Gothikana

Corvina’s greatest fear, per her own admission, is that she will develop schizophrenia, something that is genetically likely because both her parents developed the mental illness as young adults. As the narrative develops, however, Corvina’s experience of hallucinations becomes more nuanced and she gradually learns that, rather than always needing to fear “madness,” her unique mind sometimes protects her. More importantly, she learns that mental illness could never change or undermine her inherent value as a person.

Corvina initially fears mental illness because it has impacted her life growing up. Due to her mother’s mental health issues, Corvina is intimately aware of the symptoms of schizophrenia and how it can affect someone’s life. During her childhood, her mother, Celeste, would often spend days without speaking and struggled to offer basic care to herself or her daughter. Corvina doesn’t doubt her mother’s love; she regularly asserts that though her mother was unable to love her “correctly,” her love was always sincere. In the narrative present, Celeste also has dementia, which means she does not always recognize Corvina. For Corvina, the fear of “madness” thus overlaps strongly with the fear of losing her sense of self by losing her memories.