Mad Genius Rhetoric and Women's Memoirs of Mental
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EXTRA/ORDINARY MINDS: MAD GENIUS RHETORIC AND WOMEN’S MEMOIRS OF MENTAL ILLNESS Nora Katherine Augustine A dissertation submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of English and Comparative Literature (Rhetoric and Composition). Chapel Hill 2021 Approved by: Jordynn Jack Jennifer Ho Jane DanieleWicz Karen M. Booth Jocelyn Chua © 2021 Nora Katherine Augustine ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Nora Katherine Augustine: Extra/Ordinary Minds: Mad Genius Rhetoric and Women’s Memoirs of Mental Illness (Under the direction of Jordynn Jack) This dissertation examines how autobiographical narratives by/for persons with mental illness draW from set of cultural clichés (topoi) I call “Mad Genius” rhetoric. As popular as it is controversial, Mad Genius rhetoric imagines an age-old link betWeen “madness,” or apparently problematic mental states, and extraordinary gifts of creativity, intelligence, and other talents. I ask: How is Mad Genius rhetoric taken up by real mentally ill people, especially women, in self- referential texts? What conditions encourage authors to construct Mad Genius personae in life Writing, and what rhetorical purpose do such personae serve? Examining these questions through a lens of mental health rhetoric, I build case studies grounded in four highly influential mental illness memoirs: Susanna Kaysen’s Girl, Interrupted, Kay Redfield Jamison’s An Unquiet Mind, Nana-Ama Danquah’s Willow Weep for Me, and Elizabeth Wurtzel’s Prozac Nation. I argue each author’s narration enacts a Mad Genius persona at the nexus of her severe psychic pain and her personal gifts, explicating both how she draWs on Mad Genius topoi in her Writing and the contextual factors that apparently encourage her to do so. Specifically, my studies explore four discrete Mad Genius topoi: 1) the Tortured Artist, which posits that genius leads to madness; 2) the Brainiac, which posits that madness confers genius; 3) the Survivor, in which madness and genius are thought to share a common source in external trauma; 4) the Ex-Gifted Kid, in which madness/genius are thought to be innate and inextricably intertWined. As a preface to my case studies, each chapter also analyzes Mad Genius rhetoric in some contemporary pop culture iii archive, emphasizing both the enduring popularity of these four topoi and the centrality of auto/biographical narratives in their Widespread circulation. Notions of personal specialness do seem to carry mentally ill authors through acute crises, but my readings reveal the rhetorical functions of Mad Genius, demystifying its enduring popularity amid broader cultural stigmas against mental illness. Reading these popular books as individualized responses to systemic rhetorical exclusion, I conclude that Mad Genius topoi are evidently effective, yet ultimately unsustainable frameWorks through which to cope with severe psychic pain. iv To Mairin and Patrick, a couple of geniuses. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many thanks are due to my committee—my advisor, Jordynn Jack, as well as Karen Booth, Jocelyn Chua, Jane DanieleWicz, and Jennifer Ho. It is fortuitous that, while undertaking a project about gender and genius, I have had the pleasure of working with a group of such accomplished and talented Women. Special mention goes to Dr. Ho (my chair), who served as my advisor at the pre-exams stage; Laura Halperin, who served as my advisor through my exams and my prospectus defense; Charles Price, who served on my committee during my exams; Antonio Viego, who served on my committee at the pre-exams stage; and Tanya Shields, who has mentored and supported me in countless non-committee capacities. Before I started writing my dissertation, I Was fortunate to take graduate seminars—sometimes tWo!—With most of you anD to Work as a teaching assistant with two of you. Our numerous readings and discussions not only helpeD to refine my interests; they gave me the confidence to pursue them according to my desireD vision, often pushing me to reach outside my home discipline in the process. I will never forget the kindness my committee members showed to me when I found myself defending my exams mere hours after learning the results of the 2016 presidential election. For all of your encouragement and feedback on this project throughout the years, I am much indebted to you. My completion of this degree would be Wholly impossible without the generosity of each entity at UNC—plus one incomparable local business—that has funded me along the way. I wish to express the utmost gratitude to the following places/people