One little notification of the artists and mental illness

Kimmo Huosionmaa

The life of the national writer of Finland was short and full of drama. The mental illness and death at the young age were the thing, what made him famous. This is the fact, what we must confess. If the death of that writer would be less dramatic, his book "Seitsemän Veljestä" would just be forgotten to the history. This is the thing, what we must remember when we are talking and thinking about this man. When we are thinking about the things, what this man made in the mental hospital, we should know, that those places are not the thing, what cheers to social behavior.


And in that time, the attitudes for the patients were something, what we cannot even imagine. The medicals were primitive, and there was only one way to relax patients if doctors hadn't got opium or chloroform. The thing was just tied patient in bed, and in fact, when there were no relaxing chemicals, the place was very dramatic and traumatic experience for many people, who visited in there. Of course, if the person would put in those institutes as the patients, would not be less traumatic. And even today the being in the mental hospital patient is not an easy thing for the persons, who will be patients.


The medical doctor, who investigated Aleksis Kivi wrote that this man was selfish onanist, who didn't want to co-operate with medical staff, was maybe meant, that his attitude about the patient, was that this man behaved the way what was not acceptable in the mental hospital. When we are thinking, that Kivi didn't talk with people, there must be some reason, and one of them was that this man was a little bit autistic or he had Tourette syndrome, what causes the fits when patient behaves very dramatic and frighten way. 


Sometimes there were thoughts that Kivi had the tumor in brains, and that caused the very bad mental problems, or he had syphilis what came from injection or unprotected sexual contacts.  Maybe he had problems with verbal communications, and that made him an outsider, the person, who was closed out from the community. But when we are thinking about the lifestyle of Kivi and the autism, that syndrome might cause the situation, that he tried to be social and started to drink alcohol, what he hoped to release his ability for social relations. And the thing, what happened was, that this man became an alcoholic. This kind of lifestyle is very dangerous even today. But when we are thinking about the attitude to the treatment, the reason why Kivi was so silent might caused by many things.


Maybe doctor asked all the time about masturbation, and Kivi felt that thing as the embarrassing. Everybody feels little embarrassing if somebody all the time asks about details of sexual behavior, and that is the thing, what makes people quite unsocial.  And sometimes those terms that are used in the report, used in the cases, where the patient just be too much alone. And the talking about hairy head, who lurked from the upper floor might be meant for the statement that person was mad in the eyes of the family. Who knows, what was behind that illness about Kivi, but the fact is that some artists are so-called "difficult personalities".


Their attitude is that other people don't understand their thoughts and way to see the world, what might be a little bit different than others. When we are thinking about the profession of an artist, we must say that the choice to become a professional writer or actor is not easy. Many times the family is against that decision, and maybe other members of the Stenvall family didn't actually tolerate that thing, where one family member just sat in the forest and wrote texts. But when we are thinking about the thing, what made Aleksis Kivi so well-known and influential is that he died in so dramatic and unclear conditions. If Kivi would die in his home at the age of 90, nobody even knows his name. He lived the short and dramatic life, what made him famous, and one thing is remarkable. He was like the comet, lived very bright but short life, what made him famous, and we still read his texts in the schools.




https://www.mtv.fi/uutiset/kotimaa/artikkeli/itserakas-onanisti-aleksis-kivi-muuttui-viimeisina-mielisairaina-vuosinaan-lahes-mykaksi-laakarin-mukaan-kansalliskirjailija-oli-armoton-itsetyydyttaja/7102202#gs.VQlLwZI