Psychological Disorders in White Oleander

White Oleander chronicles the adolescence of Astrid, a young girl living in California. Her journey toward adulthood is rather difficult and unique. Astrid lives with her mother, Ingrid, until Ingrid murders her boyfriend and is sent to prison for life. After losing her mother, Astrid goes from foster home to foster home, facing near death experiences, starvation, and drugs along the way.

While White Oleander is an interesting film focusing on the perils of growing up and learning to love, it also features several excellent examples of psychological principles and disorders. As the film shows, Astrid encounters many unstable foster parents throughout her adolescence.

I found one of the most intriguing foster parents to be Claire Richards, a former successful actress living with her husband, Mark. 

At first, her relationship with Astrid is strong. Claire takes Astrid out for new clothes, enrolls her in art classes, and provides her with a comfortable new bedroom. As Astrid’s stay with Claire progresses, it becomes evident that Claire is battling depression, a common mood disorder in which the individual suffers from an unrelenting lack of pleasure in life (King). Claire has feelings of worthlessness and guilt (especially in regard to her marriage). She suffers from low self-esteem, seems to have poor concentration, and has low energy. I believe she is suffering from dysthymic disorder, a more chron

ic depressive disorder. This disorder is marked by a depressed mood that lasts at least two years, accompanied by periods of a normal mood lasting no more than two months (King). It seems that Claire is in a normal mood upon Astrid’s arrival. Her symptoms become more pronounced after she visits with Ingrid at jail. Then, over an argument with her husband, the audience learns that Claire’s mood has fluctuated over the past few years. Her husband remarks that things are returning back to the way they were (Claire’s depressed state). 

There are several psychological factors that may explain Claire’s depression. For one, I believe that life’s stresses played a role in her mood disorder. Claire cannot have children of her own, has struggled to find work as an actress, and is often left alone while her husband travels for work. All of these stressors reduce the positive reinforcers in her life, leading her to become withdrawn. Cognitive distortions are also playing a part. Claire starts to view her life in a self-defeating way and has negative expectations for her future with her husband. Ingrid also points out the many things going wrong in her life during their visit together. These negative thoughts about her work and marriage accumulate and lead to greater feelings of depression. Finally, Claire’s gender attributed to her depression. Women are twice as likely as men to develop depression. Depression is even higher among women who have unsatisfying jobs or are in unhappy marriages (King).

No scene is more telling of Claire’s depression than the one in which Astrid finds her crying in bed alone. She is clearly lost deep within feelings of hopelessness and loneliness. Claire holds Astrid tightly to her, looking for some form of comfort to make her feel better. She tries to reassure herself that everything will be okay (White Oleander).

The final piece of evidence pointing toward a mood disorder is Claire’s suicide. Astrid awakes in the morning to find that Claire has overdosed on prescription drugs. Severe depression can make individuals feel so hopeless that they want to end their lives (King).
Here is the part of the movie where Claire's symptoms are most apparent. She argues with her husband, is manipulated by Ingrid, and, at the end of the scene, Astrid finds her crying in bed.

Astrid’s mother, Ingrid, is a complex and intriguing character in White Oleander. She is the source of Astrid’s pain and suffering, as she has been abandoning Astrid her entire life. It is in Ingrid’s nature to behave the way she does because she has a personality disorder. Personality disorders are “chronic, maladaptive cognitive-behavioral patterns that are thoroughly integrated into an individual’s personality” (King).

People suffering from these types of disorders are usually troublesome to others and their pleasure sources are harmful or illegal. Ingrid leaves a path of destruction in her wake. It is also clear that her pleasure sources are illegal because she murdered her boyfriend, Barry. Within the realm of personality disorders, Ingrid falls within the dramatic and emotionally problematic cluster. She is a textbook narcissist. Warning signs of a narcissist include an unrealistic sense of self-importance and an inability to handle criticism. Narcissists such as Ingrid also manipulate people and lack empathy (King). Other common traits include a preoccupation with fantasies that focus on power, beauty or love, arrogant behavior and attitude, and the expectation that others will go along with what he or she wants. Needless to say, narcissists have trouble maintaining healthy relationships (WebMD).

I find that Ingrid exhibits many of these symptoms. She has a preoccupation with love, evidenced by her interactions with Barry. She obsessively follows his every move and her emotions depend upon how he is acting toward her at any given moment. When Barry blows her off for several days in a row, Ingrid makes it a point to punish him by killing him. She is boastful to Astrid about how independent and strong she is. She also believes she is unique and special because she is an artist.

Ingrid’s self-centered behavior is clear in the scene when she admits to Astrid that she once abandoned her for a year or so when Astrid was only a child (White Oleander). Astrid was left with Annie, a neighbor, while Ingrid spent a year at the beach relaxing and enjoying herself. Here, Ingrid put herself even before her young daughter. She felt entitled to taking time to herself, giving no regard to how it may affect Astrid. Narcissists act only to better their own life and do not care to think of others.

Ingrid shows a brief sign of moving away from narcissistic personality disorder at the end of the film, when she does not force Astrid to testify on her behalf. It is an appropriate way to end the film, as Ingrid may finally have learned to love someone other than herself.

Works Cited:

King, Laura. (2008). The Science of Psychology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

(2002). White Oleander. United States: Warner Bros. Pictures.

(2005). Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Retrieved May 6, 2009, from WebMD Web site: http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/narcissistic-personality-disorder.