for their support: the Department of English and Comparative Literature (Jennifer Larson, Candace Epps-Robertson, Minrose vi GWin, Ruth Salvaggio, Mary Floyd-Wilson, and Eliza Richards); the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies (Silvia Tomášková, Emily Burrill, and Suzannah Price); Carolina AWay (Rudi Colloredo-MansfelD and Neka Alston), Humanities for the Public Good (Robyn Schroeder and Kelly Alexander), Carolina Public Humanities (Lloyd Kramer, Max OWre, and Rachel Schaevitz), the Latina/o Studies Program (María DeGuzmán and Geovani Ramírez), the Office of Accessibility Resources and Service (Tiffany Bailey, Haydée Marchese, Simon Bloor, Viviane Ackall, and Scarlett Jordan), the Department of Public Policy (Daniel Gitterman), the Office of Undergraduate Research (Michael Gutierrez), the Provost’s Committee on LGBTQ Life, the School of Medicine, and 2nd Wind (anyone Who ever tipped me). I also absolutely must recognize the fantastic ECL administrative staff for all they do to support graduate students— getting a Ph.D. requires a veritable mountain of paperwork, and although I’m sure this list is incomplete, I believe I’ve sent the highest volume of confused emails to (and receiveD only thoughtful, compassionate replies from) Erin Kalbarczyk, Sharon Brinson, Nelly Whitney, Tony Royle, Taylor Brunson, and Karen Sardi. I cannot thank these individuals enough. Beyond these formal sources of support, I Wish to acknowledge several organizations and people that have sustained my psychological Wellbeing throughout my graduate studies: the Compass Center, where I have been both client and volunteer alongside Women who restore my faith in humanity (Deborah Zionts); the LGBT Center of Raleigh, where I found family when I needed it (Kelly Taylor, Artie Cline, and James Miller); the Carolina Abortion Fund, although they never did teach me how to bowl (Kelsea McLain); High Bushy Tails, America’s favorite alt-country band that’s alWays getting back together and never breaking up (Zach White, Jim Kuras, Lisa Brownstone, Brian Evans, AndreW Ellis, Zac Eitel, and Brie Manning); the WGST 101 TA team, who make me a better teacher, scholar, and human (Ansev Demirhan, Emily vii Freeman, Meli Kimathi, Katherine Calvin, and Eddie Moore); the entire staff of Fiesta Grill; and various other cherished friends (Caroline Miller, Chris Moore, Jamie Tripp, Michael Pearson, Kim Pentel, Chelsea Schein, Lindsay Tello, Arun Nagendra, Debbie Maron, Hannah Skjellum, Dylan Thompson, Hank-n-Brendan, and Chris Bullock). I moved to North Carolina almost sight unseen in order to enroll at UNC, and it is owing to these folks that this place became my home. My family members, biological and chosen, have celebrateD my academic/professional successes and weathered my disappointments over the years as if they were their own. This dissertation is for them. Without Ian Morrow, I don’t know how I Would have survived our college years. Julia and Glenn Heying have done so much for me, and they never ask me When I’m going to graduate. My brother, Patrick Augustine (and his partner, Allison McCaffrey) gives me hope. My sister, Dr. Mairin Augustine, inspires me to do my very best but somehow loves me even when I don’t. I hope that Tyler Easterbrook will be acknowledgeD and/or cited in every Work I ever publish for the rest of my life—I cannot imagine what the state of this dissertation, my sanity, or our apartment would be without him. And finally, it is thanks to Sarah Heying that I’ve learned what matters most to me about this project. She is probably the only person in the WorlD Who’d ever Want to read my memoir, but she is also the one who makes it worth writing. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ xii LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... xiii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .......................................................................................... xiv INTRODUCTION: EXTRA/ORDINARY MINDS ........................................................... 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 On Madness, Genius, and Mad Genius ................................................................... 8 Interdisciplinary Scholarly Analyses of Mental Illness Memoirs ......................... 12 Humanistic Significance: Self-Knowledge and Expression ...................... 13 Medical Significance: Education and Interventions .................................. 14 Rhetorical Significance: Culture and Strategies ........................................ 16 Future Directions for the Study of Mental Illness Memoirs ...................... 19 Telling the Whole Story: Rhetorical Analysis of Mental Illness