| abstract |
The Drowning of Hope is a novel that gives voice to the struggles that women
suffering from postpartum psychological conditions face while at the same time
showcasing the sociological components that structure the Postpartum
Depression/Psychosis experience. This piece walks the reader through the experience of a
woman who has suffered from Postpartum Psychosis (written as the "before" sections)
and is now serving a sentence at a psychiatric institution for the crime of infanticide
(written as the "now" sections). Both the past and the present portions of the text are
crafted from a mix of the personal and the academic: the author's personal experiences
with the condition and the existing academic research related to the respective fields of
study. Ultimately, the piece suggests that the socially-defined expectations of motherhood
and the pressures that go along with it are significant contributing factors to the
worsening of postpartum psychological disorders, as they set the rigid "script" of
motherhood. The novel also gives a nod to the field of art therapy as having a valid place
in institutional settings where it serves as an additional "voice" as it is beneficial to
individuals who have not responded to traditional psychotherapeutic and pharmaceutical
interventions.
Following the creative portion of the dissertation is its critical companion: a
selection of research from various realms of study relevant to the contents of the novel.
This section of the dissertation is split into four academic discussions: the existing realm
of literature in which this text "lives"; an exploration of existing research on postpartum
depression and psychosis as it relates to both biological and sociological "roots" of said
disorders; a discussion of how legal interventions for women who progress to infanticide
has been historically treated by various court systems; and a discussion of the benefits of
art therapy as a mode of therapeutic intervention for various groups within incarcerated
populations. Each of these discussions seeks to tie the academic to the literary in a way
that reinforces the credibility of the protagonist's experience.
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