The Three Christs of Ypsilanti (37 page)

Between July 1960 and August 1961, Joseph received many letters from Dr. Yoder—I was the author of these letters, with Dr. Yoder's full knowledge and permission. Joseph almost always replied promptly and lengthily, often within a few hours of receiving the letters. At first he delivered his letters personally to Dr. Yoder's secretary, but this proved to be such a nuisance that it was arranged to have all his letters sent and received through Miss Anderson. During the daily group meetings, he would receive, open, read aloud, and comment upon the letters, in this way making it possible for us to “become familiar” with their contents and to note Joseph's reactions to them firsthand.

The purpose of these letters was the same as in Leon's case—to explore the nature and meaning of Joseph's authority system and to determine to what extent changes in behavior and delusion might be brought about through messages emanating from a figure he accepted as a positive authority. They had therefore a twofold purpose; to make Joseph feel more secure and contented, and to persuade him to do certain things which he had been unable or unwilling to do, when the suggestions had emanated from us. His responses to Dr. Yoder's letters were manifold and complicated, and although we were sometimes able to anticipate them, at other times we were not. Moreover, in his reactions to the communications, he often revealed himself in ways he never did with us, thus affording us new insights into his character and into the nature and magnitude of the problem of identity which he faced in daily life.

The exchange began when, in the middle of July 1960, Joseph wrote to Dr. Yoder asking if he could be transferred back to England, his “native” country, the country he loved so much. The reply sent in Dr. Yoder's name noted that, according to the hospital records, Joseph had been born in Canada, had never been
to England, and was a naturalized citizen of the United States. It was therefore unlikely that the English would be willing to have him back or that the American authorities would be able to initiate action for deportation. To this letter, Joseph replied, in part:

For the next three months there were no further communications between Joseph and Dr. Yoder. Yet the result of the initial exchange was dramatic. While previously Joseph's delusions about England had made up a large portion of his conversation, he now dropped all references to it and no longer spoke of having been born in England or wanting to be deported there.

On September 19, 1960, I interviewed Joseph to find out to what extent he still held to his delusions about England, and to his other grandiose delusions about himself. When I asked him where he was born, he said Canada; of what country he was a citizen, he said the United States; whether he had ever been to England: “No, I never have! I was born in Quebec.” If he left the hospital, what sort of a job would he take? He would be a janitor, he replied, or work for the railroad, or be clerk in a bank or a department store, or work on the assembly line at Ford. He did not, as had been his usual practice, lapse into dreams of more grandiose jobs, such as bank president or owner of a department store.

I pursued the idea of his working in a bank, to see whether he would end up owning it. He said instead that if he brushed up on his mathematics he might eventually become a teller.

Joseph also said he now realized it was useless for him to try
to go back to England. It was clear, however, that he had not really given up his grandiose delusions, but had decided simply not to talk about them. “If Dr. Yoder says I am God, then I can't get out of the hospital. I have the right thing in mind. Nobody bothers you if you say you're a laborer. I'm trying to be myself, Joseph Cassel.” He went on to talk about being deported to Canada, saying that maybe he could take over Prime Minister Diefenbaker's job. Then suddenly he pulled back. “That's a nice dream. One does dream about things too high.”

All in all, an impressive, insightful performance. I had never seen Joseph more realistic. The communication from his authority referent had indeed produced marked changes in his behavior. By inhibiting his delusional speech, it gave him a more realistic posture vis-à-vis other people in his daily environment. But at the group meeting he “backslid” a bit. “The last time I was born it was in Quebec. But I am originally English—no doubt about it.”

A few days later I asked Joseph once again if he had been born in England. He hesitated, then grinned: “I'm supposed to be born in Quebec.” When I asked why he was smiling, he evaded my question. I then asked him who John Michael Ernahue was. “Myself,” he answered. “But I can't use that name anymore.”

It was fully three months after the receipt of Dr. Yoder's letter that Joseph showed signs of a relapse. He began to talk more openly about his English delusions. At the group meeting he mentioned that he was God, but also that he knew enough not to talk about it. This was at the time that Leon was openly calling Miss Anderson “God,” and I suspect it upset Joseph, compelling him to reassert his God identity.

The correspondence between Joseph and Dr. Yoder was resumed on October 24, 1960, and from that time until August of the following year a great many letters passed between them. Joseph's were frequently very long—one ran to thirty-seven pages—and often extremely and obsessively repetitive. Those reproduced here are excerpted to eliminate needless repetition, but they preserve the flavor,
tone, and pace of the communications and convey faithfully the nature of the relationship which developed between Joseph and Dr. Yoder.

October 24. As Joseph opens the letter at the group meeting, he says: “I bet it's from Dr. Yoder.” He reads it aloud.

Joseph is agitated as he finishes reading. “He doesn't want me to go to England. He has nothing to do with the discharge. Social Service takes care of these things. He's just a figurehead, that's all he is. I've always been better mentally. I entered the hospital voluntarily. Just a letter of insult, that's all. Just a comic affair, that's all.

“That's my business if I go to to church. The next thing will
be a letter saying, ‘Joseph Cassel, you didn't answer my letter so I didn't send you home.' Just a letter of diatribe! of insults!”

Angrily, he tears the letter up. “I'm not insane, crazy. By thinking I'm sick, then
he
isn't sick. He could write, ‘You came here voluntarily. You've been here a long time. Go home!' That would be reality! I want to see Yoder personally. He said I was able to get out of the hospital very shortly. Why did he change? Because Dung went over there and told him that I was sick, or something of the sort.”

Leon, of course, immediately denies that he did any such thing, Joseph ignores him and continues. “I don't waste my time on those letters. I tore it up. No letter came to me. I can write letters better than he can. I can make speeches. My mind was quiet before I received this letter. Now I am agitated. It's utterly despicable. I don't want Dr. Yoder to tell me what I am like, what I feel like, whether I'm sick or no. That's my business!”

October 26

After reading the letter aloud, Joseph comments on the suggestion that he attend church. “He won't leave that alone, will he? All admonishments!” He says he is not going to answer, but will send a message through me, saying: “Thank you very
much for the 50¢. I am getting better every day.” He concludes: “What else can you do against the authorities?”

Joseph
does
answer Dr. Yoder, however.

October 26

October 30. Today Joseph begins an ambitious program to write letters to all his relatives, most particularly to his wife, but also to his father, people with whom he had long ago virtually abandoned contact.

November 2. A brief letter arrives from Dr. Yoder with twenty-five cents enclosed. It ends with a P.S. “By the way, have you been to church recently?” Joseph promptly replies, thanking Dr. Yoder for the twenty-five cents and assuring him that he attends church every Sunday, never missing a service.

November 6. Joseph writes to his father, as far as we know for the first time:

November 14. Joseph tells us at the group meeting that he went to church services yesterday. Protestant services! Twice! The aides confirm Joseph's report. Joseph also receives a letter from Dr. Yoder: