My Thoughts on "Patience Worth"

[Thiussat]

I saw this one last night and had never heard of this case before, surprisingly. I generally don't find myself believing in mediums, ouija boards, or most aspects of the occult, but I found this story interesting mainly because of the fact that Mrs. Curran dictated many poems and books through the arduous process of utilizing the ouija board.

I am of the opinion that there was no spirit dictating anything to Curran. Rather I think she was a highly intelligent and gifted woman who just happened to be held back by the time period and region she lived in. Some of the experts on the segment make much of the fact that she dropped out of school in the 9th grade and that this is proof she could not have composed such great poetry and fiction. I find such an argument tenuous and rather preposterous. There are many examples of geniuses who never finished high school. I know of at least one Pulitzer prize winner in literature who never finished high school and never went to college. Formal education and talent don't always go hand in hand. Talented people excell with or without formal education often times.

There is still the question of why she would waste her time with the ouija board and not just write her literature the traditional way. It could be that she felt her husband did not want her to be an author. It could be that she felt she would not be taken seriously since she was a lowly housewife and lived in a very old fashioned town, therefore she uses the ouija board as a ruse to be able to write. I find either scenario quite plausible. If you look at the character of "Patience Worth," you can see many parallels in what Worth claims her life was like and what the life of Curran was really like.

Some experts that think Curran wrote the literature herself believe it is possible that she did not consciously compose it, but rather it was a manifestation of her subconscious mind. This is plausible as well, though I have never been much of a fan of the Freudian school of psychoanalysis and the theory of the subconscious having an advanced cognitive role -- that is, it having a role other than the involuntary brain stem functions such as heart rate and respiration. However, the school of psychoanalysis could be right on this point.

Nonetheless I found this story quite amazing.

Regards.

[PrettyinPink55]

I have been meaning to read a Patience Worth book, but cannot find one! Has anyone read one???

By the way, the first time I saw this case, it really struck me too!!! There are so many possibilities in this story, each one "intriguing" as Robert Stack would say.

[Thiussat]

I haven't read anything about the case other than what is online. There is a good website with a lot of her poems she penned. I believe it is

patienceworth.org

There are several books written by other people about her as well.

[PrettyinPink55]

Thanks for the website!!!!

[crystaldawn]

Well my personal opinion is that she was a talented writer but the fact she tried to spin this elaborate tale that "Patience Worth" dictated through her seemed to indicate she was either an attention seeker or had some sort of mental problem.