Drawing upon the spiral of events that occur in
Clara’s recap, the question of Wieland’s sanity rises repeatedly; however,
perhaps Wieland is not the only individual residing in question of common
sense. Indeed, Clara Wieland’s sanity is a question that we must take a closer
look at. Because the story is told in the first person point of view, we are
given a direct look into Clara’s thoughts, essentially leading us to believe
that she is a sane woman telling an insane story. However, a series of
suggestions and encounters could possibly indicate that Clara is clinically
insane.
A three-generation history of insanity is the first
hint to Clara’s possible madness. A man of incredible faith, the Wieland father
was driven to insanity through his profound devotion, or obsession, to
religion. This faith, however, caused him to hear voices, most likely in his
head, which would eventually lead to his death (Brown, 18). The Wieland
grandfather heard voices as well; these voices commanded him to take his own
life by jumping from a cliff. Finally, Wieland himself claimed to have heard
the voice of God, telling him to kill his beloved family. These voices take
over Wieland’s mind; he takes the life of his wife with slight hesitation, but
ultimately reaches tranquility after listening to and obeying the voice (Brown,
195).
Indeed,
Clara is depicted as the reasonable and rational voice of Wieland, yet she too is a victim of the voices. Perhaps the only
significant reason that Clara is characterized as sane is that she herself is
telling the story; the recurring voices, however, suggest a different
conclusion. Certainly a more minor case than that of her ancestors, Clara is
just as susceptible to irrationality and fear. In her letter, Clara comes to
admit that her “narrative may be invaded by inaccuracy and confusion” (Brown,
112) because insanity runs in her family and the events that occurred took a
psychological toll on her. Indeed, Clara’s susceptibility to madness is
explained not only by her family history, but also by her constant hysteria,
repeated night terrors, and life-threatening experiences.
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ReplyDeleteI too have been thinking about Clara as possibly being insane. On top of everything that is argued above I also think that Clara proves to be unreliable because she contradicts her own description of herself. Clara prides herself for being a rational thinker and those close to her feel the same way. However, Clara proves time and time again that her perception of herself is not entirely accurate. Clara has been raised in a religious environment and so the idea of supernatural occurrences is not as foreign to her as she believes. Clara questions whether the reasons horrible events happen to her family have to do with Gods will, for example when it comes to her father’s death, “Was this the penalty of disobedience? This the stroke of a vindictive and invisible hand? Is it a proof that the Divine Ruler interferes in human affairs, meditates and end, selects, and commissions his agents, and enforces by unequivocal sanctions, submission to his will?” (21). Clara is not entirely sure whether there is a larger force that influences the outcomes in her life. Clara claims to be a reasonable thinker yet her reactions to unfortunate events prove that she can be very superstitious. Clara blames an evil force for making Carwin have Wieland kill his family claiming “Darkness rests upon the designs of this man. The extent of his power is unknown” (206). Clara really believes that Carwin had a higher purpose in tricking her brother and that he is involved with witchcraft. These thoughts contradict the rational thinker that Clara prides herself in being. Clara does not look for another possible reason that Wieland could have gone crazy and automatically blames supernatural powers. A narrator that is unaware of their true character is definitely not trustworthy because information can be interpreted wrong.
ReplyDeleteWorks Cited:
Brockden Brown, Charles Weiland and the Memoirs of Carwin the Biloquist Ed. Jay Fliegelman. New York: Penguin Group, 1991. Print.
I disagree with both of you on this point. On the point that Clara describes herself as rational, yet at times acts irrational, you point out that she is susceptible to insanity because she hears the voices in addition to Wieland and her ancestors. However, those voices were mostly unaccounted for. We never learn where the voice that tells Wieland to kill his family comes from. However, we know by Carwin’s account that all of the voices that Clara hears comes from him. Also, you point to the quote by Clara that her “narrative may be invaded by inaccuracy and confusion” (Brown, 112) However, this does not necessarily refer to her believing that it is because of the insanity that runs in her family. All it indicates is that she may not remember everything about the scene, which is frankly unsurprising given the extreme emotional stress she was under. You question her sanity due to her “superstitious” beliefs. This is certainly what would be expected if we are judging her by the standards of our time period, which is very easy to do. However, if we judge her by the standards of the time that she lived in, then we see a different story. Back then, many people truly and honestly believed that these “superstitious” beliefs were completely possible and plausible. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to believe that she could have been judged rational regardless of these beliefs by the people of the time period.
ReplyDeleteWorks Cited:
Brockden Brown, Charles Weiland and the Memoirs of Carwin the Biloquist Ed. Jay Fliegelman. New York: Penguin Group, 1991. Print.