Wasp Factory
Madness
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Frank's behaviour involves a great deal of ritual and obsession. He says that this is because he is driven to 'keep things in balance'. 'If I brush one arm against a wall or a lamp-post; I must brush the other one as well, soon. . .' (6) Eric, Frank's older half brother is in a secure psychiatric hospital. At one point Angus says that Frank, not Eric should be hospitalized. Eric's behaviour is seriously disturbed and violent involving torturing animals. As narrator Frank is responsible for all we know about Eric. There are three types of information - apparent verbatim accounts of phone conversations, eye witness reports of Eric's acts, and Frank's unconfirmed reports on Eric's emotions and motives.
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| At the beginning of the book we learn that Eric has absconded from the psychiatric institution. Eric makes a number of phone calls to the house, which Frank intercepts. Eric acts aggressively and 'crazy' on the phone. |
| Frank considers that there are four causative factors for Eric's state. He considers that women are to blame for these -because of the absence of mothers, nurses etc. |
| Frank seems to be calculating and cold blooded in his acts of violence. Eric on the contrary is impulsive and uncontrolled. Frank's acts are ritualized but Eric's are reckless. |
| Frank does not consider himself to be unstable as he thinks that his behaviour is governed by rules - admittedly not rules that would be recognised by others. |
| He does however blame any failing that he might have on his mother, saying that she hated children and wished them ill. That's why she abandonned them. There are no clues in the text about the real nature of Frank's mother. She appears to be, at the very least, irresponsible to abandon two children into Angus's care. |
| Angus Cauldhame himself is also far from normal. To embark on such experiments on his own children calls into queston his moral structure. He is also frequently drunk, and is amused that Frank is following his example. |
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