Manifestation of Mental Illness: A Psychological Study in "The Silent Patient" by Alex Michelides

Abstract

This study “Manifestation of Mental Illness: A Psychological Study in "The Silent Patient" by Alex Michaelides” unfolds the unconscious motives of violence, and it discusses the domestic and psychological violence. The theory of Feminism and Psychoanalysis have been used as theoretical framework.  In particular, the research applies the theoretical concepts of Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan. The primary source is The Silent Patient by Alex Michelides. Critical articles, reviews, and books are used from print and electronic media as secondary sources. For the purpose of analysis, qualitative research method is used, and inferences are drawn by close scrutiny of the relevant passages, paragraphs or sections of the primary source. The paper unfolds the unknown and mysterious aspects of human mind in different situations presented in the novel including; the human desire for escape, deception and it’s results in human relationships specially in love- relationships, Love and it’s camouflage, the death and it’s after affects, the rival between good and evil, self-preservation as a tactic to be unanswerable or unaccountable, mental disorders and the realities behind them, mythological references and it’s interpretations, psychological representations of repressed desires, the veiled lies and truths of a human mind. The study unveils the effects and damages of the psychologically suppressed people on individuals and society, the people who look normal may act abnormal under the influence of their unconscious motives. 

Key Words: Silence, Psychoanalysis, Feminism, violence.