ABSTRACT
What is it like to be schizophrenic in Western industrial society? For Mary Byrd in New York City, according to one newspaper report, it is an unbelievably bitter experience:
One night last week…when the air felt like ice and half a foot of snow sent thousands of New Yorkers home early…Charlie, Mary Byrd and Frank Jarnot went home to a cluster of IBM cartons, covered with mailing labels and stamped: “Handle With Care”…. By day, Mary huddles outside a subway entrance. There she stays until Frank comes to lead her the 50 paces to a choice spot alongside the bank building…. Taking care of Mary is almost a full-time job for the men, who call the 23-year-old “just a baby,” and who take turns leaving hamburgers, coffee and cakes outside her box…. “She’s living in a fantasy world,” Frank says.1
