MovieChat Forums > Splendor in the Grass (1961) Discussion > what was deanie's mental illness?

what was deanie's mental illness?


i liked the film, but this part always got to me. what was wrong with her? why did she become all crazy after that incident in the water? i think it's probably a dated notion that a woman can go crazy cuz of her sexual angst. she wants bud, but feels guilty about wanting to have sex with him, so guilty that it drives her mad? it's the 60s, maybe people still believed in this medical nonsense, that one can die from a broken heart or just go clinically crazy...whichever comes first. it is the only part of the film that doesn't ring true to me and it's a bit offensive. like a woman's sexuality is dangerious to her own mental health.

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As others have pointed out, Deanie succumbed to a broken heart. I mourned my first bf for two years, and the 'relationship' had only lasted six weeks. Some people are very sensitive.






Get me a bromide! And put some gin in it!

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Yeah. Some people are just very sensitive and it takes them longer to recover from trauma. They feel things very intensely. Nothing wrong with that. Get help. Get counseling. And hopefully, you'll recover. No big deal.

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just a nervous breakdown. no one was willing to speak about what was real and she imploded.

Swing away, Merrill....Merrill, swing away...

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She was a spoiled brat!

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Go crazy because you can't have just sex, lol that is insane.

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