The Fault in Our Society

Sometimes it is really easy to judge something or someone, not taking into account all of the facts presented.  I am definitely guilty of this and I'm not pointing any fingers, but you most likely are too.  This brings me to the topic of my blog this week. In class, we briefly touched on the topic of Jeanette’s mother, Rose Mary, and her mental illness, but since we didn’t go into too much analysis, I thought I would discuss that in my blog.  Even though this isn't the most uplifting topic to talk about, I think it should be understood more and talked about more in society.  Because of Rose Mary’s mental illness, most likely bipolar disorder, it is pretty obvious that Rose Mary was not equipped to be a mother which is easily seen by the choices she makes throughout the novel.  Aside from the poor decisions she makes, negatively affecting everyone around her, Rose Mary has moments where she teaches Jeanette multiple life lessons, one including compassion.  As Rose Mary is teaching Jeanette about how to be more sympathetic of the suffering of others, she is teaching the reader the same lesson.  Although everyone who read this book, as I did, most likely felt outraged about how horrible of a mother Rose Mary was, it would not be fair to blame her for this.  Would you blame someone who has cancer for this and can't provide as much for their family as someone who is perfectly healthy?  Is it really fair to be angry at someone for having a terribly painful illness, sometimes more painful than a physical illness, that they were born with?  I am not exactly arguing in favor of Rose Mary, because I do agree that she should not have been a mother, but I am arguing for people in society to have more compassion for the mentally ill. Rose Mary's mental illness, in this case was just as much, or more, of a handicap in her life than a physical illness would have been.  An article I found online explains this very well saying, " Just as diabetes is a disorder of the pancreas, mental illnesses are medical conditions that often result in a diminished capacity for coping with the ordinary demands of life"(NAMI).

  Rose Mary went through many ups and downs, which is seen when Jeanette writes, "But the positive thoughts would give way to negative thoughts... she would lay wrapped up in blankets on the sofa bed, sobbing about how much she hated her life" (207) making it more evident that she most likely suffered from bipolar disorder.  Instead of getting mad at Rose Mary, and anyone else with a mental illness, one should attempt to first understand them and the struggles they go through and have more compassion for them, just like Rose Mary was teaching Jeannette to have more compassion for her cranky, old grandmother.