Interview: “Romantic Desperation and Erotomania in The Woman in the Park“
Rebecca Coffey of Psychology Today interviews Teresa Sorkin and Tullan Holmqvist!
Q: The Woman in the Park is full of the kind of murder mystery surprises that were everywhere in Gone Girl. And, like Gone Girl, your book is about women and madness. As you wrote, did you keep in mind great mad heroines from literary history like Medea, Anna Karenina, and Ophelia? (“Frailty, thy name is woman,” Hamlet said.) And of course the madness of The Woman in the Park hearkens to the murderous insanity of Thérèse in Thérèse Raquin, which is the nineteenth century novel that your book’s protagonist is reading. Each chapter of your novel begins with an excerpt from the nineteenth century one. Tell me whether great literature about madness and women inspired you. And if so, how did it?
A: One of the books that we two authors had in common as favorites was Thérèse Raquin. The character was so misunderstood and mad. She evoked a feeling of loneliness that we wanted to portray. Many great works of literature were about madness and women.
Teresa Sorkin: One of my favorite characters of all time, Jay Gatsby, exhibited moments of delusion. He had delusion of grandeur and some erotomania towards Daisy. She was a bit mad, as well. As Lawrence says in the novel. “Isn’t all passion mixed with madness at times?” Tullan and I feel that is true in life as well as in literature.
Tullan Holmqvist: I’ve been inspired by many “mad” characters in literature, theater and film. In particular, Shakespeare, the Greek dramatists, and Ingmar Bergman have made strong impressions on me. I grew up discussing and reading a lot about the human psyche and the nature of human beings with my mother, who was a psychotherapist. She surrounded us with interesting thinkers, artists, and writers. I’ve always been interested in why humans behave the way they do. I ask a lot of questions and am interested in both the light and dark side of life.
To read the full interview, click here.
To learn more about The Woman in the Park, click here.
Tags: Teresa Sorkin, The Woman in the Park, thriller, Tullan Holmqvist