Hope's Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder in Hope Donahue's
HOPE’S OBSESSIVE–COMPULSIVE DISORDER IN HOPE DONAHUE’S BEAUTIFUL STRANGER
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
By
ROMAULI BUTAR BUTAR
Student Number: 024214034
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2010 HOPE’S OBSESSIVE–COMPULSIVE DISORDER IN HOPE DONAHUE’S BEAUTIFUL STRANGER
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
By
ROMAULI BUTAR BUTAR
Student Number: 024214034
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2010
i A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis
HOPE’S OBSESSIVE–COMPULSIVE DISORDER IN HOPE DONAHUE’S BEAUTIFUL STRANGER
By
ROMAULI BUTAR BUTAR
Student Number: 024214034
Approved by
Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. August 20, 2010 Advisor
Adventina Putranti, S.S. M.Hum. August 20, 2010 Co-Advisor
ii A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis
HOPE’S OBSESSIVE–COMPULSIVE DISORDER IN HOPE DONAHUE’S BEAUTIFUL STRANGER
By
ROMAULI BUTAR BUTAR
Student Number: 024214034
Defended before the Board of Examiners on 30 August 2010 and Declared Acceptable
BOARD OF EXAMINERS
Name Signature
Chairman : Dr. Francis Borgias Alip, M.Pd., M.A. ______
Secretary : Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. ______
Member : Maria Ananta Tri Suryandari, S.S. ______
Member : Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. ______
Member : Adventina Putranti, S.S. M.Hum. ______
Yogyakarta, August 30, 2010 Faculty of Letters Sanata Dharma University Dean
Dr. Isodarus Praptomo Baryadi, M. Hum
iii …Live life as its best… …Because you only live once…
iv This undergraduate thesis is dedicated to
My beloved parents My dearest sisters and brother My lovely friends
v LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma :
Nama : Romauli Butar Butar
Nomor Mahasiswa : 024214034
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan
Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul :
HOPE’S OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER IN HOPE DONAHUE’S BEAUTIFUL STRANGER beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, me- ngalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal: 29 September 2010
Yang menyatakan,
(Romauli Butar Butar)
vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My biggest love and gratitude goes to my Father, Jesus Christ, for the love, the blessing, and always be there for me even though I missed every
Sundays.
My bigest love for my father, Washington Butar Butar and my mother
Surya Ratna Tampubolon for their love, prayer, support, attention and most of an their endless patience during my years in university. Another sweet love for my sisters and brother, Ellen Rini Butar Butar, Windy Erna Butar Butar and Surton
Cakradipa Butar Butar, thanks for giving colors in my live.
My special gratitude goes to my major sponsor, Drs. Hirmawan
Wijanarka, M.Hum; for reading, criticizing, and correcting my work from the beginning until the end of this thesis. I would also thank Adventina Putranti, S.S.
M.Hum. as my co-advisor. I thank her for her ideas and contribution for the writing of this undergraduate thesis.
My endless love goes to my best friends, GrouPeace, Gratz and also The
Rempongs Family for giving me such a wonderful friendship for always loving me just the way I am and for sharing the good times and bad time together. I do not know what kind of life I have here in Jogja without all of you.
I would like to say thanks to my friends in English Letters 2002, especially class A, and other friends in English Letters that I could not mention. I thank them for giving me sweet memories during my study in Sanata Dharma University.
Romauli Butar Butar
vii TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ...... i APPROVAL PAGE ...... ii ACCEPTANCE PAGE...... iii MOTTO PAGE ...... iv DEDICATION PAGE...... v LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS ...... vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...... vii TABLE OF CONTENTS...... viii ABSTRACT...... ix ABSTRAK ...... x
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ...... 1 A. Background of the Study...... 1 B. Problem Formulation...... 2 C. Objectives of the study ...... 3 D. Definition of Terms...... 3
CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW ...... 4 A. Review of Related Studies ...... 4 B. Review of Related Theories ...... 6 C. Theoretical Framework ...... 15
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY...... 17 A. Object of the Study...... 17 B. Approach of the Study...... 17 C. Method of the Study...... 18
CHAPTER IV...... 20 A. The Characterization of Hope Donahue...... 20 B. The Factors which Influence Hope’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder..... 29 C. The Impacts of Hope’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder toward her Mental Health ...... 40
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION...... 50
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 52
APPENDIX ...... 54
viii ABSTRACT
ROMAULI BUTAR BUTAR. (2010). HOPE’S OBSESSIVE–COMPULSIVE DISORDER IN HOPE DONAHUE’S BEAUTIFUL STRANGER Yogyakarta: English Letters Study Program. English Letters Department, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.
This study discusses a memoir entitled Beautiful Stranger. The objective of the writing this thesis derived from the writer’s curiosity to find out the author’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. In this novel, Hope Donahue is characterized as a woman who suffers from mental disorder, especially Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder. There are three problems related to the topic of this thesis: (1) How is Hope characterized? (2) What are the factors which influence Hope’s Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder? (3) What are the impacts of Hope’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder toward her mental health? In order to answer the problems, a psychological approach is used because this thesis analyzed one’s mental condition and the impacts toward one’s mental health. This study applies library and internet research method. There are two sources used: primary and secondary sources. Beautiful Stranger, the novel, is the primary source in this study. The secondary sources are obtained from books on literature, psychology and websites. Based on the analysis, Hope Donahue is five-feet-eight tall, with a model's built, blonde hair, and green eyes. She is an only child from a wealthy family. She gets everything she wants without having to earn it. Hope does not need to try very hard to get good grades because Hope was being rewarded for the outside, her beauty. The second point is there are four factors which influence Hope’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. The first one is genes. The second is environmental influence. The third is guilt and shame. The last one is Hope’s way of thinking. The third point is there are some impacts of Hope's Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder toward her mental health. Hope grows into a lack of confidence typed of person. Overshadowed by her mother beauty, Hope feels that she has to be like her mother. In search of beauty, hope experienced 28 plastic surgeries. She needs to be beautiful and wanted to look like anybody other than herself. Acting impulsively made Hope further away from herself; she wanted to become another person. Because of acting impulsively, Hope tends to find herself in panic attack. The panic attack also occurs when she fails performing her "beauty routine"
ix ABSTRAK
ROMAULI BUTAR BUTAR. (2010). HOPE’S OBSESSIVE–COMPULSIVE DISORDER IN HOPE DONAHUE’S BEAUTIFUL STRANGER Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Penelitian ini mendiskusikan sebuah Memoir berjudul Beautiful Stranger. Tujuan penulisan skripsi ini di awali dari rasa ingin tahu penulis untuk menemukan obsessive-compulsive disorder di pengarang. Di novel ini, Hope Donahue digambarkan sebagai seorang wanita yang menderita kelainan mental, khususnya obsessive-compulsive disorder. Ada tiga permasalahan yang berhubungan dengan topik skripsi ini: (1) Bagaimana karakterisasi Hope? (2) Apa saja faktor yang mempengaruhi obsessive-compulsive disorder yang di derita oleh Hope? (3) Apa saja dampak obsessive-compulsive disorder yang di derita oleh Hope kepada keadaan mentalnya? Untuk menjawab pertanyaan tersebut digunakan sebuah pendekatan psikologi karena skripsi ini menganalisis keadaan mental seseorang dan apa saja dampaknya terhadap keadaan mentalnya. Penelitian perpustakaan dan internet juga di gunakan dalam penelitian ini. Novel Beautiful Stranger, adalah sumber utama dalam penelitian ini. Sumber sumber pendukung diperoleh dari buku-buku literatur, buku-buku psikologi dan situs terkait. Berdasarkan analisis, Hope Donahue, seorang wanita dengan tinggi hampir 170 centimeter seperti layaknya seorang model, dengan rambut pirang, dan memiliki mata berwarna hijau. Dia anak tunggal dari keluarga yang kaya raya. Dia mendapatkan semua yang diinginkannya tanpa harus bekerja keras untuk mendapatkannya. Hope tidak perlu berusaha keras untuk mendapatkan nilai yang bagus sejak ia di sekolah, karena semua di nilai dari luarnya saja, yaitu kecantikannya. Poin kedua adalah faktor yang mempengaruhi obsessive-compulsive disorder yang di derita oleh Hope. Ada empat faktor yang mempengaruhi obsessive-compulsive disorder yang di derita oleh Hope, yaitu: pertama adalah gen, kedua adalah pengaruh lingkungan sekitar, ketiga adalah rasa bersalah dan malu, keempat adalah cara berpikir Hope terhadap sesuatu. Poin ketiga adalah dampak obsessive-compulsive disorder yang di derita oleh Hope kepada keadaan mentalnya. Ada beberapa dampak obsessive- compulsive disorder yang di derita oleh Hope kepada keadaan mentalnya. Hope tumbuh menjadi seseorang yang kurang percaya diri. Sejak Hope kecil, ia selalu berada di blakang bayang-bayang kecantikan ibunya. Hope harus bisa cantik seperti ibunya. Hope telah melakukan 28 operasi plastik dalam pencariannya untuk menjadi cantik. Ia sangat ingin menjadi cantik dan ingin terlihat berbeda. Tindakan-tindakan spontan Hope membuat Hope menjadi pribadi yang berbeda, pribadi yang tidak dikenalnya. Hope terkadang mengalami kepanikan dikarenakan tindakan spontannya. Serangan panik itu juga datang ketika Hope gagal menerapkan rutinitas kecantikannya.
x 1
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
What is an obsession? Is it normal if a person has an obsession?
