-Full Site -Film Catalog -Filmmakers -Study Guides

Companion Guide for A Season in Hell

QUESTION 3: WHAT HAS BEEN THE EFFECT OF EATING DISORDER ON REGINA HATFIELD'S LIFE?

Physical Effects

Regina was hospitalized twice in order to get her eating disorder under control. The film does not reveal the specific reasons for hospitalization, but, according to Mary Jo, the decision reflected Regina's lack of control over bingeing and purging, plus the physical ravages of starvation and recurrent vomiting. At one point in the film her father says "she came within a few days dying, that's how far she'd gone with it."

Starvation. The negative effects of prolonged starvation include insomnia, an unnatural slowing of the heartbeat, low blood pressure, muscle wasting, general weakness, and susceptibility to illness such as broncho-pneumonia. Starvation also creates gastronintestinal problems (e.g., chronic constipation and painful post-meal bloating) which in turn make it difficult to eat. Finally, starvation generates hormonal aberrations, most notably amenorrhea. Although some may smile fondly at the prospect of not having to deal with monthly menses, the underlying hormonal deficits set the stage for calcium deficiencies (osteoporesis) and, in adolescents, retardation of psychological development.

Self-induced vomiting. As was the case for Regina, most people who turn to self-induced vomiting as compensation for binge-eating mistakenly believe they have discovered a harmless, if somewhat unsavory, weight management technique. Actually, repeated vomiting is a dangerous practice. The principal danger is a depletion of the sodium and potassium (electrolytes) necessary for the effective functioning of nerves and muscles. This compounds the fatigue and weakness created by starvation, and it also causes muscle spasms and nervous irritability. Severe electrolyte imbalance can result in convulsions, kidney failure, and death from cardiac arrhythmia. Electrolyte disturbances will be worsened by use of laxatives and diuretics.

Repeated vomiting has other effects which, although less dramatic, are by no means negligible. These include severe (and expensive) tooth degeneration from being bathed in stomach acid, chronic sore throat and difficulty in swallowing, and gastrointestinal distress.

Psychosocial Ironies

More than the physical effects, A Season in Hell illustrates the bitter ironies of an eating disorder:

(1) Seeking independence from her parents' values (and perhaps even their genetic heritage of overweight), Regina has found dependence on bingeing and purging. The effect is a developmental arrest, as symbolized in the words of the song she shadows which driving: "It's time that you wake up, from haircuts and makeup . . . . . "

(2) Seeking control over hunger, food, and weight, she has lost control over the first two and become a slave to weight.

(3) Seeking to escape what she perceived as the unexciting simplicities of rural life, she has found a monotony of habit, anguish, and loneliness&emdash;a life of "neutral colors" like those she insists upon for her apartment.

(4) Seeking to distinguish herself from a mother who she calls a "martyr" for her family, Regina has become a martyr to the good of slenderness. Speaking of her mother, Regina might as well be speaking of herself: "Why doesn't she do something about it? She says she can . . . . "

(5) Seeking to be a respected person with meaningful connections to others, she has become an "actress," a liar, and a schemer. Although she does have a fiancee, her profound alienation is apparent in the poem she reads and in her opening statement about being locked up behind glass. The poem is reproduced in Appendix II.

(6) (As her father notes in the film) Seeking to be "perfect . . . . she put herself in such a physical mess that she couldn't do anything perfect."