Thursday, April 21, 2016

Are We Allowed To Criticize Characters With A Mental Illness?


Hey all, I'm going to be discussing something that has been on my mind again. I really have no idea if this is controversial, but it definitely makes sense to be featuring this as a Fine Line post.

The Fine Line post is a feature I share with Holly @ The Fox's Hideaway, Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight, and Amber @ YA Indulgences. It touches upon topics that are either controversial or hard to talk about. For that reason, I will try to remain as neutral as possible. These posts are not aimed to cause offense or target anyone. And more importantly, the reason for these posts is to see what YOUR thoughts are on the topic at hand. Because I am interested in discussion.

Also, please don't be afraid to comment or discuss your thoughts. There's no right or wrong answer to anything I've discussed, and of course you do not have to agree with me on anything. The only thing I do ask is that you don't mention any names or the such. And if you do have a problem with anything I've said, feel free to DM me. Though just remember that I am allowed to state my own thoughts.

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I recently read two books, The Way I Used To Be (which isn't mental illness but we'll get to that) and When We Collided. Both featured extremely frustrating characters, which is what made them hard to read, and ultimately review.

And here is where this discussion comes in. (Before I get into it all, I would like to thank my wonderful support group in the gchat/Google Hangouts/whatever it's called nowadays, since we talked a lot about this topic. And of course, I would like to thank Amber, Holly, and Shannon for reading this and discussing it with me. Shannon rec'd me Asking For It, which now I want to read ASAP since it deals with this exact topic.)

So. It's hard to deny that there aren't a lot of books featuring characters with mental illnesses. And this is actually a good thing! It's great in that more readers can connect with the characters. More readers can become educated about mental illness, whether it's about schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder, depression, etc. Books such as Paperweight, Challenger Deep, and Made You Up are incredibly powerful narratives that opened my eyes to these topics. 

So, here is where I am unsure of where I stand. It's no surprise that sometimes I get frustrated with these characters. And that's to be expected. With When We Collided, it was so hard to read through the character's decision. And same with The Way I Used To Be, which isn't necessarily about mental illness, but also deals with such a hard topic such as rape. And I get it, that's the plot. That's how a person is in that type of situation. 

But because of this huge trend in mental illness, there's really a couple of questions I have to ask myself.

The first is something that always troubles me when I review a book featuring a character with mental illness. Can I criticize the actions of the characters? Am I allowed to do that, as someone who has not been raped, or doesn't have said mental illness? In The Way I Used To Be, our main character, Eden, spent her entire high school career struggling with the fact that she had been raped. It was horrible to read. I felt frustrated, and as someone who had not been raped, I was quick to think "Why doesn't she just SAY IT". But what could I say? I have never been in her shoes. And I'm sure other readers who, unfortunately have been, understand Eden perfectly.

For me, the same occurred with Vivi in When We Collided. I didn't agree with many of her thoughts, or her actions. But I couldn't tell apart her personality from her bipolar disorder. Were they the actions of Vivi, or the actions of an illness? 

It's a struggle because I feel like as a reviewer, I don't know whether I should criticize the character. Would it make me an asshole if I did? But then I feel equally wrong if I don't express my true feelings about it.

And along those lines, could authors be using mental illness as a way to avoid criticism? I mean, I don't think I'm the only one that struggles with criticizing characters with mental illness. If it were a different situation, I would likely criticize without second thought. Well, anyways, what do you think? I don't know if I have an opinion on this matter yet.

So in the end, I try to just follow my feelings (I say try because I'm still struggling). For The Way I Used To Be, I ended up rating it a little higher than I should've, just because I wanted others to know it was informative. But I think the important thing is that I can still say it was an eye-opening read, while criticizing the character. I just feel wrong not saying my thoughts. 


How do you feel about this? Do you also have a hard time reviewing books featuring mental illnesses?

Comments (35)

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I think you can criticise characters for the way they act, as long as you don't belittle their illness while doing so. I sometimes angry at characters with depression who just sit around and mope, but that's because I get really annoyed with myself when I act like that. I know that my attitude is 'problematic', but that's just how I react to my own depression.