According to A Dictionary of Psychology (Drever, 1958: 18), obsession is a persistent or recurrent idea, usually strongly tinged with emotion, and frequently involving an urge towards some form of action, the whole mental situation being pathological. From the above explanation, it can be concluded that obsession is a condition in which the person’s mind is completely filled with thoughts of one particular thing or person so that he/she cannot think of anything else.
It is difficult to draw a line between normal and abnormal behavior.
Behavior that some people consider normal sometimes seems abnormal to others.
Then, how do psychiatrists distinguish the normal from the abnormal? There are numbers of ways to define abnormality, but none of them is completely adequate.
In 1952, the American Psychiatric Association agreed upon a standard system for classifying abnormal symptoms, which was published in the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder or DSM. This has been revised four times. The most recent revision is DSM-IV (Kasschau, 1995: 358).
From this manual, psychiatrics can make a distinction between normal and abnormal behavior.
The abnormalities above can be found in the real life and can be learnt from literary works. As stated by Kalish (1973: 8), literature holds the mirror up to
1 2
man. So, a novel is one of the examples of the literary works which frames the reflection of human experiences.
Beautiful Stranger is dealing with those issues. It is based on a true story of the writer herself, a beautiful girl named Hope Donahue, who is obsessed with her appearance.
Hope Donahue is a writer who is interested in expressing her feeling, her thought, and her experience of life through the medium of a novel. Her mesmerizing novel is Beautiful Stranger in 2004. The background of Beautiful
Stranger is inspired by Donahue’s personal experience as a woman who is obsessed of being beautiful. She studied woman's magazines for the latest cosmetic products promising perfection, spent hours ruminating over her "flaws", and countless time and money in the plastic surgeons office having one procedure after another. She experienced lots of plastic surgeries to satisfy her obsession. In
Hope’s mind, the passion of being beautiful increased deeply although she had nothing really wrong with her look. Her obsession became a disease, namely
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. This one side of judgment has provoked the writer’s curiosity. The writer is curious with the factors which influence Hope’s disorder and the impacts of her disorder toward her mental condition.
B. Problem Formulation
Throughout this study, there are three problems which can be formulated in the following questions:
1. How is Hope characterized? 3
2. What are the factors which influence Hope’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?
3. What are the impacts of Hope’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder toward her
mental health?
C. Objectives of the Study
The first is to give the description of the main character, Hope. The second is to find out the factors which influence Hope’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
And the last is to find out the impacts of Hope’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder toward her mental health.
D. Definition of Terms
To avoid any misinterpretation and understanding the title, this thesis will provide the explanation on the important words used and closely related to the topic, which is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
According to Abnormal Psychology: Revised Sixth Edition, Obsessive-
Compulsive Disorder is an anxiety disorder in which the mind is flooded with persistent and uncontrollable thoughts or the individual is compelled to repeat certain acts again and again, causing significant distress and interference with everyday functioning (Davison and Neale, 1996: 150). 4
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Review of Related Studies
There are not many related studies about Beautiful Stranger that can be found both in library and internet. Nonetheless, there are many studies discussing about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder but there is none which specifically used
Beautiful Stranger as the object. The followings are few of the studies which have to do with the topic of the thesis.
According to Dr. Gellar (http://www.psychservices.psychiatryonline.org), professor of psychiatry and director of public-sector psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Donahue portrays her search for perfection through plastic surgery. She takes us through her journey of transformation, during which she gets bigger breasts, bigger lips, a smaller nose, cheek implants, and a brow lift. She is easily controlled and influenced by the plastic surgeon—plastic surgeons who are often narcissistic, caustic, and sadistic and who intimidate their patients into having cosmetic surgery.
In his reviews, Dr. Gellar
(http://www.psychservices.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/57/1/145) also stated that what Donahue needed was psychotherapy, not plastic surgery. Plastic surgery could never deal with the theme of Donahue's life: "I did not feel important enough to be of consequence to myself, let alone anyone else."
4 5
Donahue does gain insight through psychotherapy, but, unfortunately, she sees this as a less important part of her story.
Lee Mellott (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail) also gives his comment about Beautiful Stranger in www.amazon.com. Beautiful Stranger is the true story of how Hope Donahue was totally immersed and obsessed with her appearance. Hope studied woman's magazines for the latest potions promising perfection. She spent hours thinking about her "flaws", and countless time and money in the plastic surgeons office having one procedure after another.
As reviewed in www.oprah.com, Beautiful Stranger is one of the examples of a powerful response to a culture obsessed with extreme makeovers and risky procedures that promise flawlessness. Oprah stated that Donahue’s story will inspire the countless women and men like her who struggle every day in a culture that feeds us dangerous images of unattainable perfection.
As explained in some studies before, most critics focus on plastics surgery and beauty. In compliance with some of those critics, the writer is going to analyze the theme of obsessive-compulsive disorder in Hope Donahue’s Beautiful
Stranger. The study of the main character of Beautiful Stranger is interesting because the main character unconsciously suffers from Obsessive-Compulsive
Disorder. From the novel, the writer will find the characteristics of the main character, the causal factors of her Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and the impacts of her Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder toward her mental condition. 6
B. Review of Related Theories
There are three theories that will be used in the analysis. They are theory of character and characterization, the relationship between literature and psychology, and theory of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
1. Theory of Character and Characterization
In Glossary of Literary Terms, Abrams defines character as “the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral, dispositional and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say-the dialog and what they do-the action” (1993: 23).
According to Holman and Harmon’s A Handbook to Literature, characterization is the creation of imaginary persons in fictions (drama, novel, short, short story, or narrative poem), so that they exist for the reader as lifelike.
They define three methods of characterization afterwards: firstly, by the explicit presentation from the author of the character through direct exposition; secondly, by the presentation of the character in action; and thirdly, by the representation from within a character (Holman and Harmon, 1986: 81).
While M.J. Murphy in his book Understanding Unseen: An Introduction to English Poetry & English Novel for Overseas Students (Murphy, 1972: 161-
173), illustrates some ways in representing the characters. The author attempts to make his characters understandable and to come alive for the readers by: 7
a) Personal description
To describe the character, the author explains physical appearance of the character. The description is often related to psychological condition. The personality itself can be reflected from external appearance. b) Character as sees by another
Instead of describing, the author can directly describe the character through the opinion of another. Other characters will give explanation about what the character is like. Other’s thought about a certain character can be a significant factor to build understanding of him. c) Speech
The author can give us insight into the thought through what the character says. Whenever a person is speaking, he is giving the readers some clue to his character. d) Past life
By learning about a person’s past life, the author can give the reader a clue that has helped to shape a person’s character. The character past life is always closely connected to his present life. e) Conversation with others
The author can give us clue to a person’s character though conversations of other people and the things they say about him. We need to pay attention towards the conversation of other characters. It is useful to go to speech-by-speech to determine exactly what it is meant or implied by each of them. 8
f) Reactions
The character shows his personality from his reactions to various situation and events. g) Direct comment
Direct Comment is the way the author describes a person's character by giving to the reader a straightforward description about comment on the character. h) Thoughts
We follow the inner life of the mind and then make the association of the ideas. In brief, we are facilitated to disclose the thought inside the characters’ mind. i) Mannerism
The author may describe a person’s mannerism that may also represent the characters.
2. The Relationship between Literature and Psychology
According to Wellek and Warren, psychology and literature have a very close relation in which some of literary works talk about psychological cases.
They say that people can learn theory of psychology that may revealed in works of literature by analyzing the works. Furthermore, the important part is the application of the psychological laws within works of literature (Wellek and
Warren, 1956: 81).
Psychology is a body of knowledge which studies human psyche, the most related element of literature to psychology is its human or human-like characters. 9
Referring to Barnet’s explanation about character in Literature for Composition that character is a figure with specific mental and moral qualities; it is obvious that characters are observable through psychology in terms that they consist of unique mental qualities (1988: 71).
While in the book Psychological and its Allied Disciplines (1984: 144) edited by Bornstein et al., Lindauer stated that literature is best at describing the human condition in a dramatic form, while psychology has the strength to investigate human characteristic or behavior in systematic ways. Both literature and psychology have one common purpose that is to describe human condition.
Literature tries to depict human condition into drama while psychology studies human characteristics systematically and scientifically.
In The Psychological of Human Behavior, Richard A. Kalish states that literature also “holds the mirror up to the man”. A good novelist can communicate the feelings of his functional characters and make them seem more life-like that the real people whose behavior the psychologist attempts to describe (1973: 8).
3. Theory of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder a. Definition of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
(1) Obsessions
Obsessions are thoughts, images, or impulses that occur over and over again and feel out of your control. The person does not want to have these ideas.
