The 2006 film Away from Her related the story of a retired couple, Grant and Fiona. Fiona is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and, as her condition worsens, she eventually decides to enter a nursing home. The facility has a policy that requires each new resident to have no visitors for a period of 30 days to adjust to their new life. After the period of adjustment is over, Grant visits his wife. However, she has forgotten her husband and instead has focused her attentions on Aubrey, a mute man she has met at the facility.
Is Fiona the same person in the facility who has forgotten most memories of her past life as the women who was happily married to Grant for all those years?
Fiona is the same person as she was previously because even though she has lost memories she still has the same identity and existing memories she had before she began to lose her memory. Although Fiona cannot remember Grant in the nursing home and forms an emotional connection with Aubrey, her connection is not a change in her person, but instead an emotional shift that is a reflection of herself and her actions. Before her dementia, Fiona is displayed as a kind and empathetic person which is still displayed by her current actions even though she has lost a lot of her memory and brain function. Additionally, identity is more than just remembering memories, past events, and people. Fiona's bond with Aubrey is important because it displays Fiona's consistent search for connection and emotional bonds which she displays before she goes into the nursing home. Fiona being unable to recognize Grant is seen as a loss of identity because of her long term marriage with him, but it's actually a loss of memory which should not be confused with identity. Fiona's core personality traits such as kindness, empathy, and the search for meaningful connections and relationships are still displayed at her core which means she has not lost her identity, only memories. Even though memory loss is a significant trauma it does not erase identity and the physical body of Fiona, and if anything she is still exhibiting the same personality she had before she went into nursing home. In conclusion, Fiona's experience demonstrates that even though memory loss is a huge impactful trauma it doesn't change her personal identity because her sense of self and personality has stayed the same despite her Alzheimer's.
ReplyDeleteIn the case of Grant and Fiona, I believe that Fiona is the same person after staying at the nursing home and losing her memories as she was before going to the nursing home, and still living with Grant. I believe that she is the same person because of her underlying personality. At the beginning of the movie, she is very cheerful and kind and has a very positive attitude. In addition to this, she is very helpful, wanting to go to the nursing home to make Grant’s life easier. All of these things are still true after she has all but forgotten Grant. She is still cheerful and kind whenever Grant comes to visit, even though she gets concerned after a while. And she still is very helpful, always making sure that Abrey has everything that he needs.
ReplyDeleteThis evidence shows that a sense of self runs much deeper than just your memories, but it is ingrained in your being. Whether that being is your mind, brain, soul, or body, I am unsure, but a sense of personal identity is kept even when you lose your memories. This makes me think that there is a subconscious making you think things that relate to your personality in general. Because of this fact, the brain's view of personal identity resonates with me the most deeply. Your everyday thoughts and actions are ingrained into your brain much more deeply than your memories are because they are used much more often, and these are what give you a sense of self.