Girl, Interrupted

Lisa is a fellow patient at McLean, who has been diagnosed as a sociopath by McLean staff. Lisa became one of Kaysen’s closest friends at the hospital, and she is mentioned frequently throughout the book. Kaysen views Lisa as a funny, irreverent, and irrepressible person who thoroughly resented being hospitalized and had a knack for escaping McLean for days at a time. By sharing stories that showcase Lisa’s wit and antics, Kaysen makes it clear why she was a powerful presence among the patients at McLean. She influenced Kaysen’s own opinions and behavior, as she admired Lisa’s confidence and rejection of authority. For example, Kaysen reveals that she kept her psychologist's comments about her personality to herself, since she felt that Lisa would denigrate them, which would change Kaysen’s mind about going into analysis.

Kaysen demonstrates Lisa’s high status in the ward by noting that when another young woman named Lisa entered the hospital “We called her by her full name, Lisa Cody, to distinguish her from the real Lisa, who remained simply Lisa, like a queen” (60). Other patients also looked up to Lisa. For example, during one of Lisa’s pranks Georgina comments that with her patience and vision Lisa has “the true artistic temperament” (60). When Lisa ran away, which was frequently, Kaysen and the other patients were sad, since “she kept our spirits up. She was funny” (24). Other patients, however, fared worse under pressure from Lisa. When Lisa felt threatened by Lisa Cody, she challenged her to various self-harming tasks, which Lisa Cody failed. It is implied that Lisa Cody ran away from McLean in part to escape from Lisa’s bullying and became addicted to drugs (62-63).

Kaysen’s portrayal of Lisa is compassionate and nuanced. While she reveals that Lisa was funny, clever, witty, and “artistic”, she also shows that Lisa could use her status to pressure other patients in harmful ways.

Valerie is the head nurse at McLean Hospital, where Kaysen stays as a patient for a year and a half. Valerie is described as firm and fearless and is one of the few nurses who has a positive relationship with the patients at McLean. Kaysen shares that Valerie was “strict and inflexible and the only staff person we trusted” (79).

In discussing patients’ positive reception of Valerie and respect for her leadership, Kaysen reveals more about the tense dynamic between patients and nurses. For example, Valerie did not use medical language or jargon to discuss patient behavior, instead using colloquial, conversational language to discuss issues or to correct behavior. Instead of saying that a patient was “indulging in behavior” she would simply say “Cut that out”, or “You’re a bore” (80). Kaysen shares that Valerie’s approachable demeanor was a “relief” from the formal attitudes of other nurses, doctors, and therapists. Kaysen argues that another reason why patients liked Valerie is that she did not seem afraid of them like many others on the nursing staff. Valerie had an assertive personality and was also confident with the doctors at McLean.

By including a description of Valerie and her relationship with patients Kaysen adds nuance the tense dynamic that existed between patients and staff at McLean. She also pinpoints what caused patients to be distrustful of staff—namely their condescending attitude and use of jargon, and their fearful behavior around their patients.