He finds them disturbing and annoying, and usually recognizes that they do not really make sense. People with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder worry extremely 10
about dirt and germs and become obsessed with the idea that they are contaminated or contaminate others. They may have obsessive fears of having inadvertently harmed someone else even though they usually know this is not realistic. Obsessions are accompanied by uncomfortable feelings, such as fear, disgust, doubt, procrastinate or a sensation that things have to be done in a way that is "just so". (Davison and Neale, 1996: 150)
The content of obsession has been investigated by Akhter in Davison and
Neale’s Abnormal Psychology: Revised Sixth Edition (Davison and Neale, 1996:
151). After interviews with eighty-two obsessive-compulsive patients, he identified five distinguishable forms of obsession:
i. Obsessive Doubts
Persistent thoughts that a completed task had not been adequately accomplished were found in 75 percent of the patients. “Each time he left his room a twenty-eight-year-old student began asking himself, ‘Did I lock the door?
Am I sure?’ in spite of a clear and accurate remembrance of having done so”
ii. Obsessive Thinking
Seemingly thinking endless chains of thoughts, usually focusing on future events, were reported by 34 percent of those interviewed. A pregnant women tormented herself with these thoughts: “If my baby is a boy he might aspire to a career that would necessitate his going away from me, but he might want to return to me and what would I do then, because if I … ” 11
iii. Obsessive Impulses
Seventeen percent of the patients had powerful urges to perform certain actions, rangging from rather trival whims to grave and assaultive acts. “A forty- one-year-old lawyer was obsessed by what he understood to be the ‘nonsensical notion’ of drinking from his inkpot but also the serious urge to strangle an apparently beloved only son”
iv. Obsessive Fears
Twenty-six percent of the patients were anxious about losing control and doing something that would be socially embarrassing. “A thirty-two-year-old teacher was afraid that in the classroom he would refer to his unsatisfactory sexual relations with his wife, although he had no wish to do so”
v. Obsessive Images
Persisting images of some recently seen or imagined event plagued 7 percent of the sample. A patient “‘saw’ her baby being flushed away in the toilet whenever she entered the bathroom”
(2) Compulsions
People with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder try to make their obsessions go away by performing compulsions. Compulsions are acts the person performs over and over again, often according to certain "rules." People with an obsession about contamination may wash constantly to the point that their hands become red, painful and inflamed. A person may repeatedly check that she has turned off the stove or iron because of an obsessive fear of burning the house down. She may 12
have to count certain objects over and over because of an obsession about losing them. Unlike compulsive drinking or gambling, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder compulsions do not give the person pleasure. Rather, the rituals are performed to obtain relief from the discomfort caused by the obsessions.
The content of compulsion has been investigated by Akhter in Davison and Neale’s Abnormal Psychology: Revised Sixth Edition (Davison and Neale,
1996: 151). After interviews with eighty-two obsessive-compulsive patients, he identified two distinguishable forms of compulsion:
i. Yielding Compulsions
Compulsive urges seemingly forced actions on 61 percent of the patients.
“A twenty-nine-year-old clerk had [a notion] that he had an important document in one of his pockets. He knew that this was not true, but found himself impelled to check his pocket, again and again”
ii. Controlling Compulsion
Diverting actions apparently allowed 6 percent of the patients to control a compulsive urge without giving in to it. “A sixteen-year-old-boy with incestuous impulses controlled the anxiety these aroused by repeatedly and loudly counting to ten”
Additional information on the content of compulsions is provided by
Rachman and Hodgson’s (1973). There were two general categories of compulsion: checking rituals, such as looking under the bed; and contamination compulsion, such as hand washing (Davison and Neale, 1996: 151). 13
(3) Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
It is an illness that affects thoughts and actions but is believed to be rooted in a chemical imbalance of the brain. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is classified as an anxiety disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders - Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), the main diagnostic reference of Mental
Health professionals in the United States, published by the American Psychiatric
Association in 1994. This puzzling illness is characterized by recurrent and disturbing thoughts - called obsessions - and/or repetitive, ritualized behaviors that the person feels driven to perform - called compulsions. Obsessions can also take the form of intrusive images or unwanted impulses.
(http://www.ocfoundation.org/whatisocd.aspx)
b. Causes of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Research, which has done in National Institute of Mental Health, indicates that obsessive-compulsive disorder might run in families (The NIMH Genetics
Workgroup. Genetics and Mental Disorders). It suggests that genes do play a role in the development of the disorder. Childhood-onset Obsessive-Compulsive
Disorder runs in families. When a parent has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, there is a slightly increased risk that a child will develop Obsessive-Compulsive
Disorder, although the risk is still low. When Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder runs in families, it is the general nature of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is inherited, not specific symptoms. Thus a child may have checking rituals, while his mother washes compulsively (http://www.ocfoundation.org/causes.aspx). 14
Another Research using identical twins and the relatives of people of Obsessive-
Compulsive Disorder suggests that more than 50% of a person’s risk for developing Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is genetic, with the other half being determined by the environment. Given this, researchers have been searching for the specific genes that create a risk for developing Obsessive-Compulsive
Disorder (http://ocd.about.com/od/causes/a/OCD_genes.htm).
Not all cases of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder have a genetic origin.
The disorder sometimes occurs after brain damage caused by various means, such as birth trauma, encephalitis, and head trauma (Hollander, 1990). Research suggests that Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder involves problems in communication between the front part of the brain and deeper structures. These brain structures use the chemical messenger serotonin. It is believed that insufficient levels of serotonin are involved in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
(http://www.ocfoundation.org/causes.aspx).
Guilt and shame seem to occur strongly in some people’s Obsessive-
Compulsive Disorder, particularly that of young people. Children tend to feel guilt about their natural needs from a very early age and it can be said that guilt and feeling over-responsible is endemic to obsessive people. The cause of Obsessive-
Compulsive Disorder is probably a mix of many factors described above, including neurobiological, environmental influences and the way we think
(http://www.anxietycare.org.uk/docs/ocdcauses.asp). 15
c. Symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder involves having both obsessions and compulsions. A person with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder may sometimes have one or the other.
Common obsessions are: contamination fears of germs, dirt, etc. imagining having harmed self or others, imagining losing control or aggressive urges, intrusive sexual thoughts or urges, excessive religious or moral doubt, forbidden thoughts. A need to tell, ask, and confess common compulsions: washing repeating checking touching counting.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder symptoms can occur in people of all ages.
Not all Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder represent an illness. Some rituals - e.g., bedtime songs, religious practices - are a welcome part of daily life. Normal worries, such as contamination fears, may increase during times of stress, such as when someone in the family is sick or dying.
C. Theoretical Framework
To conduct this study, some theories are applied. The theory used firstly in this study is the theory of character and characterization. The writer uses character and characterization theory to reveal the characterization of Hope Donahue.
The second theory is the relation between literature and psychology. This is used mainly to support all the theories. Since this is a literary study, the writer feel need to explain why novel which based a psychological subject can be an object in a literary study by using and quoting the experts’ saying. 16
The third theory is the theories of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Since the whole story deals with the subject of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, it is more appropriate to use the theories of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder to answer the questions stated in problem formulations.
In answering the problem formulation, all the theories stated above cannot be ignored. Each theory has its own significance. Later, all the theories applied in this study are very helpful in answering the problem formulation. 17
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The object of the study is a novel by Hope Donahue, entitled Beautiful
Stranger. This novel was published in New York in 2004 by Gotham Books. The novel consists of 292 pages and is divided into 28 chapters.
Beautiful Stranger is a memoir of how Hope Donahue coped with beauty.
She experienced 28 plastics surgery to satisfy her obsession for being beautiful.
After many plastics surgery, she realized that there was something wrong with her obsession about beauty. Finally she knew that she was suffered from Obsessive-
Compulsive Disorder, a kind of anxiety disorder whom the person’s mind is flooded with persistent and uncontrollable thoughts or compelled to repeat certain acts again and again.
B. Approach of the Study
In relation to the topic of this thesis, the writer applies the psychological approach to unveil the main character’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
According to Rohrberger and Woods (1971: 12), the psychological approach is to explain human motivation, personality, and behavior patterns written in literary object, therefore, knowledge of psychology ground is important in order to understand the literary works.
17 18
Lewis Leary (1976: 57) in his book A Study and Research Guide states that a psychological approach as an approach that applies principles of modern psychology to characters or situation within a literary work or to the person who wrote that work while Wilfred L. Guerin in his book, A Handbook of Critical
Approach to Literature (1999: 125), the psychological approach was perhaps the most controversial, the most abused and least appreciated. However, the psychological approach can be fascinating and rewarding since its proper application to interpret the literary work can enhance the writer’s understanding and appreciation of literature. The approach lets the readers to analyze characters’ psychology or situations in the literary works.
In this thesis, the writer applies this approach by using some psychological theories or concepts as the interpretative tools. The reason why the writer chooses this approach in analyzing the topic is that the writer is going to analyze the psychological aspects on the main character of the novel
C. Method of the Study
To come to a complete analysis, there were several steps applied. The main step was collecting by doing library research. The primary source was Hope
Donahue’s Beautiful Stranger written by Hope Donahue in 2004. The secondary sources were including books, internet online references taken. Those secondary sources were used to help strengthen the thesis. Since this study was using the psychological approach, the writer looked for books that reviewed similar studies. 19
There were some steps taken in the research. First was reading and rereading the novel. Next was making some notes of some interesting quotations to support the topic of this thesis. Third, the library research was done in order to collect data on previous studies and related theories to be used in the present study. The forth step was analyzing the problems. The fifth step is observing the novel in order to find the characteristics of the main character, the factors which influence Hope’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and the impacts of Hope’s
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder toward her mental condition. Finally, after writing the analysis, the writer brought the study to a conclusion. 20
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
This chapter is divided into three parts based on the three questions formulated in Chapter I. The first part is the depiction of Hope Donahue in order to show that she is in fact suffering from OCD. The second part is about the factors which influence’s Hope Donahue’s OCD. The third part is showing how
Donahue’s OCD affect her mental health.
