39 As soon as the final group of outraged spectators had left, Nasrudin got up;
he was completely sober, his eyes glowed, and he had about him an air of great authority and wisdom. “Those of you who stayed are the ones who
will hear me,” he said. “You have passed through the two hardest tests on the spiritual road: the patience to wait for the right moment and the courage
not to be disappointed with what you encounter. It is you I will teach.” p. 98.
4.2.2.4. The Description of Mari
Mari is a good lawyer until she gets bored of her daily routine. She is tired of dealing with bureaucracy and law suits. Mari wants to have an adventure, to
work in some humanitarian organization p.120. Mari is a good mother but she always suffers from panic attack. The panic
attack occurs because Mari does not have enough courage to fulfill her dreams. The panic attack ruins her carrier as a lawyer forever. Furthermore, she almost
loses her wealth to cure the panic attack. Since she does not want to burden her husband, she decides to enter Villete. Mari has a close relationship with Eduard.
Mari is interested in Veronika because Eduard is also interested in Veronika. Mari becomes a good friend of Veronika.
4.2.2.5. The Description of Eduard
Eduard is the son of Yugoslavian ambassador. His parents pressure him to become successful in life, to follow his Father’s footsteps as the ambassador of
their party. Eduard’s parents go as far as control Eduard’s relationship. Based on His parent’s self-centered love, Eduard is sent to a school decided by his parents.
Due to Edward’s lack of freedom, He begins to dislike his parents. Eduard also begins to dislike the school and other students. His marks at school get worse as
time passes.
40 Later on, Eduard realizes his passion in arts. Thus, he enrolls himself in an
art school and learns how to paint seriously. However, his father once again forces Eduard to work at the embassy. As a result, Eduard pretends to be a schizophrenic
who lives in the world of fantasy. Eduard becomes trapped in his own mask. He does not want to work at the embassy, but Eduard can not fulfill his dream either.
His father also becomes desperate. Not so long later, Eduard is sent to the mental asylum.
Eduard continues to pretend as a schizophrenic until he meets Veronika. His meeting with Veronika raises his desire to live. Then, both Eduard and Veronika
escape from the mental asylum to enjoy their days as free beings.
4.3. Veronika’s Self Realization in the Mental Asylum
As shown in figure 1, the psychosynthesis model of a person uses dotted lines to symbolize self’s possibility to acquire new experience that will affect a
person. In life people meet many problems, either easy or difficult. However, depression normally occurs as a person gets older and experiences terrible things
in this world. However, depression is risky when it is caused by primal wounding. A person who suffers from primal wounding may create a survival personality
which reduce hisher full potential. The depression caused by primal wounding will occur for a long periods of time and considered as mental disorder. Paulo
Coelho’s Veronika Decides to Die is an example where the depression becomes mental disorder. Veronika decides to commit suicide at the age of twenty-four.
Veronika’s depression occurs in her adulthood, but the cause of depression lies in
41 her childhood. This can be seen from Veronika’s personality of being too
perfectionist. Veronika has perfectly a same daily routine. Furthermore, Veronika takes the sleeping pills one by one, instead of crushes them and mixes them with
water. These behaviors are something that has to be developed through a long time.
Since childhood, Veronika has known that her true dream job is to be a pianist. Her teacher realizes Veronika’s talent and supports her to be a
professional. In this state, Veronika is creating a pianist subpersonality. However, when Veronika tells her mother about the dream, her mother refuses. Veronika’s
mother says that no one make a living by playing a piano. Her mother thinks that it is a ridiculous idea. Veronika’s mother asks Veronika to become a good wife.
Being a good wife is the only way Veronika’s mother knows about being a woman. Veronika obeys her mother because Veronika thinks that her mother is
older and wiser to know what is good and what is bad for her. As her mother suggests, Veronika continues playing piano just so that her future husband can be
proud of her. That love asking for nothing in return had managed to fill her with guilt,
with a desire to fulfill another’s expectations, even if that meant giving up everything she had dreamed of for herself. It was a love that for years had
tried to hide from her the difficulties and the corruption that existed in the world, ignoring the fact that one day she would have to find this out, and
would then be defenseless against them p. 69.
Veronika’s mother does not realize that she is applying self-centered love to Veronika. Veronika feels guilty that she has not become obedient. Veronika
thinks that she has to become obedient to repay her mother’s love. Veronika begins to repress her subpersonality as a pianist. She is losing the desire and the
