"It's not my sister who is mad. You are!": Problematising the Normal in C. Ayyappan's 'Madness'

Abstract

What makes something right? What makes something true? What explains 'reason'? What is 'normal'? "To get at even a grain of truth about something, at least two persons should look at it, each with their own set of eyes- or spectacles, if you like! That's why it is essential that you give ear to what I say." Krishnan, in C. Ayyappan's short story Madness, invites people to validate his emotions. To tell him that it is normal to feel it and he is not mad; to know and explain to him what is 'normal'. The story plays with many layers of norms and structures of the society, associated with madness, gender, and caste. Krishnan's sister is said to have some form of mental illness; she is called 'mad'. Although, she is not the only one in whose context the word 'mad' is used. It is also used as an insult towards the people who want to admit her in the mental asylum and towards Krishnan himself when he refuses to do so. 'Madness' is used as a way to describe someone who is behaving out of the ordinary. The instances, however different, have one similarity. The use of the word 'madness' has always been negative. It is used for a person who is not easily understood, for one who is delinquent and difficult to control. Hence the 'sane' demand the mad to be medicalised, institutionalised, drugged and looked after by professionals.

The paper articulates layers of madness, gender and caste and tries to break down the complex threads that aid the construction of a normal.