Szpony zbrodni i szaleństwa? Choroba psychiczna w powieściach Roberta Galbraitha Wołanie kukułki (2013), Jedwabnik (2014) i Żniwa zła (2015)
A dangerous combination. Mental illness in Robert Galbraith’s Cuckoo’s Calling (2013), The Silkworm (2014) and Career of Evil (2015)

Author(s): Katarzyna Szmigiero
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Keywords: crime fiction; mental illness; motivation of the killer; psychopath
Summary/Abstract: Since Edgar Allan Poe, a master of the supernatural and horror, is usually seen as the father of the detective genre, it should come as no surprise that the character of an insane killer is so frequently met on the pages of crime fiction. An unpredictable psychopath/serial killer plays a pivotal role in many novels. Mental illness, which often remains hidden from the world, motivates the killers to commit perverse crimes while his cunning and intelligence makes them so difficult to trace. Such a presentation is not only inaccurate, since most murderers do not have any mental health issues, but also harmful for those diagnosed with a mental disorder. They frequently fight social stigma as for most people who are exposed to mass culture and sensation‑seeking media, a schizophrenic is usually synonymous to a killer. That is why, the three novels written by Robert Galbraith (a pen name of J.K. Rowling, known for her Harry Potter series) are worth a closer look. She plays with crime novel conventions presenting most murderers as ruthless and wicked but sane. It is their victims and the detectives who battle with traumatic memories and see mental health specialists. Mental illness often accompanies also other characters in order to make their lives more mundane, not more sensational.

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