Schizophrenia In A Beautiful Mind

In the movie, “A Beautiful Mind,” the main character, John Nash, experiences constant hallucinations and believes his undercover work is in real life, despite it actually being all part of his own imagination. This affirms that victims of schizophrenia are unaware that their hallucinations and delusions have no reasoning to them in the eyes of others, such as their friends and family. This concept mirrors the lifestyle of Hamlet in William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, when he claims to be feigning madness. While one may argue that Hamlet is able to act his emotions in order to portray insanity as part of his plan to avenge his father’s death, Hamlet displays multiple symptoms of schizophrenia in young adults, including hallucinations, the will

The first development of his illness is after he learns about the ghost and follows him into the forest. As this apparition beckons Hamlet to follow him, Horatio warns him, “What if it tempt you toward the flood, my lord, / Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff [...] And there assume some other horrible form, / Which might deprive your sovereignty of reason / And draw you into madness?” (1.4.69-70, 72-74) In the Elizabethan era, ghosts were debated by the conservative Catholics to be real, therefore this does not mean Horatio, Marcellus, and the guards are having hallucinations as well when they see this vision the first time (elsinore.ucsc.ed). However, with Hamlet mourning his father’s recent death, this conversation serves as a transition between what is real and what is not. He suffers from depression throughout his mourning, and as he follows the ghost, he withdraws from Horatio; these are symptoms that fall under the prodromal phase of schizophrenia, where there are almost unrecognizable changes in one’s character (camh.ca). Moreover, Horatio’s warning foreshadows Hamlet’s lack of reason during a psychotic phase with Gertrude beside him. After his sudden murder of Polonius and during his aggression towards his mother, he sees a hallucination of the ghost, to which Gertrude, who does not see this apparition, tells Hamlet, “This is the

The first evidence of Hamlet’s madness towards Ophelia is his disturbed behaviour when he sees her. After Hamlet enters her room, Ophelia describes Hamlet’s attire to Polonius as having “his doublet all unbraced [and] his stockings foul’d,” and when talking about his actions, “He took me by the wrist and held me hard. / Then goes he to the length of all his arm, / And, with his other hand thus o'er his brow, / He falls to such perusal of my face / As he would draw it.” (2.1.79-80, 88-92). Hamlet’s stress from Ophelia’s lost intimacy triggers his schizophrenic symptoms and causes an active phase where he behaves oddly, and this proves his insanity because Ophelia leaving him has no connection with Claudius’ murder, and therefore there is no justification for Hamlet to act oddly towards Ophelia if he was trying to make his uncle feel guilty. To explore this point further, Hamlet’s aggressive reaction towards Ophelia when she returns his presents is based solely on his emotional trauma caused by his unrequited love. After Ophelia no longer wants Hamlet’s gifts, his mood suddenly changes from flirtatious to indignant, and he rages, “If thou dost marry, I’ll give thee this plague for thy dowry. Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Get thee to a nunnery, go” (3.1.135-137). This relates to the thesis because sudden anger is one