Where Madness Lies by Sylvia True

Author:Sylvia True
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: John Hunt Publishing
Published: 2020-11-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Diagnosis

Prina, Germany 1935

For the first month that Rigmor lived at Sonnenstein, she only left her room to meet with Bohm. Arnold tried to get her to tour the gardens, but every time Rigmor reached the threshold, her shoulders curled, and as she placed a hand on the doorframe, she claimed the room spun. They would turn around and Arnold would suggest the couch, but she insisted she felt too weak and needed to be in bed.

He visited her on his lunch break and at dinner time. He asked what sort of tests Bohm was using and she told him—nothing more than interviews and a few cards with words and splashes of ink. Arnold hoped that Bohm would discover something that he had missed.

In conversations with colleagues, Arnold became aware of his complete insignificance. No one had known he was coming. Rigmor, on the other hand, was well-known, as a “Jewess,” “artist,” “heiress,” or “hysteric.” Arnold even caught a snippet of a malicious rumor, that Rigmor and Bohm were lovers. Nothing could have been further from the truth.

Arnold enjoyed his work with the feebleminded patients. He liked making the rounds and asking people how they were feeling. He would often sit with patients and play chess or cards. No one rushed. Arnold did not adhere to any formal model of psychotherapy. For the most part, he simply listened. His favorite patient, Wilhelm, was a stout country lad, with the shoulders of an ox. Wilhelm talked of milking cows and planting potatoes. At Sonnenstein, he helped with the garden and impressed everyone with his knowledge of flowers. He knew every class, subclass, genus, species, order, and variety of plant. He knew the colors, the smells, and the lifespan. He also loved to listen to football games on Sunday and plan for his return to the family farm. Asked by Arnold why he resided in Sonnenstein, Wilhelm muttered something about a misunderstanding. The doctor in charge of the ward told Arnold that Wilhelm had fornicated with a sheep and that the likelihood he would return home was slim to none. Arnold did not believe the story about the sheep and decided that he would help Wilhelm in whatever way he could.

In the evening, as was dictated by the Third Reich, Hitler’s speeches were broadcast, but few people at Sonnenstein listened. Wilhelm and Arnold often visited the gardens during those times. One particularly beautiful evening, as the clouds flared in shades of orange and pink, Wilhelm explained the life cycle of the bluebell, that they grew from bulbs buried deep underground where there was more moisture, that their journey began after the germination of the seed on the surface, and that the small bulb sprouted special roots that contracted and pulled the bulb downward. Wilhelm knelt next to the flowerbed and held the head of a blue flower.

“Dr. Richter,” a voice called.

They both turned. An orderly raced toward them, arms flailing.

“What is it?” Arnold asked, fearing terrible news about Rigmor.

“You are late for a meeting with the Director.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.