The Battle over Treatment and Confinement

Die, My Love

This conflict flow follows the struggle between the narrator and her family over the decision to commit her to psychiatric care.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The Driving Lessons The Driving Lessons from "Die, My Love". The Driving Lessons Context The husband insists the narrator needs to get her driver's licence urgently, because in the countryside there is no room for fools.

The Driving Lessons from "Die, My Love". The Driving Lessons Context The husband insists the narrator needs to get her driver's licence urgently, because in the countryside there is no room for fools.

The Driving Lessons Context The husband insists the narrator needs to get her driver's licence urgently, because in the countryside there is no room for fools. She feels he will strangle her with the steering wheel. Turn During the lesson he yells about the clutch and the gears. She puts her hand through the barbed wire that separates beasts from men and hopes the horse will gallop. Aftermath The driving lessons become a battlefield of control. The husband's solution to her helplessness is discipline, not understanding.

The Summons to the Chair The Summons to the Chair from "Die, My Love". The Summons to the Chair Context The husband says come here, sit down, and the narrator knows it is over.

The Summons to the Chair from "Die, My Love". The Summons to the Chair Context The husband says come here, sit down, and the narrator knows it is over.

The Summons to the Chair Context The husband says come here, sit down, and the narrator knows it is over. He speaks of a woman who needs to calm down and become an amoeba. Turn He describes a place full of sheets, white walls, pills and craft workshops. She vomits their ten years as a couple over the table, chair and sofa. Aftermath The scene establishes treatment as a weapon in the marriage. The narrator is not being healed; she is being removed.

The Suitcase in the Back The Suitcase in the Back from "Die, My Love". The Suitcase in the Back Context The narrator is driven to the institution in the back seat with a suitcase and yellow shorts.

The Suitcase in the Back from "Die, My Love". The Suitcase in the Back Context The narrator is driven to the institution in the back seat with a suitcase and yellow shorts.

The Suitcase in the Back Context The narrator is driven to the institution in the back seat with a suitcase and yellow shorts. She practices looking crazy while her husband and son sing in English. Turn She tries to rehearse the look of someone who is not really there, but her laughter makes the son turn around. The car has been checked by the mechanic for the journey. Aftermath They arrive like overwhelmed tourists, then staff grab her arms and shut her away. Treatment is a place she is brought to, not a place she chooses.

The Therapist's Vocabulary The Therapist's Vocabulary from "Die, My Love". The Therapist's Vocabulary Context The therapist says tolerance and mutual respect, but the narrator hears the words as if underwater.

The Therapist's Vocabulary from "Die, My Love". The Therapist's Vocabulary Context The therapist says tolerance and mutual respect, but the narrator hears the words as if underwater.

The Therapist's Vocabulary Context The therapist says tolerance and mutual respect, but the narrator hears the words as if underwater. The husband says he is in a permanent state of alert. Turn The narrator says, I'm going to club you to death, and then asks herself how she reached that point. The therapist and the husband exchange looks of contained approval. Aftermath The therapy session becomes another performance of her madness. Every word the therapist offers is a tool to manage her, not to hear her.

The Grounding The Grounding from "Die, My Love". The Grounding Context The doctor tells the narrator her husband said he would prefer her to stay another week. She feels it is official: she has been grounded.

The Grounding from "Die, My Love". The Grounding Context The doctor tells the narrator her husband said he would prefer her to stay another week. She feels it is official: she has been grounded.

The Grounding Context The doctor tells the narrator her husband said he would prefer her to stay another week. She feels it is official: she has been grounded. Turn She tells the doctor she feels responsible and will rethink her role as wife and mother. Then she runs through the hallways and jumps over demolition signs. Aftermath No one stops her, but nobody lets her go either. The institution and the family have agreed that her freedom is the problem.

before the commitment, during a domestic argument

an early morning, before the commitment

later, on the road to the institution

during the couples session at the institution

after the couples session, still inside the institution