Hemingway's Struggle with Mental Illness
Ernest Hemingway Struggled with Mental Illness all his life. However, towards the end of it, he had multiple illnesses, including, depression, suicidal thoughts, mental breakdowns, impotence, anxiety disorder, and paranoia. All these illnesses led him to the Mayo Clinic where he underwent ECT. His paranoia began in the 1960s in Cuba and continued until his death because he felt like the FBI was out to get him. As well, he constantly worried about poverty and his reputation turning negative. These thoughts plus the illnesses he had due to old age and constant drinking made him angry and suicidal (Meyers 538-554).
First Visit:
On January 13, 1961, Hemingway was admitted to The Mayo Clinic secretly. There Hemingway received his first treatments of ECT which greatly affected his memory, as it did most patients. He was released from the clinic on January 22, 1961. However, in February of that year, Hemingway was asked
to write a speech for JFK and that was when Hemingway realized not only was his memory gone, but his writing abilities were completely diminished. His improvement was very little if there was any after his first series of ECT (Meyers 543).
Second Visit:
On April 21, 1961, Mary (his wife at the time) found Hemingway in a state of suicidal nature and eventually talked him down. On April 25th of that year, Hemingway underwent his second round of treatments, this time 10 shocks were administered. After being released back into the care of Mary in late June, Hemingway weighed 155 pounds when he usually weighed around 200 pounds (Meyers 553).
Death:
After multiple attempts at suicide, in any way possible Hemingway on July 2nd, finally succeeded in his attempt. That day Mary Hemingway found his dead body in their foyer and his blood and brains were splattered on the walls and floors due to the shotgun blow to the head administered by Hemingway (Meyers 559-560).
Mental Illness in Hemingway's Works
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The Sun Also Rises
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The issue of PTSD is extremely present in SAR. All of the characters, excluding Cohn, were involved in WWI. Each of these characters drink constantly and deal with the aftereffects of warfare in different ways. Jake Barns is the only character that seems to have a physical injury from the war that not only hurts his physical wellbeing but in turn causes him to slip into depression easily. The mixture of PTSD and depression in each one of the characters creates an in-group and out-group mentality that we know Hemingway is fond of.
A Farewell to Arms
In A Farewell to Arms, Hemingway discusses, through Frederic, the issue of PTSD. Frederic deals with trauma in more ways than one. First of all, he is directly involved in WWI and then he deals with the loss of his girlfriend and their child. This trauma can cause symptoms of PTSD even though it does not involve warfare. Hemingway talks about the pain that Frederic endures, in great detail, and the dangers that war can bring to a human.
The Garden of Eden
Catherine in The Garden of Eden has multiple manic episodes and is obviously a mentally ill person. Her hysterical actions mimic that of Zelda Fitzgerald who supposedly suffered fro schizophrenia. Hemingway was fascinated with the idea of mental illness and its effects on others. In this novel, David is the one who is affected by the illness. He is pushed into a corner and into a depression of sorts because of Catherine's antics. He grows tired of dealing with her episodes but a part of him still loves her.