Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors
used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
Hospital Records
Kaysen intersperses the essays in the book with copies
of internal McLean Hospital records. These records represent what
Kaysen describes as the “accurate but . . . not profound” nature
of her doctors’ understanding of her problems. The records report
Kaysen’s name, address, details of her suicide attempt, and other
facts, but they provide little context and even less interpretation.
The records are reminders of who she was and what she faced during
those difficult years. The unreliability of the records becomes
apparent when Kaysen discloses the contradictory accounts of her
admission to the hospital.
Tunnels
The tunnels Kaysen discovers under McLean represent the “essence”
of the hospital, stripped of its doors, bars, and signs. They reveal
to Kaysen the nature of her own treatment. She understands, in the
warm simplicity of the tunnels, that she and the doctors have been
approaching her problems the wrong way, confused by “all the bother.”
The tunnels, which allow access to every part of the hospital, grant
Kaysen insight into her illness. She leaves the “shadowy” world
of analysis behind to confront life on her own terms.
