental illness in the mid to late 1900’s composes most of our modern diagnostic system of psychiatry (51). By 1971, Kraepelin describes modern day diagnoses of mania and melancholia characterized by periodic insanity (50). However, Ussher claims that ‘madness’ is defined by female deviant behavior such as aggression, violence, promiscuity, insomnia, depression, exhaustion, anxiety, etc. within a cultural context (The Madness of Women, 4). Therefore, no woman is immune to the ascription of pathology.

Usher argues the cases of individuals misdiagnosed with a psychiatric condition due to a repressive cultural context or “arrogant physician.” All psychiatric illnesses should be treated alike and stem from similar cause, i.e. trauma: “women diagnosed as hysterics in the nineteenth century might have experienced distress...in response to an oppressive social...context…violence and sexual abuse, so might the women diagnosed with depression, PMDD, BPD or PTSD today” (11). Regardless, a leading cause of misdiagnosis is our “imprecise use of scientific language” and “misapplication of labels” to people that may or may not be sick (Flint and Kendler, The Genetics of Major Depression, 493). Ussher uses words like “mania” and “anxiety” interchangeably. The author paints a portrait of the mad woman as “damaged” and “frail” in response to patriarchal oppression. The author states, “women’s madness is both a myth--[and] a culturally constructed label for distress or deviance” (14). Mad women deviate from the patriarchy. Ussher explores why women choose to become mad: “I not only challenge the legitimacy of these ‘disorders’ as objective diagnostic categories, but also explore how and why women come to experience distress and then see themselves as mad” (7). The author perpetuates the social stigma of mental illness by attributing hysteria to a historical and cultural fabrication. Ussher claims that madness is merely a woman’s psychosomatic reaction to deeply embedded psychological issues, cultural myths, and patriarchal oppression.

Whereas psychoanalyst Ussher fails to define mania, psychoanalyst Bond attributes mania to psychosexual development and repressed anger (Who Killed Virginia Woolf, 22). Bond admits that “manic depression has an inherited, probably metabolic structure, refers to family genealogy,” and then searches for an “inherently psychoanalytical root” to Woolf’s illness (23). Bond reveals that even Freud applied “two short references to mania in his entire work.” Bond draws a comparison between childhood sexual development to manic states, depicting Woolf as a child in desperate need of her mother’s approval (22). Bond proclaims, “many of her major novels ended with Woolf entering a psychotic episode” (37). Bond’s conjecture serves only to undermine the creative woman.

A psychoanalytical interpretation of bipolar disorder, or manic depression, overlooks or simplifies scientific explanations. For example, British psychiatrist, Henry Maudsley, defines mental illness in terms of social conditioning as a woman’s response to limited upward mobility in a social structure (Ussher, The Madness of Women, 23). Yet, more women possess a greater opportunity for social and career advancement today than ever before. Caramagno explains that the Freudian “psychological model...is no longer relevant to her [Woolf’s] illness” (Flight of the Mind, 17). Manic depressive illness accounts for Virginia Woolf’s madness. In 1925, Leonard Woolf, Virginia’s husband, declared, “As far as symptoms were concerned, Virginia was suffering from manic depressive insanity” (Caramagno, Flight of the Mind, 17). Psychoanalysts Ussher and Bond attribute Woolf’s insanity to childhood trauma, but Caramagno attests that the “biological realities of manic depressive illness limit the critics freedom to tie events in Woolf’s life to symptoms that seem metaphorically similar” (8). Caramagno describes a neurological structure instead: “Woolf learned important object-relations lessons from her psychotic breakdowns...she used this knowledge creatively in her theories about fiction, mental functioning and self-structure” (3). Caramagno argues that manic depression is not a psychosomatic response to repressed childhood sexuality (7). Caramagno attests that “biology lifts from Woolf’s shoulders the derogatory weight of responsibility for her illness” (2). Caramagno points to critics that oversimplify etiology and fail to recognize “different types of depression;” although any individual can become depressed, Woolf fits the manic depressive paradigm (8). Caramagno criticizes the outdated Freudian model that attributes psychosis to unresolved neuroses or deep psychological issues that a person is either consciously or unconsciously unwilling to resolve (2).

Xu et al conducted an unbiased genome wide study on bipolar disorder by devised case control samples using a set of 2155 genes; the researchers point to “several genes of interest that support...findings for bipolar disorder” (Genome-Wide Association Study of Bipolar, 1). The authors of the genome study highlight a discord in the scientific community as to identifying the cause of mental illnesses. Determining gene moderation of environmental risk factors for a mental disorder, Flint and Kendler contest, “for most of the 20th century, the focus was on ‘nature’ versus ‘nurture’...now it is increasingly recognized that a disorder may reflect genes and environment ‘working together’” (The Genetics of Major Depression, 484). While most geneticists believe that a reaction cannot occur without a “preexisting gene,” behavioral researchers find this a “puzzling claim” (491). Nature and nurture must behave “complimentary.” The answer would benefit society by administering the proper “interventions to the appropriate subjects to prevent the disorder” (493). Therefore, a genetic factor is imperative to determining the etiology of psychiatric disorders (493). Genetic research reveals the complex interaction of environment and genetics.

Historically, hysteria is a woman’s reaction to an oppressive, patriarchal society. However, Woolf applied bold and profound insights to writing fiction as therapeutic value to her mental illness (Caramagno, 3). Woolf did not choose to become manic depressive. The important biological distinction will help to erase the social stigma of mental illnesses. Nonetheless, the cultural myth of madness as a gendered experience continues to misconstrue a serious medical condition, stigmatize the mental health patient, and discourage humane treatment options for the ill, which can prove detrimental to the individual as well as society. Thus, social genetic and developmental psychiatry must collaborate to study the brain’s functioning in order to address the public safety concerns of undiagnosed and untreated mental illnesses.

Sources

Bond, Halbert Alma. Who Killed Virginia Woolf: A Psychobiography. Lincoln: iuniverse, inc., 2000 Print.

Caramagno, Thomas C. The Flight of the Mind: Virginia Woolf’s Art and Manic Depressive Illness. 1992. London, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, Ltd.,1995. Books Google. Web. 9 Mar. 2014.

Flint, Jonathan, Kenneth S. Kendler. “The Genetics of Major Depression.” Neuron 81 (2014): 484-503. Academic Search. Web. 20 April 2014.

Jamison, Kay Redfield. “Manic-Depressive Illness and Creativity: Does Some Fine Madness Plague Great Artists? Several Studies Now Show That Creativity and Mood Disorders are Linked.” Scientific American, Inc (1997): 44-49. PBWorks. Web. 6 Mar. 2014.

Mondimore, M. Francis. “Kraepelin and Manic-Depressive Insanity: An Historical Perspective.” International Review of Psychiatry 17 (2005): 49-52. Academic Search. Web. 21 April 2014.

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Bedford/St. Martin’s Edition. Susanne L. Wofford. Editor. Boston/New York: Bedford Books. 1994.

Showalter, Elaine. “Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism.” Shakespearean Criticism Vol. 35. (2007): 77-94. Academic Search. Web. 16 April 2014.

Ussher M. Jane. The Madness of Women: Myth and Experience. New York: Rutledge, 2011. Print.

Wei, Xu, et al. “Genome-wide Association Study of Bipolar Disorder in Canadian and UK Populations Corroborates Disease Loci Including SYNE1 and CSMD1.” BMC Medical Genetics 15:2 (2014): Academic Search. Web. 16 April 2014.

Woolf, Virginia. A Room of One’s Own. Shakespeare’s Sister. Gutenburg, 1929. Feedbooks. Web. 17 April 2014.

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