A Whisper in the Dark starts off a little strange due to the relation between Sybil and her uncle and then it became confusing as to the mental stability and reliability of Sybil. There were multiple factors to take into consideration. I felt it was hard to distinguish between her need to rebel and go against authority verses insanity. There was also many times where she was ill for whatever reason which also made it hard as a reader to judge if she was insane or just delusional due to being sick.
“For many weeks I lay burning in a fever, fitfully conscious of Dr. Karnac and the woman’s presence” (p 239) This is not the only time where Sybil is ill, but even in this situation she claims she is conscious and aware of her surroundings. There are some special cases but most people are not very aware when they are as sick as Sybil was. Then there was also the fact that she is drugged through the wine that her uncle provides her. Being ill as well as being drugged would have major effects on a person that could be confused for insanity.
Then the author also includes phrases like “sleepless nights” and having crazy nightmares. These could be signs of insanity, but it could also be circumstance. Being in a creepy house and hearing constant noises would mess with anyone. Plus sleep deprivation will further worsen the situation. My point with all these examples is that whether Sybil was mentally insane or just under poor circumstances it was hard to see her as a reliable narrator. At the end of the novel when it says “but over all these years, serenely prosperous, still hangs for me the shadow of the past, still rises that dead image of my mother...” (p 247) As a reader you almost question if all that really happened. Did Sybil’s mom really whisper to her and save her life, or did Sybil manage to save herself.
After having finished A Whisper in the Dark I think anytime you bring insanity into a novel the reader does lose some reliability in the message as well as relationships. For example, the mother daughter relationship between Sybil and her mother is left in question because the author suggests the mother was also insane. Reliability is lost because it’s hard to believe what is true and what is from a mental breakdown.
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Hey! Good point about her being sick some of the time and how we had trouble deciphering whether it was physical or both physical and mental illness. Good job trying to make out whether she was insane or not. You really thoroughly explored the idea! I like your last quote, especially. It conveys such dramatic imagery and really touches the reader's emotions of sympathy for Sybil. You're right that reliability is lost once we find out that Sybil could be insane. I actually think the insanity part pulled me into the story and made the story even more interesting/scandalous.
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