Chapters 9 & 10 Summary and Analysis

Chapter 9 details Kaysen's own suicide attempt in 1965. At the age of seventeen Kaysen ingested fifty aspirin tablets, one at a time. She reports her motivation for suicide was an attempt to kill that part of her that wanted to commit suicide; she refers to it as a partial suicide. After taking the aspirin, she telephoned Johnny, her boyfriend, and informed him. Then, leaving the telephone off the hook, she walked into a nearby market. She wandered up to a meat counter, briefly examined the packaged product and then collapsed. Meanwhile her boyfriend notified the police, and Kaysen was quickly located and transported to Mt. Auburn Hospital where her stomach was pumped. Curiously, her suicide attempt was at least six months prior to her commitment at McLean Hospital. After recovering, Kaysen associated meat with suicide and practiced vegetarianism.

In Chapter 10, Kaysen...