A. The Characterization of Hope Donahue
According to M.J. Murphy in his book Understanding Unseens: An
Introduction to English Poetry & English Novel for Overseas Student (Murphy,
1972: 161 - 173), there are some ways to reveal the characterization of the character in the novel, such as personal description, character as seen by another, speech, past life, conversation with others, reactions, direct comment, thoughts and mannerism. Throughout those ways the writer can reveal the characterization of Hope Donahue in Beautiful Stranger.
Hope Donahue, a thirty-six-year-old woman, is five-feet-eight inches tall, with a model’s build, blonde hair, and green eyes.
I am five-feet-eight-inches tall, with a model’s build, blonde hair, and green eyes. People say I am beautiful (Donahue, 2004: 1).
She is an only child from a wealthy family. She grew up in an elite community in Los Angeles. She gets everything she wants without having to earn it. As an only child, her mother expects great things from her. Her mother wants
20 21
her to be like Jane Pauley who is a beautiful American television journalist and most known for her 13 year tenure on NBC’s “Today” Program and later 12 years of “Dateline NBC”.
My name is Hope. I am thirty-six year old. I grew up in a tiny enclave of Los Angeles called Hancock Park, an area as renowned for its stately mansions and old-money families. … I am an only child. My father is a bank chairman, my grandfather a doctor of international acclaim. My mother stayed home in our beautiful house to raise me, as mothers did then. I am intelligent, witty, well traveled. I went to the best private schools. I never had to apply to for a college scholarship or save for a new car. These things were given to me (Donahue, 2004: 1).
Being raised in a wealthy family, Hope never has to work hard to get what she wants. Her parents will give everything that she asks for without have to worries about how much it costs.
As an only child, Hope is used to spend her times alone. It made her become an introverted person.
Solitude never bores me, a fact which I probably ought to find alarming but which I chock up to having been an only child, all those hours of playing by myself. (Donahue, 2004: 31)
Since she is used to be alone she spends most of her times in her bedroom, and her mirror as the center. She has a habit of checking out her appearance on the mirror over and over again.
I consider myself reasonably happy in the universe no larger than my bedroom, the solar center around which I revolve being my mirror. It’s ridiculous, compulsive, how many times a day I look at myself. I have to keep checking, to make sure I’m still there. It’s like checking for a pulse. It’s a habit which reeks of vanity, and so carries the same of that deadly sin; I would be loathe to admit my obsession to anyone. (Donahue, 2004: 35) 22
The fact that she is used to spend her times alone makes her distant from the social life around her because she hardly ever goes out and socializes.
In fact, Hope is shy. She could not bear to be the center of attention. She is not good at all in socializing every time she joins a new group. She thinks that going up to someone and talking to them is unthinkable. She could not bear the fact that everybody’s eyes were on her, because that made her panic.
My mother had told me, since I was a teenager, that I should be the next Jane Pauley. There was no reason, she said, that a pretty girl like me could not achieve this pinnacle of broadcasting. When I pointed out that it perhaps took more than good looks to do that job, my mother added, unfazed, that I was also “a people person.” It shocks me, now, how little my mother knew me. I was most definitely not a people person. Though I hid it well, I was staggeringly shy. I was in a sorority, but I was not at all social. I led campus tours, but suffered panic attacks before nearly everyone. The idea of going up to someone and talking to them, let alone sticking a microphone their face, was unthinkable. (Donahue, 2004: 25)
However, Hope’s mother always thinks that her daughter is a “people person” and that Hope, just like her, likes to be the center of attention. Hope’s mother always talk to Hope like a best girlfriend, like they are the same age rather that a mother- daughter relationship. She convinces Hope that she is a “people person”. A
“people person” here means a person who is easy in socializing in a new environment. On the other hand, Hope is not a people person. She is, in fact, a very shy type of girl. When her mother realizes about Hope’s shy personality, she used some unique ways to try to make her tougher. That is why since Hope was a teenager her mother always said that Hope should be the next Jane Pauley, a beautiful American television journalist.
A unique way which her mother uses to make Hope tougher is by taking
Hope to what her mother called as “field trips”. When she was 13 years old, Hope 23
and her parents move to Hong Kong. Every day, while her father is working, her mother and she go out to explore the city with the guidebook the bank gives to all expatriate families. Her mother calls their daily expeditions “field trips”. The field trips are often to the places that made Hope scared. Her mother does this to show
Hope that it is not a nice world after all. There are many people who have to work hard to live their life. In a unique way, her mother wants to make Hope tougher.
Once, they go to the Central Market, a slaughterhouse in the middle of downtown
Hong Kong where its cement floor covers with so much blood. There is a water buffalo head, chopped off and discarded. Hope feels so afraid seeing this place, and then she asks her mother to end their “field trip”. But surprisingly, her mother wants to look around some more.
Gagging, I tugged at my mother’s arm to go. “What’s your problem?” Her eyes flashed at me. “We just got here.” “Please, Mom,” I pleaded. “I can’t breathe. It smells like . . . death.” “It’s an experience,” she snapped. “It’ll toughen us up. I know I didn’t ride that God-forsaken bus all the way here for nothing.” (Donahue, 2004: 18)
Her mother thinks that it is an experience, and it will make them stronger so she does not want to go all the way there for nothing. Little Hope is very disappointed. She runs and sits on the steps of an empty building across the street, and cried. The Central Market made her so horrified and her mother ignored her and left her alone. Those are some of the unique ways to shape Hope to be the great person that her mother wants her to be.
Moreover, Hope’s mother always points out that being beautiful and admired by people, especially by men, is very important. It gives Hope the idea that if she is beautiful then she can get everything that she wants. Later, this idea 24
has a big influence in Hope’s personality. During her high school and college years in USC, Hope can survive. She does not need to try very hard to get good grades because high school and USC are about being rewarded for the outside.
Berkeley is intensely intellectual. When studying at Berkeley, Hope finds that she had to do more than just being beautiful. She realizes that she will not succeed in
Berkeley if she only depended on her appearance. As she realizes that fact, she feels more acutely aware of her mediocrity, of the elaborate farce of her life. At
Berkeley, Hope finds it more difficult to keep up with the assignments because, in journalism school, each assignment involves heading out into the world and accosting people. It was excruciating for her (Donahue, 2004: 26).
It is more embarrassing when an instructor tells her that she will not be successful if she only relies on her looks.
Each day I felt more acutely aware of my mediocrity, of the elaborate farce of my life. One instructor, an award-winning newspaperwoman, told me in her office one day that I should not expect to coast along on my looks. Which, of course, was exactly what I intended to do, not because I was lazy or vain, but because I believed that my appearance was all I had to offer. (Donahue, 2004: 26)
However, she thinks that her mediocrity in school can be compensated by her romantic victories with her boyfriends.
To compensate for the incompetence I felt in the classroom, I embarked on a series of small, brutal romantic victories. I had always been fickle when it came to my boyfriends. … I was proud of my reputation as a female Lothario, someone who usually tired of man before they tired of me. (Donahue, 2004: 26)
Lothario is a character in a play The Fair Penitent (1703), by Nicholas
Rowe. He seduces and betrays the female lead. The word, Lothario, has thus 25
entered the English language as an eponym: a Lothario is a handsome, seductive ladies’ man. Hope is proud of her reputation as a female Lothario. She thinks people would forget her mediocrity in her schoolwork and would focus on her as a female Lothario.
In order to support her status as a female Lothario, Hope has to be attractive, and, for her, being attractive is the same thing as being beautiful.
Therefore, she spends most of her time trying to make herself beautiful rather than focusing on her schoolwork.
It took an enormous amount of time and effort to make myself beautiful, about two and a half hours of preparation. I spent far more time on my appearance than I did on my schoolwork. (Donahue, 2004: 120)
She even has a “beauty routine” which she does when she is going to be seen by people, especially by men. It is a ritual which starts the night before.
But for any event at which I might be seen by men, even a family gathering, my “beauty routine” took on a ritualistic complexity. It actually started the night before, when I would apply a coat of self-tanner to my face and entire body. Being tan, in Los Angeles, was an integral part of being attractive. (Donahue, 2004: 120)
The beauty routine consists of several steps which have to be done sequentially.
The steps cannot be skipped nor can the order be altered. If it happens, she has to start all over again or her confidence will be crushed.
Wrapped in my robe, I focused on my makeup: curled eyelashes; concealer under the eyes (always pat the delicate skin gently, using your ring finger); a bit of foundation on other parts of the face; set the whole thing with powder; dust off excess powder to avoid the dreaded and aging masklike look; add a few strokes of blush; line and shadow the eyes; two coats (at least) of mascara; lip pencil to enlarge the border of my lips; lipstick. Finally, a soft swipe over my skin with a clean cotton ball to remove any excess makeup and assure that I had the obligatory (according to the magazines) “natural look.” (Donahue, 2004: 121) 26
Hope is her harshest critics, particularly in regard to her looks. Hope always thinks that she has physical imperfections, especially her nose and lips.
