Miss Ferenczi - the Definition of Crazy

Miss Ferenczi - The Definition of Crazy

Miss Ferenczi in Charles Baxter's "Gryphon" straddles the line between insane and eccentric. She is defiantly not the elementary substitute teacher Tommy expected to have in Five Oaks, Michigan. Miss Ferenczi most certainly shocked Tommy and his fellow classmates from the start with her purple purse and her odd decision to draw a bizarre looking tree on the blackboard. Harold Knardahl said it best when he whispered "Mars" to Tommy insinuating she was so strange she could be from another planet. Strange does not cut it in describing Miss Ferenczi. She is beyond strange, and after taking a closer look at Miss Ferenczi's appearance, conversations, and actions it is evident she is mentally unstable, delusional, and potentially dangerous.

Miss Ferenczi's odd appearance and questionable behavior are the first clue to her mental instability. "She seems suspicious from the onset." (Hirt "American Writers") In a world where it is common for women to still resemble Betty Crocker, Miss Ferenczi's checkerboard lunch box and blue tinted glasses were appalling. Five Oaks is so sheltered even Miss Ferenczi's chignon hairstyle was unusual. The fact Miss Ferenczi had the audacity to dress the way she did in a town so sheltered shows she has a lack of respect for reality. Baxter gives the reader more clues to her crazed mind when he describes her face. It contains "two prominent lines, descending vertically from the sides of her mouth to her chin." (138) Baxter goes on to explain the significance of the lines through Tommy's recollection "I had seen those lines before: Pinocchio." (139) Pinocchio is a character who is delusional and a liar, and this comparison is an analogy to Miss Ferenczi own delusional state. Aside from her abnormal appearance Miss Ferenczi's curious behavior speak volumes in showing her insanity. The way "Her eyes searched the ceiling." (Baxter 139) when there was "Nothing up there but ceiling tile." (Baxter 139) indicates distraction, but what can be distracting about ceiling tile? There is nothing distracting about ceiling tile unless she is seeing things that are not there. This all shows how deranged Miss Ferenczi truly is.

Appearance can be deceiving, and that's why Miss Ferenczi appearance is just the first hint in revealing her madness, the most convincing evidence is visible when she speaks. Hirt describes her as an " unusual character whose decisions create a startling situation." Miss Ferenczi decision to abandon Mr. Hibler's curriculum and create one of her own that consists of personal recollections, extravagant stories, and substitute facts indeed creates a startling situation, and illustrates the lunacy that lies within. On Miss Ferenczi's first day of class she does not fall victim to her insanity until one of the Eddy twins questions her teaching. Miss Ferenczi did not correct John Wazny when he said six times eleven is sixty-eight, because in Miss Ferenczi's altered reality "in higher mathematics numbers are ... more fluid." (Baxter 138). Miss Ferenczi takes great lengths to defend her delusions by declaring that since she is their substitute teacher then they should then "think of six times eleven equals sixty-eight as a substitute fact." (Baxter 140) This is not the only instance when Miss Ferenczi shows her true