Dysfunctional Families -- Mimetic Theory and Literary Study

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Date Posted: 12:49:08 03/26/08 Wed
Author: Erin Risch
Subject: Dysfunctional Families

I just wanted to point out a passage from our reading in Things Hidden that is very relevant to Long Day's Journey Into Night. It's on page 293:

"According to [Paul Watzlawick and his collaborators], any tendency within [very small groups, essentially the nuclear family] to become dysfunctional is immediately translated into an unconscious effort to re-establish the lost equilibrium. This works to the disadvantage of an individual member of the group, against whom the rest form a common front. It is this particular individual who exhibits mental disorder, which is precious to the group as a whole since it can be hld responsible for everything that stops the group from functioning normally. So this particular reading of the situation, which is common to all the 'healthy' elements in the group, is capable of instating another type of equilibrium--one which is once again functional, however precarious it may be."

This is precisely what happens in Long Day's Journey Into Night. The family, torn apart by mimetic rivalries, especially between the father and sons, unite against the mother's opium addiction, often blaming it as the source of their familial struggles. They often experience short moments of sympathy (restored equilibrium) whenever they realize that they are all hurt by Mary's habit or that they all have sympathy for her.

This reminds me of a passage in which Girard says that the scapegoat mechanism is sought because the community wants a solution, not understanding of the natural causes of their acquisitive conflicts.

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Replies:

Re: Dysfunctional Families -- Betsy Peters, 19:26:46 03/27/08 Thu