I don't even know if this comment makes sense anymore.
1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
Love that you posted this. I have wondered the same thing before. I mean you want to be honest in your review but I never want to be offensive. I have no answers at all but agree this is an issue I have no idea how to deal with in reviews.
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1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
I think that you do it just the way you did. Say there were times where you didn't understand her decisions, but that you didn't know if it was the illness or bad decisions.

I can understand someone with a mental illness or PTSD being reserved, secretive, and overly afraid. I think that these characters need more leeway for their decisions. I imagine it's harder to write such characters because they don't always know why they act the way they do, so explanations which are usually necessary to make a character not seem stupid might not be there. I hope that makes sense.
1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
I think I get what you are saying with Vivi from When We Collided, but I think sometimes with bipolar disorder it's hard to distinguish between personality and manic episodes. And I think you see that with Vivi's mom struggling to figure out if Vivi is still taking her medication. And I think to answer your question, some of Vivi's decisions were a result of both her personality and her disorder, some just her personality, and some mainly her disorder, it's a big blurry mess and I feel like that is pretty consistent of what I know of bipolar disorder.

For me, Vivi felt super realistic because I had a friend just like her, someone who was so full of life and could just suck you in. I didn't find out until much later that she had bipolar disorder and a lot of other stuff going on too.

Doesn't really answer you question about critiquing characters like Vivi, but I think like any character you can say why you are frustrated with them even if it might be because of their disorder. But you probably shouldn't critique how realistic a character seems if you don't have experience with what they are going through, you know?

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1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
Ohmygosh. It's so weird that you posted this because I need to write my review for When We Collided, and I don't even know where to start. I didn't really like Vivi much at all. I thought that she didn't treat Jonah very well, and that she continuously did stupid and dangerous shit. But like you said: was that because she was leading up to a manic episode? Can I say I didn't like those aspects of her personality, when in all reality (if it was just because of her manic episode) she didn't really much control over those things? That they just seemed like fun and wild things to her and yet ridiculous things to me? It makes me feel awkward because I would never crticise someone with bipolar in my general, everyday life, but when it comes to a review, that is what I'm being asked to do - criticise the book and my thoughts on it.

So I guess I will just say that in my review. Because I don't necessarily feel okay with saying I didn't like Vivi's actions when they were a result of her bipolar disorder ...

What a great post, Val! <3
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1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
I love this post! Such a great discussion that I think definitely needs to be addressed. I have definitely felt frustration with novels that deal with mental illness myself...and I almost feel like every single time it was not because the mental illness was degrading the story, but rather because the portrayal was not happening well enough.
Really talented authors and really good books should be able to look past a mental disorder and still introduce us to a character and a personality that is real, relatable, and genuine. I would criticize the way it was written, probably. I haven't read either of those novels, though, so I can't be 100% sure this will apply.

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1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
AGH YES I THOROUGHLY STRUGGLE WITH THIS TOO. I'm forever frustrated that books like these often ARE rated highly because people are scared to criticise. And I don't know. I said the same thing in my review of When We Collided -- that I felt guilty but I hated Vivi. She was so selfish and self-absorbed and I didn't know if it was the bipolar or not. And I felt guilty for wanting her and Jonah to break up because people with mental illness deserve happiness, of course! But I didn't think Vivi deserved Jonah. :/ It's really hard. REALLY hard. But then, I've read other books about people with bipolar and they weren't as in-your-face and manipulative as Vivi. So I think a lot of it WAS just her personality, not her illness. IDEK though. I feel bad but I have to remind myself I haven't lived what they've lived so how do I know how I'd react? :|
1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
Well, you already know how great I think this discussion is, but I'll go ahead and say it anyway. I think this is such a great discussion and brings up a question that a lot of people have.

