In the novel The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, Brian Moore closely examines the theme of alcoholism and its effect on the protagonist Judith Hearne. Moore highlights Hearne's loneliness in the novel, which appears to be the source of his alcoholism. Although Moore appears to address Hearne's addiction to alcohol as a psychological problem, he suggests that his alcoholism is also a physiological disease. Although Hearne begins drinking to calm her cough, she later uses alcohol to escape her emotional problems, as alcohol can cheer her up and make her feel better. It appears that her drinking problem is simply a mental problem, but then we see her suffer from withdrawal symptoms, which shows that she cannot function normally without alcohol (Milam and Ketcham 66). Because Moore presents Hearne's drinking problem as both physiological and psychological, he creates a feeling of realism in the novel. Therefore, the portrayal of alcoholism in The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne is thorough and realistic. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay At first, Hearne starts drinking because alcohol can ease the pain he suffers from bronchitis. The role of alcohol for her, however, gradually changes; although he still thinks his alcohol consumption is medicinal (115), he uses it to escape life's problems. He says, “He made sad things seem funny, and if you were feeling down, or a little lonely, there was nothing like it to cheer you up” (114). Without family, friends and a man, she feels alone and dissatisfied with life. She thinks that the reasons for her unhappiness and loneliness are beyond her control, since her youth has already passed and she will not be able to get married now. She feels sad because her former dream of getting married to Mr. Right has now proven to be unrealistic, and so she says, "I need something to cheer me up" (114). Because alcohol can alter her mood and make her see problems in a different light, she overdrinks so that she is completely under its influence. Although Hearne still uses alcohol to relieve pain, she mainly uses it to solve her emotional problems and make herself feel less alone. Since alcohol can make Hearne feel better, he uses it excessively to cheer himself up when trouble comes. When Mr. Madden appears in her life, she thinks her dream of getting married will finally come true. Hearne thinks that Mr. Madden is the perfect man for her, as she thinks he knows a lot about life as he owns a hotel in America. She begins to dream that she will marry him and they will live together in New York City. However, when she discovers that Mr. Madden is only a doorman for her landlady, Mrs. Rice, she feels insulted and ashamed, as she thinks that her late aunt would think that he is too ordinary for her. Moore skillfully uses limited third-person narration in describing Hearne's internal struggle. She describes the imaginary conversation between Hearne and her aunt, and that Hearne is trying to defend herself by saying, “Yes, and what's wrong with that [marrying Mr. Madden even though he's just a doorman]” (97). He tries to convince himself that he is right; yet, the more she thinks about it, the more confused and nervous she feels. He then finally decides to use alcohol to calm himself down. Moore ends this scene with "Warmed, relaxed, his and only lover, she took and poured a glass full of drink" (99). This description of Hearne's feelings after drinking clearly shows that he uses alcohol to solve his emotional problems. Another example is the scene where Hearne visits Moira after Mr. Madden rejects her. The first time Hearne is rejected by Mr. Madden,she goes to talk to Moira and Moira offers her a Sherry. She says, "I need it, I'm angry, yeah she's had a really upsetting day" (146). Also, after Mr. Madden rejects her for the second time, she says to Moira, "Instead you have daydreams and you want to hold them back. And you can't. So have a drink to help them, to cheer you up." (200). These two scenes clearly show that Hearne drinks because it helps her forget the reality she lives in so she can feel better about her life. Although Moore appears to highlight Hearne's emotional problems as the main factor responsible for her drinking problem, he implies that she also suffers from alcoholism. Dr. Milam says, “At every stage the disease itself prevents the alcoholic from realizing that he is dependent on alcohol” (95). Moore chooses to use limited third-person narration in describing Hearne's internal thoughts regarding his alcohol use. In this way, it portrays Hearne as a victim of alcoholism, implying that alcoholism is a physiological disease as well as a psychological problem. The excerpt presented below shows that Hearne denies being an alcoholic. It also shows how Moore uses narrative voice to clarify for readers Hearne's internal thoughts about his alcoholism: He didn't drink. to put aside the dangers and disappointments of the moment. She drank so she could see this evidence more philosophically, to examine it more deeply, fortified by the stimulant of unreason. (107) In addition to apologizing for not drinking excessively, Hearne also thinks he has control over alcohol with his willpower. For example, after discovering that Mr. Madden was actually a doorman, he uses alcohol to calm himself down. He says, "I must have something to stop it (the cough), something to stop it, to cut the phlegm. I must. Just a little, it won't be more, I promise you, O frightened heart" (98). Despite the promise he makes, he finishes the entire bottle and gets very drunk. Again, this shows her denial of being an alcoholic and also implies that she thinks she can control her drinking. As the events of the novel progress, it becomes obvious that Hearne is indeed an alcoholic. Moore uses third-person narration to describe his different stages of alcoholism. After Hearne gets drunk for the first time after not drinking excessively for six months, the narrator describes the scene where he starts drinking tonic wine with Edie. This scene illustrates her increasing alcohol consumption: first she drinks a bottle of tonic wine with someone, and then she starts drinking a large bottle of whiskey alone. According to Dr. Milam, alcohol tolerance is caused by “physiological changes that occur primarily in the liver and central nervous system” (Milam and Ketcham 56). In other words, Hearne's improved ability to tolerate large amounts of alcohol is due to the fact that she is responding to the physiological changes within her (Milam and Ketcham 57). Later in the novel, he also suffers from “withdrawal syndrome,” a disturbance in the chemical and electrical activity of the brain of the alcoholic's body after he stops drinking (Milam and Ketcham 64-65). After drinking for the entire day and then just for several hours, Hearne feels nauseous, weak, nervous and doesn't even realize she was singing the whole time when she was drunk. These are all symptoms of the early and middle stage alcoholic experiencing “withdrawal syndrome,” which also shows that he or she is now dependent on alcohol to function. Her withdrawal symptoms become more severe after she is forced to leave her room in Camden Street, as she has been drinking even more excessively ever since. In church he experiences a hallucination which, according to Dr. Milam, is a later withdrawal symptom that an alcoholic., 1955.