The average person would argue that Jessie was just a normal person with occasional epileptic attacks. They would say that she was determined to commit suicide based on interactions with her family and friends. However, I beg to differ. I feel that Jessie was suffering from some sort of mental illness that was treatable at the time this play was written. Being that this is true, it would also beg the question; "Why was the mental illness overlooked or not treated when Jessie was seeing a doctor about her epilepsy?".
Jessie is asked, "How long have you been thinking about this?" (In reference to committing suicide), and she replied, "Off and on, ten years. On all the time, since Christmas." This indicated to me that she suffered from a sort of manic depression. Manic-Depressive Illness is defined as a mood disorder characterized by severe alterations in mood that are usually episodic and recurrent. Manic Depression is also another term used for Bipolar Illness. In the case of Jessie, she would be classified as Bipolar V. Bipolar V is defined as a classification of Bipolar Disorder characterized by major depression and a family history of Bipolar Disorder. What is considered "Major Depression", you might ask. Major depression is defined as one or more depressive episodes each of which lasts at least two weeks. The most prominent symptoms of major depressive disorder are depressed mood and loss of interest or pleasure. With Jessie we see a total loss in her interest and pleasure in life. We see that she has been thinking of suicide on and off for at least 10 years. We also see Thelma hint as to whether or not Jessie's father thought about suicide. As we know, Jessie and her father both suffered from epilepsy. Epilepsy is, of course, hereditary. Bipolar disorder is hereditary as well. Bipolar disorder has been treatable since the late 1970's. If Jessie was in her thirties or early forties and the play was set in 1983, then she should have received treatment for bipolar disorder five to ten year prior to the time in her life that this play portrays.
