And How Do You Feel About That?

The question probably evokes a lot of images. One is probably a view of an older man in glasses in a leather chair, saying things such as "Oh, I see," and "How does that make you feel?" to a person reclining on the couch next to them. Martin Dysart is that exact stereotype. Or at least he is when we meet him. Sort of. Maybe not. Martin Dysart, when introduced, says he's going through "professional menopause," a stage that all doctors go through at some point in their career. He isn't sure of what he's doing, that this life is really for him. Some call it a midlife crisis, others a call to a higher reality. Whatever it is, Martin Dysart is not the suave psychologist sitting in the chair, but rather a man, who has troubles of his own, before Alan Strang is introduced.

Martin Dysart is, in a way, a depressed psychologist. Problem? A little bit. A doctor not completely sure of himself probably has no business treating kids. Especially kids like Alan Strang, who are not completely deranged, but rather in control, brilliant in their own way, and manipulative and perceptive. Sometimes during treatment, it becomes impossible to tell who is doctor, and who is patient. Alan Strang may seem like just another patient to everyone else, but to Dysart he is a key in finding meaning in life. Because Strang, unlike Dysart, has an undeniable and passionate drive, so different from the meaningless life that Dysart feels he leads. As Dysart himself says, while he dreams of Centaurs roaming Greek fields, Alan is out there, trying to become one. It isn't illusion or legend or myth to him, but a way to find purpose in life.

And then there's the dream. Standing at the sacrificial Greek Altar, spilling the guts of hundreds of children as some sort of high priest. He is high priest for his skill with the knife, that the cut is quick and clean. The entire thing is a metaphor for his life, and what he feels that he is doing to the children he "treats". True, he makes them functioning members of society. Yes, they are now able to go through life without trouble or being "different". But at what price? These kids that he treat may now be "Normal" (or at least sacrificed to the God of normalcy, as he puts it) but in the process has he destroyed them? Are they now as lifeless and meaningless as the dead bodies of his dream, no longer serving any purpose but to go through the motions? He gets his answer through Alan Strang. In the end, we know he will treat Alan, will make him "normal" by everyone else's standards. We also know that it will end his career. This boy, that seemed to just be another basket case psychotic, is looked at as a human being, to be admired and envied for the spirit within him. It may be the end of a career, but Dysart may finally begin to really live his life.