No one on the list said that he did, they asked me for the modern
"numbers" for a presentation of these symptoms and an acceptance of a
general diagnosis of porphyria. Obviously a theory is as close as we are
going to get. I am reasonably satisfied with it as a theory but it does
little to address the "big" issues of GIII's reign. As for the film, I
did not detect the loss of the colonies as a thesis to explain his
debilitation. In cases of porphyria however, as with a whole range of
psychiatric disorders, there are almost always affective features in the
patient's presentation. For example, schizophrenics do not only present
psychotic features, they present psychoses which are often laden with
personal concerns, highly significant in any kind of therapeutic
regimen. Thus I would accept what I percieve to have been the film's
presentation of George's concerns over the colonies within the midst of
his (theoretical) mood disorder due to acute intermittent porphyria. Of
course, movies have no obligation to be historically accurate, nor to
present the host of theories developed by historians.
sean farrell moran
associate professor
dept of history
oakland university
rochester, mi 48309-4401
moran@vela.acs.oakland.edu
810-370-3533