https://doi.org/10.67147/literariness.v1i2.029
Fractured and Forged: Representations of Bipolarity and Identity Reconstruction in Select Indian Mental Health Narratives
SURYA C.S.
Research Scholar
Department of English Studies,
Central University of Tamil Nadu
DR. B.J. GEETHA
Professor of English
Department of English Studies,
Central University of Tamil Nadu
Abstract: This paper examines the intersection of mental illness, memory, and identity in Maine Mandu Nahin Dekha: Khandit Jeevan ka Collage (I Have Not Seen Mandu) (2003/2021), by Swadesh Deepak and Warrior: The Bipolar Battle (2015) by K.S. Ram. Both memoirs offer intimate accounts of psychological disruption, where identity becomes unstable and fragmented—Deepak’s narrative is marked by amnesia and dissociation, while Ram’s depicts the oscillations of bipolar disorder and the search for coherence. Through these texts, the study explores how lived experiences of mental illness force a renegotiation of selfhood in response to both internal fragmentation and external stigma.
Grounded in Erik Erikson’s theory of identity crisis and Erving Goffman’s work on stigma, the paper traces how societal perceptions of mental illness construct marginal identities that individuals must either resist or reclaim. Further, drawing on postmodern and psychoanalytic frameworks—particularly Lacan’s notion of the decentered subject—the analysis contends that these memoirs subvert the conventional idea of a unified self, portraying identity instead as a process of ongoing and often painful reconstruction.
This paper employs Critical Discourse Analysis with close reading, enabling a nuanced examination of how language, narrative structure, and cultural codes shape the construction and negotiation of identity. It also raises questions like How do these memoirs challenge traditional notions of a coherent self? In what ways do cultural norms impose an “outsider” identity on those with mental illness? Ultimately, the paper reflects on how literature becomes not just a record of suffering but a powerful medium for self-recovery and resistance.
Keywords: Identity Crisis, Mental Health, Decentered Subject, Stigma, Outsider Identity, Bipolar narratives
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