Royal Jelly Short Story

Throughout my time on the Mother Baby Care Unit, I have faced many instances in which I have been able to reflect on both my patients and the care that I was providing them. One situation in particular that I found myself critically reflecting upon involved a new mother who was feeling slightly stressed about being discharged as her newborn son would not be going home with her. For confidentiality reasons, this patient will be given the pseudonym of Kayla for the remainder of this reflection.

herself to not have to ‘suffer’ her mother’s fate. She almost seems to be developing anxiety and

Many people have obsessions, but most do not take it to the extremes that they kill because of it. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark” represents the blindness that happens when someone takes an obsession to the extreme and ignores the consequences of inept actions that result in deadly consequences. Aylmer, the husband, becomes obsessed with a “crimson birthmark” shaped like a small hand that is on the cheek of Georgiana, the wife. Alymer view the birthmark as a stain to his sensibilities and views on what is a “perfect” form based on his egotistic view of his wife. Unfortunately, his decent into madness sucks up even his wife into a mucky pool full of fear and self-loathing. She does this all just to please her husband, which ultimately results in her death. More then once I have heard that obsessed people are evil. Obsession by itself does not make a person evil. Obsession to the point that safety and life are put at risk is

Another striking resemblance to William’s description of the ‘common’ form of obsession stems from the fact that when Humbert meets Annabel, his father is away touring Italy. He states that he “had nobody to complain to, nobody to consult” about sex (11). Instead of speaking to a parental figure about his sexual desire, he tries to figure it out for himself and in the process projects what he is really missing, a loving parental figure, onto this adolescent girl.

A person with these constant thoughts understands that they are senseless, but ignoring them is very difficult. For example, a person with an obsession about contamination might have a thought like “Don’t touch that door knob, it might spread a disease,” or "My hands may be contaminated--I must wash them.” These types of persistent thoughts might enter a person’s mind suddenly or very gradually. The obsessions intrude into the consciousness of the person, disrupting their normal thinking and behavior (Silvia 2).

She told the nurse that she was not enjoying her pregnancy but believed that she will learn to love her baby once it is born. She went on to state that she had not discussed her feelings with her husband and family and asked the nurse to keep the conversation private.

| A. Either obsessions or compulsions:Obsessions as defined by (1), (2), (3), and (4):1. Recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced, at some time during the disturbance, as intrusive and inappropriate and that cause marked anxiety or distress2. The thoughts, impulses, or images

Despite her poor health, she had 8 children and achieved a comfortable social standing, and she had just got over the smallpox she had as a teenager. She turned out pregnant again, this was her sixth child so far, and

An aphorist, Mason Cooley, once said, “Cure for an obsession: get another one”. This quote can be qualified by humans and the changes in their passions. Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome weaves a tale with human-like characters and their obsessions in the short story. As a result, the novella can be used to qualify the quote because the characters would act in a similar way as humans. Both the quote and story have the theme of obsession. In both, an individual cures their obsessions by getting another one. However, an individual in “Ethan Frome” could only cure their obsession by having one with larger value rather than another one. Therefore, the cure for an obsession, often shown in humans, is to have a more significant one, using Ethan Frome as

Obsession is a habit brought on by passion and desire; it’s almost as bad as a disease which can eat away at someone. He stated, “Every night I was oppressed by a slow fever, and I became nervous to a most painful degree; a disease that I regretted the more because I had hitherto enjoyed most excellent health, and had boasted of the firmness of my nerves.” (Shelley 1818: pg33). His ambition quickly turned into obsession by his convulsive interest to digging up corpses in the dark of the night to create his monster. He was so blinded by obsession for perfection that he did not see the monstrous beast he was creating until after he created

a kind of obsession that is not acceptable and will come to be crushed by

obsessions. At first glance, these stories do not seem to have much in common; they have been

Then in the next line there is no mention of the woman speaking to the child or acknowledging that the child ever spoke to her. The purposeful shunning of the child by the woman is appalling and baffling at the same time. The child in the story is an innocent, wanting to please and gain acknowledgement and love from the very woman that is sickened by the very sight of the child. The mysterious reasons for the shunning of the child can be guessed at in committee, but without more history as to reasoning: the idea of the woman seeing the child as the one reason for her illness is the most conclusive idea to be had.

Before continuing this analysis, obsession will be clearly defined. For the purpose of this essay, obsession will be characterized by three concepts: the character is shown constantly contemplating the desired object or person, most of a character’s actions or goals are oriented towards the object or person, and

Obsession is defined as “the domination of one’s thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea or desire.” The desire for nonconformity is a praiseworthy attribute but when taken too far, it can be disadvantageous to one’s goals and ambitions. While it is essential for one to seek transient passions, it is also crucial to mollify this pursuit, with concern with actual use. The threats of overindulgence are notably apparent in the case of John, the protagonist of Virginia Woolf’s “Solid Objects”, whose passion for knickknacks turns into a subtle obsession. Woolf expresses her strong criticism of John by intensifying his wasted potentiality and his fixation with fleeting dreams while she commends Charles for his dependability and practicality.