# Positive portrayals of mentally ill characters in fiction (esp SF) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 9, 2005, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-portrayals-of-mentally-ill-characters-in-fiction-esp-sf/320772 "2005-09-09T02:52:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-portrayals-of-mentally-ill-characters-in-fiction-esp-sf/320772/1 "2005-09-09T02:52:38Z")
I’m writing an academic paper that is going to involve, among other things, an exploration of positively portrayed mentally ill characters in science fiction, and I’m looking for characters and books I can reference. I’m not asking anyone to do my homework, I’m just seeing if there’s something I might have missed over my years of reading SF that might work. As for what I mean by “positive,” I’m NOT looking for characters who are navel-gazers hung up on their issues (e.g. the main character in The Bell Jar), but instead a character who, despite their illness, manages to help others and has an instrumental hand in the outcome of the book (Jack Bohlen, in Phil Dick’s Martian Time-Slip, is a perfect example). I want characters who might be affected by their illness, but AREN’T their illness, if you can catch my drift. If someone wants to offer up non-SF or non-book examples, that might be cool too, since like I said I’m not asking anyone to do my homework and I might be able to use some of them. I always like seeing positive portrayals of mentally ill characters in media, so I’d be interested by what anyone throws out, even if I can’t use it in said paper. ---
**Author:** ![Wearia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Wearia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wearia)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-portrayals-of-mentally-ill-characters-in-fiction-esp-sf/320772/2 "2005-09-09T02:58:06Z")
I think Cole from 12 Monkeys argueably fits your criteria. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-portrayals-of-mentally-ill-characters-in-fiction-esp-sf/320772/3 "2005-09-09T03:38:54Z")
_Flowers for Algernon_ comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-portrayals-of-mentally-ill-characters-in-fiction-esp-sf/320772/4 "2005-09-09T06:08:38Z")
> [@Wearia](#): > > I think Cole from 12 Monkeys argueably fits your criteria. Why? He didn’t have anything wrong with him, he just wound up in a mental hospital cause no-one believed he was from the future. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-portrayals-of-mentally-ill-characters-in-fiction-esp-sf/320772/5 "2005-09-09T06:30:53Z")
Well, it’s not strictly SF but Prot from Gene Brewer’s _K-PAX_ fits the profile. Although, It’s up to you to decide if he is truly an alien occupying a human body or Robert Porter’s delusion. ---
**Author:** ![hildea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ebca7d/32.png) [@hildea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hildea)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-portrayals-of-mentally-ill-characters-in-fiction-esp-sf/320772/6 "2005-09-09T10:35:17Z")
“Mirror Dance” by Lois McMaster Bujold. It’s from her Miles Vorkosigan series, so if you read it on its own you’ll miss a lot of background, but the story should be able to stand alone. We meet the same character in “Brothers in Arms” (takes place before MD), and afterwards in “A Civil Campaign” when he’s been in therapy and is a lot better. The character has had a nasty childhood and youth (raised/brainwashed by terrorists who intend to use him as an assasin), and then when he’s imprisoned and tortured, his personality splits. He then goes on to save the day. Come to think of it, sergeant Bothari in the first books in the series (“Shards of Honor” and especially “Barrayar”) also has serious mental issues, and is, despite committing some extremely ugly deeds, a hero of sorts. ---
**Author:** ![Gerome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Gerome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gerome)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-portrayals-of-mentally-ill-characters-in-fiction-esp-sf/320772/7 "2005-09-09T10:46:34Z")
> [@Silentgoldfish](#): > > Why? He didn’t have anything wrong with him, he just wound up in a mental hospital cause no-one believed he was from the future. I dunno, he did have that voice in his head. _OR DID HE?_ ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-portrayals-of-mentally-ill-characters-in-fiction-esp-sf/320772/8 "2005-09-09T11:05:47Z")
I wouldn’t say that the portrayal is entirely positive, but the character played by Michael Douglas in _Falling Down_ is certainly one with which you can empathise, for the larger part of the movie; similarly the main character in _The Mosquito Coast_ (played by Harrison Ford in the movie). Also, Scobie, the main character in Graham Greene’s _Heart of the matter_ undergoes a breakdown that has a number of psychological components, yet the reader tends to pretty much agree with his choice of actions all the way through. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-portrayals-of-mentally-ill-characters-in-fiction-esp-sf/320772/9 "2005-09-09T11:14:55Z")
