Public mental health has been adversely affected by the COVID-19 epidemic. A pandemic crisis necessitates prompt monitoring and surveillance of the general population’s mental health. previous studies report the prevalence and increase adverse effect of COVID-19 caused stress, anxiety, and depression among the general population. Isabelle Allende, in her novel In the Midst of Winter, the narrator portrays the behaviors of different characters and how their struggles have caused traumatization. Therefore, the setting and characters’ situations in Allende’s novel align with the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as they cause psychological issues and trauma to people.
The story’s plot revolves around the characters’ clumsy attempts to remove in secret the dead body that belongs to Kathryn Brown in Leroys’ car. One recluse landowner, one stoic Chilean refugee, and one terrified Guatemalan illegal immigrant all bear the scars of tragic events in their past. However, Allende examines each character’s actions with compassion; hence, the novel shows that the unusual occurrence of characters brought them together and was their strength. Therefore, the situations of Guatemalan, Kathryn, and Leroys are the center of the novel. The stories of terrible violence and agony that each participant tells are a stark contrast to the lovely, slowly blossoming romance between Richard and Lucia. While growing Latin American countries of prosperity and democracy, both Lucia and Evelyn demonstrate they are a front for abject poverty and horrible atrocities, (Allende 17). Although Lucia recounts Chile’s past and Evelyn depicts Guatemala’s present, the situation’s trends, risks, and realities are all made crystal clear.
Individuals, communities, countries, and the world experienced a broad range of psychological effects as a result of COVID-19 pandemic. People are more prone to experience anxiety about being sick or dying, and stigmatization at the individual level. Allende depicts the scene in the novel as the characters are afraid of following their past criminal activities. Similarly to individuals and families of those who were infected by COVID-19 are afraid of stigmatization. Therefore, anxieties and fear due to past challenges cause stress that affects their mental health. Moreover, as Richard experienced insomnia following the increased thought about his past, his coping strategy was memorizing poems and plays the piano (Allende 16). In the current condition, people across the globe people have learned to engage in artistic activities to forget the threats of COVID-19. Psychological crises may result from the pandemic’s negative impact on public mental health, according to Salari (2). Hence, COVID-19 pandemic and criminality experiences, such as murder and detention increases stress, depression, insecurity and fear among victims.
The characters in the novel face various obstacles on their early-morning trek across dangerous terrain. The gangster’s Lexus and Richard’s Subaru are obvious choices for transportation. However, Richard keeps a safe distance behind him and Evelyn out of fear of being detained by the authorities. Evelyn’s position as an illegal immigrant makes it unlikely that she would avoid being detained; Richard feels he has a better shot at doing so in the case of Lexus (Odenwald). As the immigrant in the story feels unsafe, the situation is similar to non-natives during the COVID-19 pandemic. Immigrants are at risk of lacking or having less stable employment (Salari 2). The effects of the pandemic to the labor market results to the increase of discrimination; hence, natives are becoming relevant to job opportunities.
Everyone is affected by society’s nervousness and worry to a considerable degree following the emergence and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent studies, it has been found that persons placed in isolation and quarantine feel considerable amounts of stress. Psychological discomfort, melancholy, stress, mood swings, irritability, sleeplessness, and post-traumatic stress disorder have been documented in investigations of the COVID-19 pandemic’s mental health effects (Salari 2). In the novel, the narrator explains how Richard feels following the isolation and fear due to his history. When Richard has a bad response to Chinese cuisine later on in the cabin, it causes complications for his fragile digestive system. As soon as the weather permits, he tries to get out of the cabin, only Therefore, Richard gets his Lexus into the right position to push it into an ocean-deep lake. Despite this, predicting the psychological and emotional effects of COVID-19 is difficult at this time. Mental illnesses might result from people’s irrational dread of the unknown nature of the virus that has recently swept across the globe.
In conclusion, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused adverse effects on the health and well-being of people. People are undergoing the trauma of losing their loved ones in unexplainable scenarios. The cause of stress and uncomfortably is how governments’ forced families to dispose of the bodies of their relatives within 24 hours with no proper send-off. However, the other issue from this analysis is the feeling of isolation and quarantine issues which causes post-traumatic stress disorder. Therefore, Allende’s novel’s characters and setting portray similar experiences following the elements that caused trauma.
Works Cited
Allende, Isabel. In the Midst of Winter: A Novel. Simon and Schuster, 2017.
Odenwald, Ted. “In the Midst of Winter: A Novel.”The Oakland Journal | Oakland NJ – The Heart of the Valley, 2018.
Salari, Nader, et al. “Prevalence of Stress, Anxiety, and Depression among the General Population during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Globalization and Health, vol. 16, no. 1, 2020, 1-11.