The other day in class, when Dr. Sample asked which of us thought Marjorie was actually possessed, I said “I hope she is.” I felt that way for two reasons. The first is that demonic possession is cool and scary and very entertaining to read about. I find supernatural horror incredibly fun. But the second is that if Marjorie is simply mentally ill (which is the conclusion I’ve arrived at upon finishing the book), I look at the entire story differently. Instead of a creepy tale of demons and magic, we’re left with an incredibly sad story of severe mental illness wreaking havoc on a young woman and her family. (That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy this book – it was an incredibly fun read – but I found myself disturbed by Marjorie’s story).
Beyond being let down that this novel is more tragic than terrifying, I’m also conflicted about Tremblay’s portrayal of mental illness. On one hand, I find it falling into the tired and problematic trope of mentally ill people as monsters. But on the other, I think it raises awareness of the gross mistreatment of people with mental illnesses.
Statistically, people with mental illnesses are far more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators of it, and any violence they do enact is most likely self-directed. Nevertheless, mass media consistently portrays the mentally ill as murderous. The recent movie, Split, drew a lot of criticism for sensationalizing Dissociative Identity Disorder and suggesting it to be a cause of violence.
So Marjorie’s threats to her sister and graphically detailed attack on the priest during the exorcism somewhat strike me as playing into that stereotype. She rips a chunk of flesh out of a man’s forearm with her teeth. That’s a pretty horrifying, animalistic sort of violence.
However, I also see this book as a critique of the treatment of the mentally ill. Marjorie is clearly unsatisfied with her care from Dr. Hamilton, whom she describes as having “the fastest prescription pad in the east” (124), and her illness is not discussed candidly among her family members. Marjorie’s illness is treated as shameful and taboo, and she therefore lacks the familial support to recover, noting that her illness was probably caused by stress in the first place (124).
Therefore, despite Marjorie’s display of violence during the exorcism, I found that scene to be the culmination of the misunderstanding and mistreatment she faced during the novel. Already seriously ill, she was restrained (as the mentally ill often are) and left cold and frightened. Marjorie had, in comparison, far more abuse inflicted upon her than she inflicted upon others.
The true horror of A Head Full of Ghosts is not Marjorie’s illness, or even the shocking revelation in part 3, but a depiction of the very real cruelty, misunderstanding, and abuse people with serious mental illnesses experience all too frequently.