Maybe _A Scanner Darkly_ by **Dick** as well? Or I seem to remember there were various obsessed/mad characters on board the generation starship in _Marrow_ by **Robert Reed** The main character in **Elizabeth Moon** ’s _Speed of Dark_ was autistic… as was the bloke in _The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time_ by **Mark Haddon** (which was mainstream, rather than sf). ---
**Author:** ![initech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/439d5e/32.png) [@initech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/initech)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-portrayals-of-mentally-ill-characters-in-fiction-esp-sf/320772/10 "2005-09-09T12:14:51Z")
Unfortunately, it’s not SF. But _Motherless Brooklyn_ by Jonathan Lethem is apparently a very realistic portrayal of Tourette’s syndrome. It seemed very real to me… ---
**Author:** ![hildea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ebca7d/32.png) [@hildea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hildea)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-portrayals-of-mentally-ill-characters-in-fiction-esp-sf/320772/11 "2005-09-09T20:12:14Z")
Come to think of it, in Card’s “Xenocide”, the ruling caste on the planet Path suffer from OCD. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-portrayals-of-mentally-ill-characters-in-fiction-esp-sf/320772/12 "2005-09-09T20:16:17Z")
Also not science fiction, but the show “Monk” does. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-portrayals-of-mentally-ill-characters-in-fiction-esp-sf/320772/13 "2005-09-09T20:35:31Z")
Depending on how you define mentally ill: Tom Cullen in **The Stand** (He is retarded). An extremely well-written character who is instrumental to the entire plot. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-portrayals-of-mentally-ill-characters-in-fiction-esp-sf/320772/14 "2005-09-10T01:06:20Z")
I think the protagonist of Iain Banks’ “Use of Weapons” fits your description to a T, and more than that I cannot say, for fear of giving too much away. I cannot imagine a better SF novel for your purposes, and I’ve read a lot of them. ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-portrayals-of-mentally-ill-characters-in-fiction-esp-sf/320772/15 "2005-09-10T01:10:00Z")
It’s possible that **Billy Pilgrim** from _Slaughterhouse Five_ would qualify. His sanity is certainly debatable Also, how about **Yossarian** or **Oar** from _Catch 22_? I think they probably _were_ insane… just not as insane as many of those around them. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-portrayals-of-mentally-ill-characters-in-fiction-esp-sf/320772/16 "2005-09-10T01:12:30Z")
**Scout’s Honor** by [Terry Bisson](http://www.terrybisson.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-portrayals-of-mentally-ill-characters-in-fiction-esp-sf/320772/17 "2005-09-10T01:16:01Z")
I was going to mention Card’s Xenocide, as well. That one is well done. ‘Madness has its place’ by Larry Niven portrays a person who’s employed to ‘be insane’ as a means of predicting the violent and such. He’s pathological but it’s used to good purpose. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-portrayals-of-mentally-ill-characters-in-fiction-esp-sf/320772/18 "2005-09-10T01:20:27Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > **Scout’s Honor** by [Terry Bisson](http://www.terrybisson.com/) Not mentally ill\* but rather, the protagonist is autistic. Not your regular time travel story. A Must Read™! \*I’m not going to lump retardation, autism, mental illnesses, etc… in the same basket. Thought you might want a little broader base, tho. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-portrayals-of-mentally-ill-characters-in-fiction-esp-sf/320772/19 "2005-09-10T01:23:46Z")
Not SF, but everybody seems to be reading _The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime_, where the protagonist is an autistic boy. It’s very well done, although I guess you’d say it’s neutral - the boy just tells his own story. It starts out about him investigating the death of a neighbor’s dog, but it turns out to be more about his life and his family. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-portrayals-of-mentally-ill-characters-in-fiction-esp-sf/320772/20 "2005-09-10T01:45:35Z")
The human detective who partners up with R. Daneel Olivaw in Asimov’s Caves of Steel is an extreme agoraphobe, as are most members of his society. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-portrayals-of-mentally-ill-characters-in-fiction-esp-sf/320772.md?page=2)