Never mentioned in the movie but clearly she had some sort of mental illness as well as physical. Oherwise how on earth could she possibly think that she is a great singer and had a heart attack after reading a bad review? Is delusion a medical term of a mental disorder? or was she suffering from something else?
shareI'm a mental health nurse. I loved this film. I don't think she had a mental illness, she had millions of pounds, that was her problem. She could have anything she wanted and everyone she was befriended by were hangers on. That's what the briefcase was about, she had to pay everyone for affection. She reminded me of the so called celebrities we have now. These people surround themselves with yes people and lose touch with reality. Look at Madonna now, she has gone from a respected performer to a complete joke. Who told her she looked good on a clown bike and dressed recently in just lace. Clearly she has no true and honest friends just like Frances. Her anxiety attack was because she actually believed she could sing. Remember the emporas new clothes? Brilliant performance by Meryl.
sharemakes sense. thanks for your input.
shareNo worries. Great film isn't it.
shareShe ... "eloped with Dr. Frank Thornton Jenkins and they moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They were married around 1885. Shortly after their marriage, Jenkins contracted syphilis from her husband and Dr. Jenkins was never mentioned again. It is not known whether they obtained a divorce or separated, but she kept his family name as her own."
"In retrospect, Jenkins's difficulties have at least partially been attributed to her suffering from syphilis, which caused progressive deterioration of her central nervous system. The ravages of her disease were compounded by side effects from poisonous mercury and arsenic treatments—the only therapy available for syphilis at the time. No effective treatment existed until the discovery of penicillin; by the time it became generally available, Jenkins' disease had progressed to the tertiary stage, which is unresponsive even to antibiotics."
(From Wikipedia - quite informative, I think.)
I think she may have been mentally ill.
A bathtub full of potato salad in case they ran out of the stuff.
A fear of "pointy things".
And surely she heard her own recordings played back to her?
Nah, possibly emotionally unstable personality disorder but not a bonified mental illness. The potato salad and pointy thing was attention seeking.
share[deleted]
Degree in mental health nursing! Amongst many other qualifications in mental health. I don't think she had ocd. Ocd is really not understood fully. It annoys me when people say they have ocd in a jokey manner meaning they like things clean and in order. Ocd or pure ocd is a totally debilitating condition that is not easily treated. She showed no symptoms of this. The excesses of potato salad may have been related to an obsessive nature but how many people over cater when they have guests round. This is more a sign of personality disorder based on her ability to afford anything. It's not easy to go into detail on here whilst trying to type on a phone. You must be in the wonderful us of a if you haven't heard to mental health nursing. I don't think you have it there to the extent we do fire top your private health care. Our American students are always impressed by the level of care we offer here's for free. However it isn't always best as it creates dependency and so many people advise it.
share... Due to your private healthcare... Sorry predictive toxt!
share[deleted]
...surely she heard her own recordings played back to her?
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She thought she sounded beautiful, yet would have dismissed her own recordings due to being able to realize her dream. This was really a delusion; but while she may have been ridiculed by many and her privilege of wealth allowed her to play the fool, it was the intention behind the others that rallied around her that is important and the heart behind it—even if many were paid off.
Exorcist: Christ's power compels you. Cast out, unclean spirit.
Destinata:💩
I'm a mental health nurse...I don't think she had a mental illness, she had millions of pounds, that was her problem.
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Did you even watch the film properly. I wouldn't go around announcing you are a mental health nurse, you don't sound like you are that savvy. Jenkins had contracted syphilis at the age of 18—which can apparently turn one insane—endured years of mercury and arsenic treatments which ravaged her body and also took a toll on her mind. Her husband did all he could to protect her from her pain, and living with death everyday, she defied the lifespan odds of many syphilis patients.
Yes, she had wealth; but that is incidental and also her privilege, and while she was able to do what she did due to her fortune, the main crux of the film is about how others rallied around her—admittedly, some were paid off—and kept her dream and spirit alive. It was a film about care and compassion, and the irony is that Jenkins had an ambition that her husband helped her fulfill, while he acknowledged his own lack of skill as the great actor he always wanted to be. Once he cast his own deluded ambitions aside, he claimed he started to live. He was also able to help Florence live in the process.
Exorcist: Christ's power compels you. Cast out, unclean spirit.
Destinata:💩
Rascal. Thanks for your comment and I realise you are far more expert at this than me. I guess my first class honours degree and 20 years working on a mental health crisis team stands for nothing then. She had capacity to make here own decisions and choices. Yes her brain chemistry was probably alerted by the treatment but not to the extent that she could be described or diagnosed with a mental illness, mental disorder yes but that is a different classification in the dsm5 diagnostic criteria. I'm sure you will put me right though in your reply.
shareYou're welcome and nice to hear that you have first class honors and 20yrs experience working with mentally ill patients, you sound impressive. Do you try to sound impressive around your colleagues as well? Do they applaud you for you impressiveness, and is that the reason for you comments in order to impressive others with your resume? Whatever mental illness\disorder she would\could have been diagnosed with—and she wasn't extreme in the sense that she couldn't function normally in day to day duties—syphilis + archaic treatments = not quite right in the head. 😕 The biggest win and treatment for Jenkins, was her comfortable lifestyle and the care, love and support she was surrounded by. Many others with the same condition, may not have been so lucky.
Exorcist: Christ's power compels you. Cast out, unclean spirit.
Destinata:💩
Precisely. My point exactly. She was highly privileged and therefore got the best of everything. The patients I see are on the bread line. I feel sorry for you with your critical and judgmental attitude. I never mention my curriculum vitae to anyone unless I'm applying for a job. You questioned my professional role so I responded by giving you evidence. Full stop. I hope you have a good day.
shareMy point exactly. She was highly privileged and therefore got the best of everything. The patients I see are on the bread line.
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You mentioned your occupation first up, as if to say...trust me, I know what I am talking about...so yes, you did give out your CV first and foremost. Perhaps next time, don't be so eager to impress. That was my point.
Yes, she got the best of treatment available, but that doesn't negate the fact that Florence would have still had a mental disorder due to the factors already discussed. We knew the cause of it, but we don't know what personality disorders Florence would have been diagnosed with by today's psychology methods, unless she was personally consulted. Saying it was because she had too much money is a cop-out. Would someone who contracted syphilis at the age of 18 in the same era as Florence, and went through the same treatments and displayed the same character maladies or delusions, yet were poor, would they not then have a mental disorder\illness either?
Exorcist: Christ's power compels you. Cast out, unclean spirit.
Destinata:💩
Care and love ? ... you mean deceit, lies and cover up of the fact that she couldn't sing and that her husband was living a double life, not like an affair, but a true need for something more real than FFJ's delusions. She represents everything forlorn, and the beauty of the film is really that the ones who see it at once, finally support her to continue at the last concert. So they buy into the lie too. This is Altman's Gosford vanity without murder.
"You couldn't be much further from the truth" - several
None of that's true. She didn't die from reading a bad review and she was delusional regarding her singing. The movie makes nonsense of her life.
shareShe did have a heart attack 5 days after the Carnegie Hall performance and died a month later. The movie took some liberties with the timing for dramatic purposes, but I don't think the movie disrespected FFJ in any way. I found it quite sweet.
shareUm. Yes. Anyone who doesn't believe this chick was delusional about her singing, is in fact delusional themselves! I did not enjoy this film. Her husband helped to keep her delusion thriving ... that's not love, that's condescending. And that might be how someone treats a mentally ill person ... so the OP is not that far off the mark.
shareHe needed the eggs.
"You couldn't be much further from the truth" - several