A Head Full of Ghosts

Marjorie Barrett, age 14, is the protagonist of A Head Full of Ghosts. Through her, the novel explores a key theme, Ordinary Human Malignancy Is the True Horror. Marjorie’s experience with escalating symptoms of mental illness and her parents’ failure to protect and help her are the ultimate tragedy of the novel. The narrative only reveals what Marjorie purportedly shared with Merry; it is through this lens that her experience is conveyed. Initially, Marjorie confides in her sister that she is convinced that her bedroom is rearranging and redecorating itself on its own, though she cannot pinpoint the changes and has never witnessed this happening. Increasingly, voices belonging to those she refers to as “them” speak to her; they suggest “disturbing” ideas, are frightening in their hopelessness, and nurture mistrust and dread.

Marjorie resents attending treatment with Dr. Hamilton and the effects of the medication she is prescribed; it is hinted that she is often noncompliant with her dosages. Marjorie is convinced that Dad poses a significant threat to their entire family, and tries to get Merry to understand that. When the “documentary” film crew arrives to record her exorcism, Marjorie claims that she intentionally ramped up her symptomology in hopes that an event like this would result in a financial windfall for their family, or the possibility that her father would be discovered to be a danger to them.

Despite the fact that many of Marjorie’s beliefs and experiences are not grounded entirely in reality, she is the most perceptive and intelligent member of her family. She maintains a measure of control over herself and the situation even as she experiences fear and mental illness.

Through Marjorie, the novel explores another key theme, Sacrifice and Exploitation of the Vulnerable. The “documentary” sensationalizes Marjorie’s mental illness. After jumping from the balcony, the state becomes involved but fails to protect her. Marjorie’s sense of impending doom increases despite twice-weekly visits from her psychiatrist. The appearance of a jar of potassium cyanide in the basement in conjunction with research on men who harm their families leads Marjorie to the conclusion that Dad plans to harm them all.

Merry claims that Marjorie’s plan was to introduce the poison to their family’s dinner so that they could incapacitate their parents and seek help from the police. Instead, Marjorie eats the poison herself, suggesting she was deeply unhappy and wanted to die by suicide. Her toxicology report noted that none of her antipsychotics were present in her system at the time of her death.

Merry claims that her sister had schizophrenia, though it is unclear whether Merry assumed this or if Marjorie was professionally diagnosed. Marjorie’s actions seem to indicate she experienced psychosis if in fact she intended to kill herself and her parents. Many who experience paranoia and psychosis believe that they must destroy an imminent threat against them, and often themselves, in order to protect others and escape a terrible fate.

John Barrett considers himself to be the head of his household. However, he fails to embody the traditional responsibilities of such a role.

Directly out of high school, he was employed at a local toy factory, where he worked for 19 years until it closed. When the novel begins, he has been unemployed for 18 months, exasperating his wife, as he has not found gainful employment, nor does he help her with housekeeping, chores, or the more stressful demands of parenting their children. He has a temper and his parenting style, which consists of intimidation and yelling, has deteriorated in recent months.

He has been a lapsed Catholic for several years. When his daughter gets sick, he begins attending a local church and lies to his wife, claiming that he is looking for work. He goes against his wife’s wishes, taking their daughter to see his priest without asking. Having not seen the progress he expected with Marjorie’s psychiatric treatment, he becomes convinced that a holy intervention is necessary. He eagerly embraces an exorcism from the Catholic church, relying on Father Wanderly’s advice. He pressures and wears down his wife until she acquiesces, and even when she vehemently objects to elements of their approach, he bulldozes her concerns.

As his daughters watch, his emotional state is impacted, even after the funding from The Possession solves his financial problems. He becomes violent with protestors outside his house and is combative with his wife. He is zealous in his religious beliefs despite little understanding of Catholicism and lack of comprehension of the Bible. When Marjorie’s exorcism fails, he threatens to sue the church and the production company. He sees himself as entirely without blame, a person to whom things happen instead of someone who plays a part in what occurs in his life.

His fingerprints are found on the jar of potassium cyanide that Merry and Marjorie integrate into the spaghetti sauce. This suggests that Marjorie’s suspicions about him may be right—that he shared characteristics with other fathers who kill themselves and their families, and may have done the same to his. At the same time, it could also indicate that someone else put his fingerprints on the jar, or that they were there for benign reasons.