Once, her college boyfriend said that both of them look alike. He told her that they have the same wide nose which shocked and upset Hope. Consequently, she often looks at the mirror observing herself and thinking about which part of her body she should change. Nose and lips are on Hope’s top list.
In college, I remembered sitting in a restaurant with Hart when he said, “You and I look alike. We both have sort of wide noses.” This comment devastated me. (Donahue, 2004: 28)
On the contrary, Hope is always easier on other women’s appearance. She can accept other people’s flaws but not her own. Hope’s best friend, Anita, really wants to be an actress. She takes just a couple of classes at a time and uses the rest of the money her father sends her for tuition to indulge her passion for makeup and fashion.
I really think that Anita is beautiful in her zaftig way, which makes her as different from the scrawny Los Angeles women as an orchid from a palm tree. I am always easier on other women’s looks than I am on my own, more willing to appreciate the unconventional, or to forgive a flaw. But my generosity does not apply to myself. (Donahue, 2004: 133)
The fact that Anita is far from an actress figure makes her difficult to be a famous actress. Anita has a beautiful face but she has some extra pounds which is a problem if she wants to be a famous actress. Anita thinks that if she loses weight, it would make her easier to become an actress. However, Hope thinks that Anita is beautiful the way she is, even though she is overweight.
Hope undergoes the surgeries to satisfy her desire to be beautiful.
However, her mother does not approve of this. She is embarrassed by Hope’s 27
decision. She does not want to meet Hope. Her mother checks herself into a hotel called Ritz-Carlton in Marina Del Ray and calls Hope’s father that she will not come home until Hope is gone. Then Hope calls her mother in tears saying that she needs her mother, but still her mother does not want to meet her. Even when
Hope says that her mother is abandoning her, her mother answers her that it is called “tough love”. Once again her mother disappointed her. Hope is in the lowest point of her life and she needs her mother badly, but her mother does not want to meet her at all.
When I called her on the phone, crying, and told her she was abandoning me, she called it “tough love.” “Please,” I begged her. “Please, please, I need you.” “I’m sorry, Hope.” When my voice dissolved into unintelligible, choking wails, she said, with something not unlike gentleness, “Crying like this can’t be good for you right now. I’m going to hang up,” and she did. (Donahue, 2004: 107)
Knowing her mother does not want to see Hope at their house, Hope decides to move to an apartment in King’s Road. It is a stately Spanish-revival old house. In the apartment, Hope lives with three another single women in their mid- twenties. Each of them has their own bedroom; they share two bathrooms.
I moved into the apartment from my parents’ house a few months ago after my fourth surgery, when my mother told me that she would not allow her daughter’s “self-mutilation” to occur under her roof. (Donahue, 2004: 24)
With her mother abandoning her, Hope turns to what she knows best— cosmetic surgeries. She goes to Dr. S—a famous cosmetic surgeon in California.
Dr. S always treats his patients very well which makes them adoring him. Not much of a difference with Hope who falls for the way Dr. S treats her and suddenly become attracted to Dr. S. 28
Dr. S-, I know, would never make me feel ashamed for wanting to change myself entirely. Knowing this, I feel a confidence in his office that I do not feel anywhere else, and am willing to put my whole trust in him. (Donahue, 2004: 10)
She thinks that Dr. S knows how she feels about herself. Dr. S ensures that she does not have to be ashamed of what she wants. The way Dr. S treats her in every meeting makes her feels comfort in which her mother could not give her the same feeling like Dr. S gives, and that kind of feeling which makes Hope could survive even though her mother abandoning her.
In brief, Hope is five-feet-eight tall, with a model's built, blonde hair, and green eyes. She is an only child from a wealthy family. She gets everything she wants without having to earn it. Her mother thinks that she is a people person and hope should be the next Jane Pauley, a beautiful American television journalist.
However, hope is a shy person. She hid it well from her mother. She could not bear the fact that everybody's eyes were on her, because that made her panic.
During her high school and college years in USC, Hope does not need to try very hard to get good grades because hope was being rewarded for the outside, her beauty. But different case when it comes to her master degree in Berkeley. She finds that she had to do more than just being beautiful. However, she thinks that her mediocrity in school could be compensating by her romantic victories with her boyfriends. She was known as a female Lothario, someone who usually tired of man before they tired of her. In order to support her status as a female lothario,
Hope has to be attractive, and being attractive is the same as being beautiful. Lots of ways she tries to become a beautiful woman, such as: put some make up and had a “beauty routine” everyday and go into plastic surgeries. 29
B. The Factors which Influence Hope’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
As it is stated in the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder theory, there are several factors which influence Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. The first is genes. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder might run in families, therefore, genes do play a role in the development of the disorder. The second is brain damage which is caused by various means, such as birth trauma and head trauma. The third is environmental influences. The forth is guilt and shame, and the last one is the way of a person’s think.
There are several factors that can be found in Beautiful Stranger.
Therefore, in order to analyze Hope’s OCD, this discussion is divided into three parts. The first and the most obvious one is genes. The second part explains how the environmental influences which take part in influencing her OCD. The third is how guilt and shame play a role in Hope’s OCD. The last part is about Hope’s way of thinking influences her OCD.
1. Genes
When a parent suffers from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, there is a slightly increased possibility that their children will also develop an Obsessive-
Compulsive Disorder.
In Beautiful Stranger, Hope’s mother suffers from a disorder, which is fear of germs. She is obsessed with hygiene. When they are in Hong Kong, Hope’s mother thinks that the Chinese does not even care about their own hygiene, especially when she sees people blow their noses on the street. It makes her 30
anxious about her own hygiene. Consequently, she begins to take three, four, or even five showers a day. This is a common compulsion which is shown by a person who is suffering from an obsessive-compulsive.
“They blow their noses on the street!” she’d said. “They spit to appease some throat God.” And what was that smell, that foul smell that constantly surrounded her? “Everyone here comes up to my nose,” she said. “I’m always smelling filthy, greasy hair.” She began to take three, four, even five showers a day. My mother had always been hypervigilant about her personal hygiene, but this was a bit much, even for her. (Donahue, 2004: 19)
Hope’s mother always warns Hope to be very aware about hygiene in every place that she goes to, especially when they are in Hong Kong. Seeing her mother always worries about her own hygiene makes Hope unconsciously turns out to be like her mother. Hope becomes very aware in every place that she goes to. When
Hope and Lena, her maid, went to Stanley Market, Lena bought something at the food cart and asked Hope if she wanted some, but Hope always refuse her politely because her mother always said that she could kill herself by eating food from that place.
My mother had said that the water trickling down the market streets carried diseases and could give you warts and hepatitis and who knew what else. I stepped carefully, avoiding murky puddles. (Donahue, 2004: 39) … She’d raised her eyebrows at me to ask if I wanted some, a polite, pointless gesture since I always shook my head no, remembering my mother said you took your life in your hands eating at those places. (Donahue, 2004: 45)
Once, Hope and her mother went to Buddhist temples in Hong Kong. Outside of the temple gates, beggars swarmed them, asking for Hope and her mother sympathy to their sickly babies, their disability. They thrust their hands out, and 31
Hope’s mother tried to give money into their palms without touching them. She afraid if she touched the beggar, she would suffer from leprosy. She thought that a contact could make her become a leper. Hope told her that someone had to live among lepers every day for at least seven years to be infected. It took that long to catch their disease and become one of them. But still her mother did not believe her. When they got back to the apartment, her mother ordered Hope to put her clothes to the laundry and took a shower. This event makes her fear of germs worse. She continues to shower more frequently than before, even on days when she does not leave the apartment (Donahue, 2004: 16).
Hope’s father and his younger sister are hypochondriacs. A hypochondriac is a person who suffers from hypochondria or hypochodriasis. A person with hypochondria continues thinking he is seriously ill despite appropriate medical evaluation and reassurances that his health is fine. A person with hypochondria will think such normal bodily function as heart beats, sweating and bowel movements are symptoms of a serious illness or condition. Both Hope’s father and his sister keep thinking that they have a serious illness, but their medical evaluation and reassurances that their health is fine.
Moreover, Hope’s grandfather on her mother’s side suffers from a mild case of Tourette syndrome. He is used to lock himself in the bathroom and muttering at himself such as: “Pathetic chickenshit” or “Piss-ant loser”. Tourette syndrome is a disorder that is associated with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
(Donahue, 2004: 286). 32
Tourette syndrome is a neurological disorder characterized by repetitive, stereotyped, involuntary movements and vocalizations called tics. Tics are classified as either simple or complex. Simple motor tics are sudden, brief, repetitive movements that involve a limited number of muscle groups. Some of the more common simple tics include eye blinking and other vision irregularities, facial grimacing, shoulder shrugging, and head or shoulder jerking. Simple vocalizations might include repetitive throat-clearing, sniffing, or grunting sounds. Complex tics are distinct, coordinated patterns of movements involving several muscle groups. Complex motor tics might include facial grimacing combined with a head twist and a shoulder shrug. Other complex motor tics may actually appear purposeful, including sniffing or touching objects, hopping, jumping, bending, or twisting. Simple vocal tics may include throat-clearing, sniffing/snorting, grunting, or barking. More complex vocal tics include words or phrases.
