Who Am I Committing to, Who Am I Forgiving? – How Spouses View the Personhood of Their Partner Living with Mental Illness

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article discusses personhood as an object of commitment and forgiveness in the spouses of people living with mental illness. Mental illness makes divorce more likely but qualitative research about commitment and forgiveness in spouses of people with mental illness is scant. The personhood of a mentally ill partner is also rarely discussed. I conducted 16 semi-structured narrative interviews with Finnish spouses and partners. The data was analysed using a narrative perspective. The results show that in commitment and forgiveness, personhood is crucial. The article employs two perspectives on personhood: Pamela Cooper-White's theological concept of relational and multiple self and the folk belief in the ‘true self’. They represent traditions with both polarizing and integrative elements; in commitment and forgiveness, both views of personhood were present. The results emphasize the need to protect the inherent goodness of people living with mental illness in the eyes of their spouses.