You basically know my feelings, but I will bring up…Degrassi (act surprised). So in the first season of this character's appearance in the show, we see them do some reckless things, (Like playing chicken with a car). (Seasons) Later we see this character start acting out a bit, talking off to teachers, making more rash decisions, getting more emotional, acting out of character. This character is then found out to be bipolar. Episodes later, something occurs and he's asked if he's been taking his medication and he says "You always blame it on me being bipolar!".

Anyway, I just thought about how in the show, you see this character's actions and then you see them after they're discovered to have bipolar disorder. And then their behavior makes sense, but it's interesting to try to separate them from it.

P.S. You should totally watch Degrassi.
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1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
I think Ely makes an excellent point about criticizing a person without being critical or belittling their mental illness. I have battled depression for nearly a decade now, and my actions haven't always been the greatest. Luckily, my friends were sensitive about my struggle, but they also weren't afraid to call me out on some of my behavior. It made me so angry at the time, but I see now that it helped me put a lot of things into perspective.
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1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
Well, you know that I think that you absolutely can. And you also know that I will tell you (again) to read Asking For It by Louise O'Neill, because it will help you answer this question. Like- a character's behaviors can be awful- and you can be annoyed by them, even if they have a mental illness or some other issue. Now, would it be reasonable to be pissed off about someone who is anxious and by extension doesn't want to go out with her friends or something? No. But if a character is treating people badly, or bullying someone, or whatever, yeah you have the right to like that character less. I mean, I know all mental illnesses aren't the same, but I know people who have depression and anxiety and shit like I do and who are shitty people, unrelated to their issues. I think there's a big difference when a character is exhibiting behaviors due to a circumstance, and when they are just being awful because that is how they are. I just think this is such a thoughtful post, and it brings up such great discussion!
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1 reply · active 476 weeks ago
This is a really fascinating discussion post Val! I think you did it perfectly and elegantly, particularly where you say you didn't know whether to criticise the character because of herself or because of her illness - that's perfectly fine. As long as it isn't derogatory towards people who suffer from the same thing.
1 reply · active 476 weeks ago
Oh gosh, this is hard. I try not to, but sometimes I feel like a horrible person. I hate when they pull their problems onto other people. "I HAVE ANXIETY/[ANY UNNAMED DISORDER]/ FEEL BAD FOR ME!" Um, okay, solve your own problems. Go to THERAPY. That was one of my greatest problems with Other Broken Things by C. Desir. The MC was an alcoholic and she kept going: "Boohoo. I'm an alcoholic. Boohoo. I need to stay home." And was cursing off her mother and all that. I'm not trying to personally pick on a character with a mental illness, but nothing is more upsetting when they try to yank their problems onto other people. I heard a whole bunch of people didn't like Vivi, so I'm worried about that. haha. Great post, Val!
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1 reply · active 476 weeks ago
Hmm, this is a great question. In terms of characters that have mental illness, I tend to criticize if the writing is not well done or if I felt like the author didn't do enough research on mental illness to reflect it properly. Books are subject to criticism and I don't think books with MC who have a mental illness are any different. Just because they are struggling or just because the MC is struggling doesn't mean the writing or the motivations or whatever makes sense. I don't even know if this comment makes sense. With The way I used to be, I was a rape crisis counselor and there were SO MANY women who called me saying they had just been raped, but they didn't want to press charges. Also, this is very personal, but I was sexually abused as a child by a family member and to this day, 95% of my family has no idea. And when I FINALLY told my mom, she kind of acted like nothing had happened. Not even sure if she believes me or not. There is no way I would tell anyone else in my family. So, yeah, it happens and maybe that's why I could relate 1000% to Eden's decisions.
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1 reply · active 476 weeks ago
I kind of already said this on your actual review post, but I'll say it again here. I don't think that, just because a character's actions are due to a mental illness, we have to like them or even accept them. Of course, we have to treat the person with understanding and not condemn them, but we don't have to like their actions - especially when they're doing something blatantly hurtful to themselves or others. I know that it's a line that's hard to find, though, and we live in a world where any criticism of anyone different CAN be misconstrued - so I definitely feel your pain!
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1 reply · active 476 weeks ago
*When We Collided spoiler alert for other people reading*