Not only Hope’s maternal grandfather, but her paternal grandmother has an “eccentric” behavior. Her paternal grandmother plants some roses and treats them with affection more than the way she treats her children.
My grandmother Hathaway tended her roses with a tenderness I never saw her apply elsewhere, not toward her children, her husband, or even the parties she plant with sterile, meticulous care, parties we’d later read about in the society pages of the Los Angeles Times. (Donahue, 2004: 58)
Also, she has an odd behavior of giving her leftover to her roses discreetly after mealtime. She takes care of her roses just like a mother to her newborn.
I wondered if I was the only one who noticed that when she left the table after dinner, she carried her plate through the kitchen and out the backdoor to her garden. I discovered her odd behavior one evening when, having 33
excused myself to the bathroom, I saw her ghostly figure in the dusk, scrapping the leftover lobster bisque and fillet mignon into the soil around the rose bushes. She turned the dirt with her good silver fork, patting the ground as gently as a mother talking her newborn into its crib. (Donahue, 2004: 58-59)
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder often runs in families. In Hope’s case, her mother always very aware about hygiene, as the result she takes three, four, even five showers a day. While Hope’s father and his sister always think that they have a very serious illness, but their medical evaluation and reassurances that their health is fine. Hope’s grandfather on her mother’s side suffers from a mild case of
Tourette syndrome. While Hope’s paternal grandmother has an “eccentric” behavior, she plants some roses and treats them with affection more than the way she treats her children. However, it appears that genes are responsible for causing the disorder.
2. Environmental Influences
Hope likes reading fashion magazines. Magazines, especially fashion magazines, put pictures of beautiful models wearing the product that they promote as a kind of advertisement. As a woman who craving for beauty, Hope wants to be like the models in the magazines. The models could persuade people with their beautiful face to buy products that a company sells. She thinks that the allure is not from the products itself, but from the prettiness of the models’ face. The models’ smile and gaze could make Hope, impulsively, buy products just to make
Hope thinks that she could be the same as the models, in terms of beauty.
(Donahue, 2004: 149) 34
Hope awaits the arrival of the new magazines each month like a dope-sick junkie anticipating a fix, reading about the entire new product will active an adrenaline rush of desire in Hope’s vein. She will devour every word of each ad and article about this skin cream or that mascara or powder which is absolutely new and unlike any that’s come before and Hope will think that she must have all of that.
I am ritualistic, even obsessive, about my magazines. Knowing the power and magic of a new magazine, it is of the utmost important that I keep it all to myself until I have perused it to my heart’s content. (Donahue, 2004: 147)
Hope is obsessive about her magazine. Every time she wants to buy a new magazine, she always picks a magazine that is several into the stack, so she can be sure it has not yet been touched by anyone before. She will tilt the cover so that it catches the supermarket light and reveals any evidence of having been opened.
Hope is her parents’ only child. Therefore, her parents give all their love and attention to her. She never has to work hard to get what she wants because her parents always give her everything that she wants.
Hope knows that her parents will always love her and help her no matter what she does. That is why she never afraid to get into trouble or make mistake because her parents will always help her, especially in her financial. Her parents give her own credit card since she is very young. She could buy things that most kids could not afford to. She has no worries in using her credit card because she knows that her parents will help her with her bills.
Being born in a wealthy family, Hope thinks that she could buy everything that she wants, for example, happiness. She thinks that if she could fix her nose, it 35
would make her closer to happiness. During her search for happiness, finally she met Dr. S. From the three plastic surgeries Hope been to, only Dr. S who did not raise his eyebrows upon noticing Hope’s age. He did not surprise about the previous procedure that Hope had already had, such as: lips, nose, cheekbones and lips again. From the first consultation with Dr. S, Hope could see that nothing she asked for would be off-limits. It thrills Hope, about all the possibilities that she is going to have.
When Hope is going to have her lips procedure, she knew that the procedure would be hurt, but when she heard what Dr. S promised her, Hope’s hearts gives a blast of joy.
“Alix just had what I like to call a ‘lunchtime lift.’ Have you heard of it?” “No.” “It’s revolutionary,” he says. “State-of-art. It gives the effect of a brow lift without any of the downtime.” There’s a surge of bravado in Dr. S–’s voice, the voice of a showman, a salesman? (Donahue, 2004: 5)
By the time Hope is going to have her lips procedure. Dr. S offered Hope to have a “lunchtime lift”. At first Hope had no interest in a brow lift, but Dr. S said that the “lunchtime lift” would give Hope an exotic, sort of foreign look. Being exotic and foreign was all that Hope’s ever wanted. She could not resist a delicious, illicit offer to become someone she is not. Hope thinks that Dr. S could see inside of her. He knows Hope’s passion to become someone that does not look like her now, becoming a beautiful stranger.
Instead of having one procedure, Hope ends with two procedures at once, lips procedure and “lunchtime lift”. To refuse Dr. S, Hope needs more 36
assertiveness that she can muster, but because of her innate passivity which makes her unable to say no.
“How are we doing?” he asks, his voice husky. “Fine” It’s an effort to work my numb lips. Does he, too, I wonder, feel the intensity of the moment? Does he enjoy my surrender as much as I do? “Doctor,” I say, a whisper, a slurred prayer. “Hmm?” “If there was an earthquake right now, and the power were out…” “What would happen to you?” Dr. S– finishes my thought. “Yes” “I wouldn’t leave you.” (Donahue, 2004: 5)
I wouldn’t leave you. This is what Hope needs so much to know. Hope thinks that if the ceiling collapsed, if he were hurt, if he had to stagger to attend her supine body, he would. No price is too high for this safety according to Hope. She would give all of her money, her flesh and blood; even her dignity to Dr. S. Hope thinks that her relationship with Dr. S is more than just a doctor to his patient. Hope felt there was some special relationship between them, but the fact was it was only in her thought. Dr. S treats his all of his patients the same as he did to Hope. Dr. S did that so that all of the patients would come back to him. But Hope did not see it.
3. Guilt and Shame
Guilt and shame is one of the factors which influence Hope’s Obsessive-
Compulsive Disorder. According to Phil Baker in his essay in www.beyondintractability.org/essay/guilt_shame/, guilt can be described as "a bothered conscience" or “a feeling culpability for offenses”. A person feels guilty when he or she feels responsible for an action that he or she regrets. There are 37
several types of guilt. People can feel ashamed, unworthy, or embarrassed about actions for which they are responsible while shame is an emotion that is closely related to guilt. Shame can be defined as “a painful emotion caused by consciousness of guilt, shortcoming, or impropriety.” Shame is often a much strong and more profound emotion than guilt. Both shame and guilt can have intensive implications for our perceptions of self and our behavior toward other people, particularly in situations of conflict.
Hope always looks up her mother. Since she was a child, the only person that she knows well only her mother, that’s why Hope does not want to disappointed her mother and become like her mother. Once Hope’s mother had made an odd confession to Hope, saying that she had a “reputation” in high school. When Hope’s mother in her high school years, she said, with a mixture of shame and pride, she dated all the whole baseball team. Hope’s grandmother, made a similar boast: She had collected the pins of the fraternity boys.
I didn’t want the burden of worry anymore. I didn’t want to be the responsible one. It wasn’t fair. I wanted oblivion. I wanted to be like my mother. (Donahue, 2004: 43)
Since early age, Hope’s mother told stories about her past life and it makes Hope thinks that she have to like her mother. Knowing that her mother had a
“reputation” as a player during her high school, it makes Hope thinks that it is a must to have such a “reputation” and it would be such guilt if Hope could not make the same “reputation” like her mother.
The female Lothario was given to her during her master degree in
Berkeley. Female Lothario means someone who usually tired of man before they 38
tired of her. Hope finds a way so that people would forget her mediocrity in her study, being a female Lothario, just like her mother in her high school did.
4. Hope’s Way of Thinking
The forth reason is Hope’s way of thinking. Hope always thinks that she has lots of flaws on her face, especially her nose and her lips. She feels very ashamed with her nose especially when her college boyfriend says that Hope has a big nose. Since that, she wants to change her nose in order to get rid of her flaw.
For that reason, when Hope is offered a chance to be another person, she does not hesitate. She does not want to look like anyone who looks at all like herself. She thinks that all the surgeries are moving her closer to happiness.
In college, I remembered sitting in a restaurant with Hart when he said, “You and I look alike. We both have sort of wide noses.” This comment devastated me, though it wasn’t something I hadn’t already thought myself, in the realm of, If I could improve something about my appearance, what would it be? (Donahue, 2004: 28)
Hope’s big nose is one of her flaws. Once when her boyfriend, Hart, commented about the same thing they have, which is big nose, Hope felt so very shocked. She keeps thinking that if she changes her nose would make her closer to happiness.
Besides her nose, Hope always thinks that if she could improve something about her appearance, what would it be? She thinks she has the power over herself.
Hope owns her body so she can change any parts of her body according what she wanted to be.
Being exotic and foreign was all that Hope’s ever wanted. Hope’s passion is to become someone that does not look like her now, becoming a beautiful 39
stranger. She wants to see different woman every times she looks into the mirror, the one who does not have any flaws on her face. Hope is craving to be that person, a beautiful stranger.
