Citation

Hayes-Brady C, Barrett E. Child Adolesc. Ment. Health 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/camh.12413

PMID

32748493

Abstract

This essay explores representations of adolescent suicide in contemporary culture, arguing that the novel The Virgin Suicides highlights a resistance to the idea of agency and self-reflection in young women that inhibits understanding of mental health issues. The essay argues that the novel presents adolescent suicide as unknowable, using mythic and clinical language to distance the reader from the girls' experience and working to mystify and decontextualise suicide. Tracing patterns of representative language through the novel, the essay shows how the sisters of the title are prevented from speaking and being heard, contributing to their suicides. The essay further argues that this representation underscores the need for adolescents to feel heard in medical contexts and that the inclusion of fiction and popular literature in medical education and training may help provide a frame to explore issues related to adolescent mental health and suicide.

Language: en