With Vivi, I feel like the bipolar disorder amplified her personality traits. Her desire to live fully and flamboyantly seemed to increase from harmless, fun things like making Slip N Slides and eating breakfast with a police officer, to increasingly more risky things that were more harmful to her and others, like buying a Vespa without permission, then driving off on it to a different city to find her dad, and then eventually it spirals to the point where she is obviously beyond herself and logical rationale when she tries to "fly" with it. I, too, struggled with her character because I did like her at first, but then as things worsened I stopped liking her. In fact, I disdained her for every cruddy thing she did to Jonah, even though I understood what the problem was, and that was that her disorder was not being managed.

So the best I can explain my feelings towards her is that I like her when she is managed, but I don't like what she becomes and I don't condone any of the things she did in her worsening condition. It made a hard story to read though, and hard to enjoy. I was expecting a love story about two troubled people and felt I got something completely different, because Vivi didn't really love Jonah at all. Despite her disorder, if she had really loved him she wouldn't have treated him quite the way she did.

And while I don't understand her struggle of the struggle of many others, and I know it's easy to say this without ever having lived it... I feel just plain bad behavior can't be justified. I think there are different ways to handle the consequences of those actions, perhaps, through counseling and rehabilitation instead of outright punishment. But I also don't think we have to like or agree with every character in every book we read to appreciate the story, but again, it does make it less enjoyable to read, usually. Especially when you love a good character-driven story like I do. I think it would have been easier to swallow Vivi if we saw her more unlikable at the beginning and then she got better at the story went on.
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1 reply · active 476 weeks ago
Ah yes, always a difficult topic. I do definitely think you can criticize people with mental illness, as long as it's not FOR their mental illness. Of course it does get difficult when you're not sure which actions stem from mental illness and which don't, so I guess in that case I'd do what most people have mentioned and just say what I thought and acknowledge that I had troubles with certain parts and maybe am not the best authority on the subject. I do think there are different ways of handling mental illness and that you can just flat out not like someone for being an ass, whether they have a mental illness or not. Like Shannon said, just because you have anxiety or depression doesn't mean you have to be a jerk to people. I fully recognize that sometimes your mental illness may contribute to you behaving like a jerk, but if you realize that, it might be possible to develop coping mechanisms, apologize for your actions, explain why you're behaving that way, or - if possible - choose not to be around people if you don't need them to stay safe at that moment. It's definitely a difficult subject to talk about, but it's also important, because I do think a lot of people (me included) are struggling with it!
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I said a lot already on your review of When We Collided but I think it's fair and valid to ask questions when you are reading any book--it's part of engaging with the text. I don't really believe any author is trying to hide behind mental illness or use it as a way to avoid criticism towards a character, at least I hope not.

I tend to believe that everything an author puts into a story is a deliberate and intentional choices. If I don't agree with or understand those choices as a person, that's fine. To each their own. If I don't understand them in the context of the narrative arc . . . well I either didn't put in enough time reading the story (which happens because not every book is right for every reader) or the author didn't convey their meaning in a way that made sense for me.

Reading is intensely subjective and I, for one, am always happy to see dissenting opinions as long as they are well informed and justified. That said, I also think it's important to explain the logic behind dislike. To go back to When We Collided and Vivi: being unsure of what Vivi's behavior looks like with treatment for her bipolar disorder vs without her meds is a really valid and relevant critique. And I think it's one that's important to share.

It's hard sometimes but I think any criticism (even of an issue book) can be valid as long as it's handled respectively and thoughtfully.
Great post! I've never really thought about not being able to criticize characters with mental illness. I think it's okay, because everyone has faults and also, they're fake characters :)
Vivi was crazy! But that's okay because I guess that's the point.
That's a very good point. I think that before we do a book review where a character with a mental illness is mentioned we should try to learn a bit more about that illness.
That should make it easier to pull apart what behaviour came from the character and what came from the mental illness itself. Then, I think criticizing what the CHARACTER said or did is fair game, but it would be wrong to judge an illness-based behaviour. If that makes any sense...

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