Jade Singer's Analysis of Asylum · 2:38pm Apr 27th, 2015
The depiction of mental illness in “Asylum” by Daemon of Decay
“Eugen Bleuler (who in 1911 coined the word ‘schizophrenia’) once said that in the end his patients were stranger to him than the birds in his garden. But if they’re strangers to us, what are we to them?”
― Michael GreenbergIn “Asylum”, written by Daemon of Decay, Twilight wakes up one day into a strange and frightening world. She is in a hospital and the doctors tell her she’s sick, being diagnosed with schizophrenia. Her friends are there, but different, there’s seemingly this vast conspiracy to keep her locked up and she keeps having strange dreams and visions.
The story’s main theme is the line between reality and delusion and it’s told from Twilight’s point of view as it drops hints to her condition. It’s actually one of the best depictions of schizophrenia I have encountered in a story. It captures the details of the condition quite well, and it offers a sympathetic look at a patient within the framework of a mystery/adventure story.
At one point in time, the Twilight of Asylum was very similar to the canon Twilight, with many of the same personality traits: introversion, a tendency towards isolation, wariness and eccentric behaviour. These are typical premorbid traits of schizophrenic patients (which is not to say that everyone with a similar personality profile is likely to develop schizophrenia!) At the start of the story, she’s coming down from a period of rather severe delusions with retrograde amnesia as the result of an experimental medical procedure. Her intelligence and moral compass is still intact, but she lacks insight about her own pathology. She’s unable to think critically about her condition, even though she still has the same analytic personality as in canon.
A special thanks to G-AB Acid for bringing this one to my attention. I found it a quite interesting read, and is well worth a quick look if you appreciate a more medically and scientifically focused review.
As to the story itself, graduate school will be over in two weeks - and until then I'm so damn busy I'm barely able to write at all.
However, once it's over and I'm on my break, I have big plans. Big, big plans... More details in May!
-Derek (aka DoD)
pretty nice review and it hits a lot of points well. it is sad to admit that she is using friendshp as a means to an end. an end that she is hoping will heal her friends, but an end none the less.
she does ultimately feel true guilt over her actions and shame for the harm she causes. she didn't even try to approach pinkie pie after she scared the bejeezus outta her. however she ends up emotionally manipulating her again.
her actions lie between madness and what her memories tell her as reality.
there is a lot of complexity to it all that i love. both her using her friends yet her putting them above herself. the potential tragedy is that she is unintentionally hurting them, and herself, and manipulating them to a goal that does not exist.
GRAD SCHOOL: FUCK YEAH!
Big big.... BIG plans?!
Looking forward to them! Good luck with the final stretch
That Michael Greenberg was a pretty smart guy.
You sure do have an interest in schizophrenia, do you know someone who has it or something?
Sorry for being so blunt, but OMFG.
I'm figuratively dying waiting to find out what happens in asylum.
I check every other day. Lol
Waiting anxiously.
I know it's not May yet, but the link has died...
As Gaspar Noé said, time ruins everything