Power and Mental Illness in the Works of Sarah Kane

Abstract

In Chapter I, the influence of the ongoing war in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Sarah Kane has been discussed, especially in Blasted. She viewed violence and indifference to it as the most pressing issues we face. Violence according to Kane is a choice, and in her plays the violence has been mostly unrelated to illness, but a method used to control one another. In Chapters II and III, how the power relations and violence and mental illness have been presented in the plays of Sarah Kane is examined. Sarah Kane makes use of different linguistic and non-linguistic signs to deliver meaning. There is a correlation between the objectives, instrumental modes and forms of institutionalisation in a relation of power on one hand and the subject’s mental state on the other. In this conclusion, the cause and effect of the three topics, if any, will be discussed. In Blasted, it can be concluded that Ian’s constant use of verbal abuse and his sexual aggression is not related to a mental disorder. It is merely the method or the instrumental mode which he uses to control Cate and scare her into submission. When she does not respond the way he expects her to, his violence increases. None of the theatrical signs associated with his use of power are associated with the illness he appears to be suffering from; atypical posttraumatic stress disorder. The use of violence is hence represented as a sign of social malaise and a seed which grows into war. Similarly, the Soldier acts out in the context of the war in which he is fighting. Whereas it is true that he exhibits symptoms of atypical PTSD, the disorder has not led to his aggression. When he rapes Ian just like the soldiers raped his girlfriend and as he reexperiences what has happened to her, the reenactment is a theatrical image. It is taken to an extreme as is the case with in-yer-face theatre in general. Just like Ian finds no other way to exercise power over Cate than violence, the Soldier resorts to rape, torture and cannibalism because this behaviour is expected and often encouraged in war. Although Cate is continuously placed in the position of victim, she strongly resists. Both Ian and the soldier(s) offstage expose her to verbal, sexual abuse and rape, but she responds by preventing Ian from killing himself and sacrificing herself to be able to feed the newborn baby. She does not suffer any disorder which is associated with rape victims such as depression, anxiety or the full criteria of posttraumatic stress disorder, although it is very likely being a female rape victim. Kane means her to be a representative of the force of life amid the destruction both of the self and of the country.