Monstrous Depression: Metaphors Used in Describing Depression Metaphors can be viewed as a basic unit necessary for human communication, and are a valuable tool for people to relate their unique experiences to others. As Sonya Pritzker observes, “conceptual metaphors access an aspect of humanity that is universal” (13). This means that equating one experience to another possibly more relatable concept is a somewhat universal method of communication. Through this paper, I intend to illustrate the link between the metaphors people with depression use to describe their depression and the connotations of the language used to describe monsters, particularly zombies or zombie-like creatures. The primary source I will analyze to link the metaphors …show more content…
They have been described as having decayed, “grey-ish”, slimy and scabbed skin; with faces that have no eyes, the skin stretched over the place the eyes should be. The only opening on the face is a “gaping, shapeless hole,” used solely for the purpose of sucking out their victim’s soul (Rowling, Prisoner of Azkaban 66, 183, 281). A parallel can be observed between these Dementors and the ghouls that Joshua Gunn and Shaun Treat examine: not quite zombies, but still decaying, feral figures with the biggest difference between the ghoul and the zombie being an “uncontrollable desire to consume” (152). The appearance of these creatures is meant to evoke a sort of visceral fear in people. As for what these creatures consume, in the case of the Dementors, their prey is souls; in the case of the ghouls, their prey is human tissue, especially the brain. It could be argued that both of these, the soul and the brain, are representations of (or contain what is) the “self”, and these monsters who take consume this representation of the self could represent a fear of losing one’s sense of self. When viewed in the context of the metaphorical representation of depression, what the Dementors and ghouls consume could be seen as a fear in losing one’s sense of self to depression. This comparison in physical appearance and motive between Dementors and the “ghoul” type of zombie is necessary to analyze the implications of the link between depression and the Dementors as these ghouls and zombies are similar in appearance to the