In 1970, John Linley Frazier Massacred the Wealthy, Upper Class Santa Cruz Family, Very

1102 8amBrandon Schmidt

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Blind Belief

In 1970, John Linley Frazier massacred the wealthy, upper class Santa Cruz family, very similar to the Wieland family in Wieland by Charles Brockden Brown. The only reason John Frazier gave the authorities for his hideous murders was that he believed that “they had been polluting and destroying the earth” and that it was his “divine calling” to get rid of the problem. He was later diagnosed with the mental disorder, schizophrenia, a mental illness that affects memory along with hearing making a person unable to distinguish between reality and imagination. This single horrifying case very closely resembles the acts that Theodore Wieland committed. The author, Brown, does not inform the reader of the circumstances Theodore actually goes through but leaves it up to the audience to decide what really happened to cause him to slip into a state of insanity. Additionally in the novel, Theodore’s father and Uncle both heard voices from the heavens or suffered from auditory hallucinations before their deaths, indicating that the male members of the Wieland family may have suffered from hereditary schizophrenia. Theodore Wieland received what he referred to as a divine command, either from auditory hallucination or direct manipulation by another individual, to kill all of his family. He followed this prompting based on his religious background of the possibility of divine intervention in his life. If he did not suffer from schizophrenia, then society’s influence in his beliefs drove him to commit such a horrible action and ultimately pushed him to insanity. The same circumstance can be found today when courts are trying to determine if serial murders are insane because they commit acts that no reasonable person would commit or perform these actions knowing exactly what they are doing. It is unknown whether Wieland’s actions were motivated by religious fanaticism, societal pressures, or auditory hallucinations from schizophrenia but ultimately society is left with the task of dealing with each of these states of madness by either medical or physical containment.[B1]

Religious fanaticism is apparent in the world today through the Muslim movement in which they do anything they are commanded to do in the name of Allah and do not think about if their actions are lawfully or morally right[B2]. In many societies, this religious fanaticism borders on lunacy. Theodore was a religious fanatic, heavily influenced by two faiths, Deism[B3] and Shakers. His father was a Shaker while Theodore was a Deist. The Deism religion believes that a greater being created everything and that there are laws that govern it but that He does not interfere with any of his creations. They also believe that every action and object has some type of reasoning or law that governs it. The other religion, the Shakers, believe that it is okay to have visions and that God and heavenly beings do interfere and may manipulate mortal lives. Theodore becomes trapped between these two religious beliefs and at first tries to explain his vision through reason but soon falls back on his father’s Shaker belief that it is a vision from God and he should ultimately obey. Had Theodore been an actual participant in the Shaker religion, he would have known that they taught that evil spirits could also communicate with him by posing to be God. Theodore becomes obsessed with killing his family and only finally realizes the magnitude of his actions when he doubts that the source was divine.

Wieland is socially manipulated by his society and further influenced by Carwin through his use of his biloquist abilities. Colonial America stressed the importance of support of leadership and authority figures in every day life. Religious leaders also fit into this category and in many cases replaced the civil leader in the community. Furthermore, Theodore’s religious upbringing as previously stated made him susceptible to obedience to a divine voice even if it was just a manipulation by Carwin. Theodore’s obedience to both spiritual and civil leadership drove him beyond the limits of his sanity. Manipulation by this kind of influence was seen in Nazi Germany where many youth were brainwashed into things beyond their own moral values.

Some of the signs of someone suffering from schizophrenia are auditory hallucinations; not recognizing what they do is right or wrong, and a belief that they are being commanded by someone to perform these actions. In most criminal cases, those suffering from this mental illness actually believe that they are sane and pronounce their sanity in courts of law. Usually they are found to be sane because of their own adamant declarations even though they are clearly suffering from a mental illness, having auditory hallucinations or other symptoms of schizophrenia. Also, research has been conducted that leads many to believe that schizophrenia is a hereditary mental condition passed down through male genes. Theodore Wieland exhibits similar irrational actions to those of his male relatives, leading the reader to believe that hereditary schizophrenia may be the cause of his wild behavior. [B4] Theodore’s father’s own mental state was questionable because after stating his visions and he then spontaneously combusted while in his temple. His uncle’s mental condition is also in question when he called all of his family together and then jumped off a cliff, killing himself. Both of these actions are not actions or situations that a sane person normally experiences but that of the seriously mental ill, those unable to grasp reality or tell the difference between what is right or wrong.

Obviously Wieland suffered from some state of mental breakdown. Either he suffered from schizophrenia or was driven to insanity by Carwin or his own religious fanaticism. If he was suffering from schizophrenia he cannot be completely responsible for his actions because he is not able to distinguish between imagination and reality. While, if he was driven to insanity, he had control over his own actions at some time and may have still have some control over himself. The possibilities for his reform or rehabilitation for either of these cases at the turn of the 1800th century were very limited. If he suffered from schizophrenia, medication was not available at that time. If he was deceived through Carwin, his own belief and obedience to a higher law drove him to insanity and in that mental state he was beyond reformation also. He briefly has a period of enlightenment in which he recognizes the horrible actions he has done and his solution was execution of himself or suicide. In those final moments of his life, the narrator, Wieland’s sister states, “My heart was visited and rent by his pangs—Oh that thy phrenzy had never been cured! That thy madness, with its blissful visions, would return! Or, if that must not be, that thy scene would hasten to a close! That death would cover thee with his oblivion!”(p 263). Even his sister recognized the consequences of Wieland’s actions and the punishment both civilly and spiritually that he would have to face in this life. At this point they both realize that Wieland was insane to have committed these actions but upon realization of what he had done, he saw the reality of the situation and the realized what he had done was morally wrong. All of the mental and religious elements combined with how society viewed the mentally ill charged with criminal acts were treated lead Theodore Wieland further into his madness and eventually caused him to take his own life. Schizophrenia is still not fully understood today and many suffer from this mental illness in a world of their own. If indeed, Wieland suffered from this mental illness, then his actions were caused by his delusions. If society or Carwin manipulated him, then he was lead to his hideous acts by his blind belief, which some would argue is insanity in itself. In either case, Wieland’s actions reflect on societal views of the insane through their lack of knowing what to do to help. The dilemma is still apparent today; mental illness is controlled through containment in either a mental institution or through drug intervention. Fanaticism, on the other hand, is not so easily remedied nor controlled.

Work Citied

Jan. 1, 2006. 2005 Courtroom Television Network LLC.

[B1]Your intro is again interesting, but, you state here that you will prove that we don’t know why he kills his family, but it wasn’t normal to do so. This final so-what is a bit of a letdown: of course it’s not normal. The question is, why don’t we know? Why could it be EITHER schizophrenia OR extreme religion? Are these two easily confused? Were they for Wieland’s time? Or is Brown arguing that ALL of these factors COULD result in such an act, and therefore warning us about several dangers at once?

[B2]Too vague and generalizing.

[B3]Some might argue that fanatical Deism is a contradiction. Explain your assertion.

[B4]Your claim should introduce your point.