My face was like the sun, around which all those elements of my attractiveness revolved, secondary in importance and dependent. (Donahue, 2004: 121)
Having a beautiful face was all that Hope wanted. The importance of Hope face is like the sun in solar system where all the objects orbiting her.
Hope had been administered a highly adjective drug called Being pretty, and it was slowly taking over her system, killing off all the other things Hope used to be interested in.
I thought about my looks all the time, wondering constantly who was looking and, if they were, what did they see? A pretty girl? A homely, gangly girl? (Donahue, 2004: 53)
Hope thought about her look all the time, and lost her passion in writing. Hope often wondering what people would think if they saw her. Hope thought maybe she could will herself beautiful by the power of mind.
Hope does not think herself as a beautiful woman. Sometimes, it is true that Hope does think she is attractive. It is what Hope always wanted to be. But often her eyes find some flaw, no matter how small it is. There are rare times when Hope finds herself lovely, but then she finds herself to overcome with despair.
So much effort focused on so unrewarding a cause. It is much more comfortable and reassuring to see myself as flawed, a work in progress. (Donahue, 2004: 35) 40
Hope likes to see herself as flawed, a work in progress, unfinished. In order to come to the end, Hope has to face some procedures which are plastic surgeries.
In brief, there are four factors which influence Hope’s Obsessive-
Compulsive Disorder. The first one is genes. When a parent suffers from
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, there is a slightly increased possibility that their children will also develop an Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. The second is environmental influence, such as; magazines, her parents, and her surgeon. The third is guilt and shame. Being overshadowed by her mother made Hope had to be more than her mother. The last one is Hope’s way of thinking. Hope thinks that she is a work in progress, unfinished. In order to come to the end, Hope has to face some procedures which are plastic surgeries.
C. The Impacts of Hope’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder toward her
Mental Health
In the previous part of this chapter, it is already revealed about the characteristic of the main character, Hope, and the factors which influence Hope’s
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Meanwhile, the analysis in this part aims to find out the impacts of Hope’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder toward her mental health.
In http://www.nehb.ie/youthhealthne/mental%20health%20definition.htm mental health is the balance between all aspects of life, such as: social, physical, spiritual and emotional. It impacts on how a person manages him/her surroundings and make choices in their lives - clearly it is an integral part of their 41
overall health. Mental Health is far more than the absence of mental illness and has to do with many aspects of a person’s lives including: how they feel about themselves, how they feel about others, how they are able to meet the demands of life.
Hope is living in her mother shadow. Having a beautiful mother made
Hope thought that she had to be like her mother, especially in terms of beauty. As a child, Hope always thinks that her mother’s beauty shone like a beacon of hope to her. Once when Hope was looking through boxes in her grandmother’s basement, Hope found an old 1969s Harlequin romance upon which was sketched.
At that time, Hope kept thinking that the person in the sketched was her mother.
Hope considered her mother with a swooning beauty with round blue eyes, pert nose, shapely mouth, and long hair the color of butter.
For years living in her mother shadow shaped Hope into a lack of confidence typed of person. She always thinks that she has something wrong with her face. Once, Hope boyfriend said that Hope’s mother is pretty but Hope is beautiful. Hope was both shocked and thrilled at the possibility of this. At first
Hope was overjoyed because her boyfriend said that she is beautiful, but then she knew that people would always compare her mother beauty with herself.
My mother’s dream for me, that I would become the next Jane Pauley— poised and together, and asking the tough questions why looking fantastic—required an effort I was not willing to make. (Donahue, 2004: 36)
Hope’s mother always thinks that Hope is a “people person” and that Hope, just like her, likes to be the center of attention. She convinces Hope that she is a
“people person”. A “people person” here means a person who is easy in 42
socializing in a new environment. That is why since Hope was a teenager her mother always said that Hope should be the next Jane Pauley, a beautiful
American television journalist. But the fact is Hope is a very shy person and she is trapped between the life she wants and the life her mother wants for her.
In search for beauty, Hope experienced 28 plastics surgery to satisfy her obsession for being beautiful, one procedure after another. Hope needs to be beautiful and wanted to look like anybody other than herself. Hope is her harshest critics, particularly in regard to her looks. Hope always thinks that she has physical imperfections, especially her nose and lips. Consequently, she often looks at the mirror observing herself and thinking about which part of her body she should change.
If I was so perfect, then what was I doing at the age twenty-three going to doctor to doctor, my big fat lack of confidence blowing the whole perfect picture to smithereens? (Donahue, 2004: 70)
When Hope was 23, after graduating from college, she was devastated because her boyfriend left her. Once her boyfriend said that Hope and he were look alike, they have the same nose, a big nose. This comment shocked Hope. For years she lived behind her mother beauty and then her boyfriend said that Hope has a big nose. Hope hate her nose so much and she thought that if she could do something with her nose and become beautiful, Hope could get him back.
Hope first procedure was a tip rhinoplasty. A tip rhinoplasty is a surgical procedure that only changes the tip, and does not change the rest of the nose.
When the doctor took off the bandages after the procedure, Hope thought that she did not look any different. So she went to another procedure to make herself look 43
different. Hope wanted to look like a different person. Hope wanted to escape from herself by changing her face through all the procedures that she had.
I sat in his Santa Monica office discussing my desire for higher cheekbones and a fuller upper lip, trying to sound confidence that A) I had put a lot of thought into this, and B) this was something I really wanted. While I had always pined for bigger lips, the cheekbone part was entirely random and impulsive. (Donahue, 2004: 93)
While Hope was convincing her doctor to have bigger lips, she also thought about the cheekbone procedure which was completely random and impulsive. Hope knew that she was going to undergo the physical and emotional trauma, not to mention a very big amount of money. But all that Hope could think of is all the procedure would make her closer to happiness. Being beautiful was all that Hope wanted to be, and it would make her happy. However, the surgeries were all- consuming, time and money. Nevertheless Hope always thinks that she will be fine after she has the tip of her nose fixed.
Not only had plastic surgeries that Hope did to change her face but also changed her brows. She heard voices inside her head and the voices would not stop until she does what the voices wanted her to do. For example is shaving her brows off and re-drew them again. For days she could not stop thinking about the idea shaving her brow off. In order to get rid her obsession, she have to perform an action, which was shaving her brows. After she did the action, the voices inside her mind was gone, left only shame.
Once, Hope dyed her hair every color from white-blonde to almost black.
The next time, without any think, Hope went to a salon and changed her hair into a spiky pixie. When she saw her long strands hair fall to the floor, she felt a terror 44
in her throat. Still, of course, Hope forced a smile for the hair-dresser, pretending happiness at “the new Hope”. Feeling trapped and panicky at the new spiky pixie look, Hope went immediately from the salon to a wig store. Hope felt very disappointed with her new hair.
Which of these different “me’s” will make me feel like… like me? (Donahue, 2004: 150) … In my car I yank the wig off my head, toss it onto the passenger seat. I shake out my short, stiff hair, which has become plastered down to my skull with sweat. My hair is no more than two inches long. Why did I cut it? What the hell was I thinking? Answer: I wasn’t. (Donahue, 2004: 151)
Acting impulsively made Hope further away from herself, she wanted to become another person. Hope used to be a sweet, kind, conservative, well-bred girl but after she changed her hair, she feels tough, aloof, and brittle. Hope is trying on and discarding images of herself in a desperate attempt to see what fits her. Trying to search which one is the real Hope Donahue.
My breathing seems to halt. Calm, I tell myself, calm, calm. Breathe. Don’t have a panic attack now. What’s done is done. (Donahue, 2004: 11) … I tried to take deep, even breaths, but all I could manage were a few shuddering gasps. My head, deprived of oxygen, felt it was about to explode. Later I would learn to identify this feeling as a panic attack. (Donahue, 2004: 18)
Panic attack described as a sudden increase in fear that peaks within five to ten minutes and is accompanied by at least four physical sensations. Sensations might include: racing heartbeat, difficulty breathing, chest pains or tightness, and hot flashes or chills. In Hope cases, she often deals with panic attack when she feels fear of certain situation or places.
When she was 13 years old, Hope and her parents move to Hong Kong. 45
Hope and her mother go out to explore the city. Her mother calls their daily expedition as “field trips”. The field trips are often to the places that made Hope scared, such as the Central Market, a slaughterhouse in the middle of downtown
Hong Kong where its cement floor covers with so much blood. Seeing a water buffalo head, chopped off and discarded made Hope panic. She could not breathe normally and feels like she wants to explode.
With the car doors locked and the windows up, I could panic in peace, without the worry of embarrassing myself. (Donahue, 2004: 97)
When Hope handed over her Visa to Dr. R’s receptionist, she thought a whole new her, accomplished in one magnetic swipe. Hope thought that it was so easy to make such a drastic change in herself, as easy as buying a new dress at Saks. On the way home, Hope thought about how easy she could change her appearance and it made her panic. Her hands sweat and threaten to slip off the steering wheel.
Hope began to panic, but her panic was always more endurable inside her car, where she felt safely cradled in a small place. In her car, she could panic in peace because no one could see her cry behind her sunglasses, or look suspiciously if I trembled, or hear her if she screamed.
