Mental illness is so often seen through a lens of misconception, defined by society as an issue expected to be hidden away from the rest of the world rather than being accepted within it. In her 1957 short story “Alicia,” Gabrielle Roy delves into the tolls that mental illness can present for not only those afflicted but their loved ones as well. In taking the perspective of a younger sister unaware of the mental illness being faced within her family, Roy provides an unvarnished look into how mental health is viewed from the outside looking in as well as how this translates into society’s definition of these illnesses and those who face them. This story truly brings a new awareness into the role that family and societal perception plays in the struggle of mental illness and it sheds light on the unfortunate reality of how impactful misconceptions can be.
One of the most prevalent misjudgments in society is that those with mental illness are often characterized by the disorder they face, and in doing so, the fact that there are people behind the illness goes overlooked. The lack of character development for Alicia, Christine’s older sister, is representative of this truth. Despite the principal role that Alicia holds in the narrative, our sole introduction to her speaks to her huge, dark eyes, their contrast with her coal-black hair, and how “she was still herself, with her pale, slender face; yet no, it was no longer Alicia” (Roy 53). This is the extent of how we come to picture her in regard to anything aside from her mental illness. Each subsequent depiction of her is not meant to help readers understand what she may be facing herself or any other aspect of her personality; instead, they show only how Alicia was her family’s “greatest unhappiness” (Roy 57). By leaving this character in some sense hidden from the audience, we are seeing what happens to people like Alicia; they are tucked away from society to the point that they are almost unknown and undoubtedly misunderstood. Roy may have wanted readers to question why Alicia is depicted as this distant persona, “imprisoned within her own queer look…all alone within oneself” (Roy 53), and practically seen as an antagonist amongst her own family. While it is typical for authors to use in-depth description or language as a form of characterization, it truly is the lack of such in this story that makes a statement as to how Roy wants the audience to perceive Alicia.
Another important factor that contributes to Alicia’s isolation is the role that her family plays and how they, too, are tainted by societal stigmas. Early on in the story, it’s evident that Alicia’s younger sister has sensed a change in the family dynamic as well as Alicia’s wellbeing, but she is consistently told that nothing is the matter with her sister. Though the reasoning behind her parents’ actions is unbeknownst to her, Christine tells of how her family “hides” Alicia away in the presence of guests. It reaches a state where most “pretended they no longer included” Alicia within the family, but on the rare occasion that someone was to ask, the unspoken reason was that “Alicia had been stricken with a fever which had, as it were, consumed her” (Roy 57). While mental illness is no different than any other condition, Alicia’s family finds it more acceptable that she has come down with a fever than to share a genuine response, and all throughout the story, it is evident that this cloud of shame influenced by society takes its toll on each individual member of the family.
Christine yearns to understand what her sister is experiencing, but the constant limitations her parents place on allowing her to do so simply disconnects the family more and hinders any support system that may have been instrumental for Alicia. In her own thoughts, we see Christine’s frustration with this sense of exclusion from her family, how her parents were “protecting [her] from the truth” while doing so “by means of lies” and keeping her “in a world apart” (Roy 55). Though these are Christine’s feelings in the situation, these thoughts parallel the isolation Alicia must feel as well: detachment from the ones she loves most and an inability to communicate her feelings to them. Roy’s particular diction throughout the story speaks to key features of similarity between Christine’s solitude and that of her sister, particularly in Christine’s description of how her thoughts can “make very ugly something that is not such in itself” (Roy 60). The particular usage of the words “despair”, “withdrawn”, and “trapped” throughout the entirety of the story are harnessed as descriptions for the emotions of Christine as well as her perception of her sister during this time. While the family is so distant from one other, the emotions that they struggle with are in so many ways alike. Christine herself claims that “they say sorrow brings people together”, but the lack of open discussion throughout the story prevents the family from recognizing this (Roy 61).
One of the greatest contributors to stigma in society is a lack of understanding, and misunderstanding is truly at the heart of this narrative. Alicia’s state imprisons her in a world where she has little to no recognition of those around her, and her inability to communicate this results in her family placing her at blame for their suffering. “Christine’s young age certainly plays a role in her lack of understanding and perspective, but she is also within an environment where her parents are not fully able to comprehend Alicia’s struggles either. Rather than approaching their daughter, Alicia’s parents choose to immediately send her to an asylum, and this choice was likely a factor behind her death soon after. In the conclusion of the story, one of the final passages details a moment of realization for Christine when she finally reaches some semblance of understanding with her sister just before she passes away. At this moment, Christine states that for one sole instant, “we were ourselves within Alicia, and she herself was within us, and we were upon one single shore, close enough to touch, to see one another…” (Roy 63). This notable use of imagery depicts a momentary connection between the two, where Christine and Alicia are at last on a common shore and no longer divided by misunderstanding. Nevertheless, just as quickly as this understanding arrives, it leaves again, and Alicia “began to draw off; and, abruptly, a darksome, invisible stream dug its way” between the sisters once again (Roy 63). This depiction of the invisible stream provides a physical understanding of how mental illness can create a barrier in relationships, in this particular case between Christine and the Alicia she once knew and recognized. In this moment, Alicia has lost hope of her sister’s return and says what seems to be her true final goodbye as Alicia “raised her hand and waved it towards” her (Roy 63). Though Alicia passes away months later, this analogy speaks to how Alicia’s identity had long been gone in Christine’s eyes though Alicia was still alive herself. The imagery, language, and analogy harnessed in this writing all come together to depict a distinct divide between these sisters, one that Christine has now come to understand as the culmination of the unspoken mental illness and stigmatization her sister faced.
Throughout the story, we see the progression of Alicia’s identity and the many ways in which mental illness creates instability in this sense. However, it truly is the perceptions of her family and society’s contributions to these that have the greatest influence on Alicia’s struggle with mental illness. Roy’s choice of perspective in this story exposes readers to a side of mental illness that we often overlook, and it calls for us to reevaluate our perception of identity and definition of what mental illness is within society.
Works Cited
Roy, Gabrielle. “Alicia.” Street of Riches. University of Nebraska Press, 1993, pp. 53-63. Open Lab at BMCC, https://openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu/premedical-society/2020/09/27/gabrielle-roy-alicia/.
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Garg, Parie and Glick, Sam. (2018). “AI’s Potential to Diagnose and Treat Mental Illness.” [Digital Image]. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved May 4, 2021 from hbr.org/2018/10/ais-potential-to-diagnose-and-treat-mental-illness.