A Trifling Matter

A few weeks ago, I was faced with another interesting case. While it did not involve a royal family as my last case did, it was still a case I enjoyed. On the day the case was brought to me, I was sitting in my office reading over the other cases that were going on in the institute. I had the windows open to let the fresh air in. It was a nice warm day as spring was quickly approaching.

I was interrupted when I got a call from my secretary. A woman named Mrs. Peters had come to see me. I put down my files and had my secretary see Mrs. Peters into my office. We went through the customary greetings and I asked why she had come to see me. She had told me that there was recently a murder in her hometown and a woman named Mrs. Wright had been taken as the primary suspect because it was her husband that had been murdered. Mrs. Peters said that the chance of Mrs. Wright being convicted for the murder was getting more and more likely and wanted her examined by a psychologist to see if Mrs. Wright was mentally healthy. Mrs. Peters had been able to have this happen because her husband was the sheriff. If Mrs. Wright proved to having mental conditions the actions taken against her would vary and possibly keep her from a traditional conviction.

Mrs. Peters also informed me of what Mrs. Wright’s life was like. She told me Mrs. Wright was happy and beautiful in her youth. She was even admired among the church choir. However, after marrying her husband, her life took a turn for the worst. She no longer sang in the choir and stopped leaving her home. It was rumor around town that her husband was even abusive.

I agreed to help Mrs. Peters with determining the mental well-being of her friend Mrs. Wright. Mrs. Peters gave me her contact information and the address to the county jail that Mrs. Wright was being kept in. After that Mrs. Peters thanked me and left. On the next day, I got up early and drove to the jail to meet Mrs. Wright.

The jail was a simple building and it showed that the town was not very big. Upon entering the jail I was greeted by the Sheriff. He did not seem very happy to see me, probably because his wife was the reason I was here. Nonetheless, he took me to an interrogation room where Mrs. Wright was already sitting down.

I introduced myself to Mrs. Wright and took a seat across from her at the table. I told her that Mrs. Peters had sent me to talk to her and that talking to me could help with her involvement in her husband’s murder. She looked nervous and a bit reluctant but she agreed to talk to me. I asked her questions about her marriage. I asked questions such as if her husband was abusive or controlling. She told me that after they had been married for a few years he became more and more controlling. He did not want her to leave the house or talk to people of the town. He would also hit her if she would try to act out against him.

I was surprised by the fact of how quickly Mrs. Wright opened up to me. In all my years of being a psychologist nobody has ever been so willing to share such personal information about themselves so quickly. I suppose Mrs. Wright had not had anyone to talk to but her husband in a long time and she would talk to the first person willing to listen. I talked to Mrs. Wright for a while longer before I decided that I heard enough to draw my conclusions about her.

In the case of Mrs. Wright, I believe that she is not mentally insane but may suffer from depression. She had no erratic behavior or any signs that may prove otherwise. In her years with her husband she has gone through a lot. Not being able to go into town and being kept in solitude may have been the cause of any possible depression. In the situation of whether or not she killed her husband, I think it may be possible. Some women who are victims of abuse do eventually decide to fight back and kill their husbands in crimes of passion. This very well may be the case for Mrs. Wright, but that's for the court to figure out.

Oh, Ophelia

    Not very long ago, I was working on a very exceptional case. Instead of the usual middle class patients that I treat, I was contacted to look at someone of nobility named Ophelia. I was honestly quite surprised that I was thought of highly enough to be chosen for something like this. Her brother, Laertes, was the one that asked for my help. The case required me to fly all the way to Denmark to look at the patient. This case seemed to be too good to pass up, so I caught a fly to Denmark the next day.

    After a long trip, I arrived at the Castle Elsinore to meet Laertes. Laertes looked horrible, like he had not slept in days. I assumed that he has been looking after his sister. After the formal greetings, he told me everything that had happened to Ophelia that has caused her to begin acting unusual. I learned that she was once believed to become engaged to Hamlet the prince. However, after the death of Hamlet’s father, he began to show his own signs of madness and no longer showed affection towards Ophelia.. I also learned that their father, Polonius, was recently murdered. The truly bizarre part of the story is that Polonius was murdered by Hamlet. I had never heard of something as interesting as this and couldn’t wait to meet with Ophelia.

    Laertes led me to the bedroom that Ophelia was being kept in. She sitting up on the corner of the bed and looking out of a large window that overlooked the castle’s courtyard. She had a blank stare on her face and seemed as if she didn’t even notice my presence. Ophelia was quietly singing, “He is dead and gone, lady, He is dead and gone.” I asked if she was singing about her father but I received no response.

    My interaction with Ophelia was somewhat disappointing. For the next hour I attempted to communicate with Ophelia but I was never successful. Ophelia would not respond to any of my questions about Hamlet or her Father. She would only continue to sing the same song. It was if she was completely oblivious to what was going on around her. I took what information I had on Ophelia to try to form an early analysis of her condition.

    Ophelia has clearly been through a great amount of tragedy lately with how Hamlet treated her and the loss of her father. While some causes of mental illness are not fully understood, it is known that loss of a loved one can be a contributing factor. In a way, Ophelia has lost two loved ones. Her grief over Hamlet no longer loving her has also had an affect on her health. Losing two people that were so close to her may have caused her to feel very lonely. In some cases loneliness has shown to be a cause of mental illness. During my observation of Ophelia, she was very disconnected from her surroundings. I believe that she may be living in a world that she created because of the grief reality has caused her. I have determined that she has been driven mentally ill from the overwhelming grief that she has gone through. Because of Ophelia’s lack of awareness of her surroundings, I fear that she could easily cause herself harm and may need to be hospitalized until her condition is able to improve.