Panic attack also happened when Hope is going to have one of her procedure. Alone in the small room, Hope in her paper clothes is getting ready for her lips procedure. The silence of the room is so complete and engulfing. Hope can hear the blood pounding in her ears. The rustle of the paper smock is a roar to
Hope. The white walls seem to be closing in on her. Hope began to panic, thinking whether she has to do the procedure or not
I want desperately to poke my head out of the door, gulp a few breaths of 46
fresh air to divert the flood of panic threatening to overtake me. (Donahue, 2004: 4) … Riding the elevator to his office, I began to panic. My legs go weak and wobbly beneath me; I am overtaken by a sensation that the elevator ropes will suddenly give way and I will plunge to my death. (Donahue, 2004: 236)
However, when Dr. S opens the door, everything changes; Hope knows that she needs the procedure.
Hope life resembles a list of tasks; the top five would be consist of things that Hope wants to change about her appearances. But instead of checking those off one by one, Hope endlessly shuffle variation of changes in the first task. Hope could not bear not to think of it, but she does not have anything else to think about. Hope often finds herself conducting her own little therapy session in her room.
Self: Have you always been so obsessed with beauty? Me: I think so… when I was a little girl, I wanted to be Brooke Shields. Self: Tell me about that. Me: She was like a beautiful alien. Her beauty set her apart and made her special and you need the way I longed to be seen as special. (Donahue, 2004: 35-36)
Hope deals with her inner conflict, where she could not find the answers to her questions. Hope does not want to hurt anymore, but she does not know how not to hurt. She does not want to obsess anymore, but she does not know how to break out of the prison of her own head. She feels like she was being trapped in her own brain. The more she thinks about her problems, the more tied up in knots she becomes.
As if the painful bump and my pounding fear are not punishment enough, the familiar blaming refrain descends upon me like a hammer: This is all your fault. You brought this on yourself. It is your punishment, for 47
wanting something so frivolous, so silly and wasteful. You vain, selfish fool. (Donahue, 2004: 5) … You brought this on yourself, by making another fatefully bad choice. If you are scared and imperfect after this, it is your own fault. (Donahue, 2004: 11)
Hope’s inner conflict often occurs after she did something which made her feel guilty. For instance after she had done her lips procedure, Hope keeps blaming herself toward what happened to her.
A huge mirror on the wall, just as I’d feared. Why? Why? My arms flew up to my face. Moaning under the harsh light, I tried to use the toilet without looking in the mirror. I felt like Frankenstein, reeling from the sight of his monstrous reconstructed face. What have you done to yourself? A voice wailed inside me. What have you done? (Donahue, 2004: 104)
After Hope lips and cheekbone procedure, the nurse held a mirror in front of her face. Hope focused to see her reflection in the mirror, which gave her a shocked.
Hope convinced herself that the person in the mirror was not herself. She thought that it might not a person, but the face of a stuffed toy monkey she used to had when she was a child. When Hope’s hand touches her face, she sees her hand touching the thing that she thought a stuffed toy monkey, and she was devastated.
Hope was wondering why have she done to herself. She hates herself and blaming herself for the situation.
Hope has a checking habit. She finds herself checking her reflection in car windows, in pool surfaces, in store windows. She needs to make sure that she is still there. Hope’s strangest and most secret fear is that she does not really exist; as if, between glances in the mirror, Hope might simply evaporate.
Besides her checking habits, Hope has a “beauty routine”. It took on a ritualistic complexity. Every time Hope has a big event at which she might be 48
seen by lots of people, or even a family gathering. The “beauty routine” actually started the night before, when she would apply a coat of self-tanner to her face and her entire body. Being tan is the same as being attractive. Hope applied self- tanning cream every over a night, a process which involved first showering and exfoliating every inch of her body, then drying off and applying the unpleasant- smelling lotion with painstaking care. Finally, Hope would have to stand around in her room for at least fifteen minutes while the lotion dried. Then she would go to sleep.
The next morning, Hope finds herself in a tanned skin. But this was only one step in her routine. After that, she took another shower, washing off the smell of the self-tanning-cream. Then she put a facial moisturizer, and a scented moisturizer for the body.
Wrapped in my robe, I focused on my makeup: curled eyelashes; concealer under the eyes (always pat the delicate skin gently, using your ring finger); a bit of foundation on other parts of the face; set the whole thing with powder; dust off excess powder to avoid the dreaded and aging masklike look; add a few strokes of blush; line and shadow the eyes; two coats (at least) of mascara; lip pencil to enlarge the border of my lips; lipstick. Finally, a soft swipe over my skin with a clean cotton ball to remove any excess makeup and assure that I had the obligatory (according to the magazines) “natural look.” (Donahue, 2004: 121)
After blow-drying her hair, the final step in Hope’s “beauty routine” is getting her dress on. Hope was far less concern with what she wore than she was with her face. Hope performed this routine in exactly this sequence, without fail, never skipping a step or altering the order. If it happens, she has to start all over again or her confidence will be crushed. 49
Hope did not like to be disturbed when performing any part of her routine, especially when she was concentrating on her makeup. Hope thinks her concentration doing her make up the same as meditation. A messily applied coat of mascara could ruin everything, not just her appearance; Hope would lose her mental energy as well.
To sum up, there are some impacts of Hope's Obsessive-Compulsive
Disorder toward her Mental Health. Hope grows into a lack of confidence typed of person. Overshadowed by her mother beauty, Hope feels that she has to be like her mother. In search of beauty, hope experienced 28 plastic surgeries. She needs to be beautiful and wanted to look like anybody other than herself. Acting impulsively made Hope further away from herself; she wanted to become another person. And because of acting impulsively, Hope tends to find herself in panic attack. The panic attack also occurs when she fails performing her "beauty routine" 50
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSIONS
There are three points that can be presented in the conclusion. These three points are considered to be the core of this study. First is the characterization of
Hope Donahue. Hope is five-feet-eight tall, with a model's built, blonde hair, and green eyes. She is an only child from a wealthy family. She gets everything she wants without having to earn it. Her mother thinks that she is a people person and hope should be the next Jane Pauley, a beautiful American television journalist.
However, hope is a shy person. She hid it well from her mother. She could not bear the fact that everybody's eyes were on her because that made her panic.
During her high school and college years in USC, Hope does not need to try very hard to get good grades because hope was being rewarded for the outside, her beauty. Different case when it comes to her master degree in Berkeley. She finds that she had to do more than just being beautiful. However, she thinks that her mediocrity in school could be compensating by her romantic victories with her boyfriends. She was known as a female Lothario, someone who usually tired of man before they tired of her. In order to support her status as a female lothario,
Hope has to be attractive, and being attractive is the same as being beautiful. Lots of ways she tries to become a beautiful woman, such as: put some make up and had a “beauty routine” everyday and go into plastic surgeries.
The second point is there are four factors which influence Hope’s
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. The first one is genes. When a parent suffers
50 51
from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, there is a slightly increased possibility that their children will also develop an Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. The second is environmental influence, such as; magazines, her parents, and her surgeon. The third is guilt and shame. Being overshadowed by her mother made Hope had to be more than her mother. The last one is Hope’s way of thinking. Hope thinks that she is a work in progress, unfinished. In order to come to the end, Hope has to face some procedures which are plastic surgeries.
To sum up, there are some impacts of Hope's Obsessive-Compulsive
Disorder toward her Mental Health. Hope grows into a lack of confidence typed of person. Overshadowed by her mother beauty, Hope feels that she has to be like her mother. In search of beauty, hope experienced 28 plastic surgeries. She needs to be beautiful and wanted to look like anybody other than herself. Acting impulsively made Hope further away from herself; she wanted to become another person. Because of acting impulsively, hope tends to find herself in panic attack.
The panic attack also occurs when she fails performing her "beauty routine" 52
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Wilson, G. Terence, Peter E. Nathan, K. Daniel O’Leary, and Lee Anna Clark. Abnormal Psychology: Integrating Perspectives. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 1996
On-Line References:
Geller, Jeffrey M.D., M.P.H. Women Speak ... Briefly.
Mellott, Lee. Looking for HOPE in an operation. First posted at 27 November 2004.
Owen Kelly, Ph.D. Genes are Only a Piece of the OCD Puzzle. Updated October 05, 2009 < http://ocd.about.com/od/causes/a/OCD_genes.htm> (19 August 2010)
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< http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/guilt_shame/> (6 May 2010)
APPENDIX
The Summary of Hope Donahue Beautiful Stranger
Hope Donahue seemed to have it all: beauty, wealth and social status. A
5'8 LA blonde, she attended the best private schools and debutante balls.
But underneath the family's facade of keeping up appearances, Hope hid a host of ugly truths, including a mother increasingly jealous of her daughter's good looks, a family friend's sexual advances and a father who continually gave in to the demands of his wife and parents.
Hope became addicted to a quest for physical perfection in place of her self-esteem - and by the age of 27 she had undergone seven plastic surgeries.
In riveting, unflinching prose, Hope recounts the downward spiral that alienated her family and friends and led her to theft, bankruptcy and a sadistic relationship before she began her recovery.
A powerful response to a culture obsessed with extreme makeovers and risky procedures that promise flawlessness, Beautiful Stranger is a timely cautionary tale.
(http://www.newsfromnowhere.org.uk/books/DisplayBookInfo.php?ISBN=19041 32588)
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