Madness

The central theme of Arkham Asylum is madness and human psychology. The story divides the human mind into two impulses: a rational impulse and a chaotic impulse; the good and the evil; the ego and the id. Two-Face embodies this dichotomy. He is physically and mentally divided into good and evil. Batman and the Joker together represent the two sides of the mind. Batman is the controlled, rational ego, while the Joker is the chaotic, irrational id. Batman struggles against falling into the Joker's mad world throughout the story, while Arkham fights a similar struggle within himself.

The beginning of the story quotes the Cheshire Cat from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland saying that we are all mad "here." The "here" of the quote is Wonderland, and the analogous place in Arkham Asylum is the asylum itself. However, Wonderland is a world of dreams, inside Alice's mind, and similarly...