Creativity and Self Destruction: Do they go hand in hand?

This topic can be argued from both sides, which there is a valid argument supporting each side. In this short piece, I would like to express that I feel that creativity and self destruction are related to some point. So what causes an individual to enter into self destruction? It is a hard question to answer, which has many possible answers that may include a bad childhood, drug abuse, a constant persistence towards perfection, always trying to create something “outside the box” (creative), etc. Some individuals might also develop personal “demons” which may be a constant critic in their mind always judging and breaking them down.

 

 

 

Looking at some of the recent artist that have had mental problems and/or committed suicide can provide some help in illustrating this point.  Vincent van Gogh (1853 –1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist artist.  His paintings and drawings include some of the world's best known, most popular and most expensive pieces.  Mental problems affected him, particularly in the last few years of his life. During some of these periods he did not paint or was not allowed to.  There has been much debate over the years as to the source of Van Gogh's mental illness and its effect on his work.  Diagnoses which have been put forward include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, syphilis, poisoning from swallowed paints, temporal lobe epilepsy and acute intermittent porphyria. Any of these could have been the culprit and been aggravated by malnutrition, overwork, insomnia, and a fondness for alcohol.  It seems to me that a constant stress and dedication of his work may have caused Van Gogh to enter into a state of self destruction fueled by alcohol and exhaustion.

 

 

 

 

Schizophrenia could refer to Van Gogh’s personal “demons” he encountered while creating his pieces. I feel that his obsession for creativity lead to his mental breakdown. I feel that if you are constantly pursuing perfection as an artist, it will eventually lead to bad things. In the novel “A Question of Power” by Bessie Head, Bessie does a good job of showing how an individual battles these “demons” and strives to keep her life together while enduring hallucinations and bad dreams. She is trying to maintain her creativity while battling her own demise.

 

 

 

Elizabeth is the main character in this novel, undergoing a mental breakdown, striving to maintain her sanity.  Her mental state could be seen in this short excerpt from the novel:

 

 

Her face had assumed a mean expression. She swung around near the man in the brown suit who looked like Sello, and looked at Elizabeth like a wild-eyed Medusa. She started shouting in a shrill, high voice: ‘We don’t want you here. This is my land. These are my people. We keep our things to ourselves. You keep no secrets. I can do more for the poor man than you could ever do.’

 

 

As you can see, Elizabeth is in a bad state of mind at this point in the novel (pg. 38). Elizabeth’s inability to identify with anyone or any place (Just like Bessie Head) may play a part in her breakdown. She is being consumed by madness. Van Gogh seems to have suffered a similar type of breakdown according to some readings. Hallucinations of imaginary characters seem to haunt her.

 

 

 

Elizabeth constantly incurs visions of Medusa (the Greek gorgon) as a “demon” trying to constantly break her down. This may refer back to a constant critic always to put down and break down an individual. Elizabeth is being harassed constantly by Medusa in the novel, who is on a non-stop attack to destroy her.  These next pieces from the novel shows this:

 

Medusa was smiling. She had some top secret information to impart to Elizabeth…….

Medusa’s next assault pulled the ground right from under Elizabeth’s feet. She fell into a deep hole of such excruciating torture that, briefly, she went stark, raving mad.

 

Medusa said: ‘Africa is troubled waters, you know. I’m a powerful swimmer in troubled waters. You’ll only drown here. You’re not linked up to the people. You don’t know any African languages.’

 

 

Medusa is constantly attacking Elizabeth, chipping and chipping away at her. These short excerpts show what effect Medusa is having on Elizabeth. Elizabeth is fighting her “demons” just as creative artists are fighting their “critics”.  Elizabeth’s mind and dreams also show that her mental state is deteriorating in the novel.

 

 

 

Elizabeth’s dreams and thoughts, another factor that may contribute to a person’s breakdown, also provide no relief for her. I think it shows her mental state and how it is deteriorating. It is apparent in the following:

 

 

She fell into a deep, exhausted sleep, only to awaken the following morning to a greater terror still. Someone had turned a record inside her head. It went on and on in the same, stuck groove: ‘Dog, filth, the Africans will eat you to death. Dog, filth, the Africans will eat you to death.’

 

This is a good quote that supports the idea that she is entering a state of madness. There are far too many quotes in this novel which illustrate Elizabeth’s breakdown, but I thought this shows how madness affects very aspect of an individual’s life. It also shows a bit of madness.  One may wonder if this also directly relates to Van Gogh and his mental state.

 

 

 

Through this short writing, I have tried to show you how I believe that a person’s creativity can lead to their self destruction.  Creativity may have caused Van Gogh to enter into a state of self destruction through his persistence and “outside the box” thinking. Bessie Head, an artist herself, does a good job of showing this a character’s mental breakdown.  It makes you think what kind of state of mind Bessie had to approach when trying to write this novel.  This self destruction of this character in her book, in which Elizabeth directly relates to Bessie’s life, shows that Bessie may have some idea or has experienced of an artist fighting off their demons and maintaining their sanity.