The Grinch Didn’t Have a Heart Problem…

Antisocial Personality Disorder, Depression, Psychosis, Trauma, and Bipolar are all diagnoses that you’ll find if you do a quick search on ‘The Grinch’s mental health.’ While there is certainly a case to be made for dysregulation, there is also a lot to be inquisitive about when it comes to The Grinch’s behaviors and how we perceive them. By being curious and non-judgemental, we can think about parts of his life that parallel issues that occur in our world today. Now, while we also want to go on the record and say we don’t agree or encourage someone following through with a mass heist…we don’t 100% disagree with the feelings and experience that would warrant such behavior. 

The Community

Though Whoville is characterized as a place full of joy and cheer, it can be seen as an impenetrable town with an abundance of group think. Everyone, as far as we know, has the same value in Christmas, is stuck in their traditions, and doesn’t handle deviation or adjustment well. From what we know, which isn’t the entire history of Whoville, it doesn’t seem like the Who’s move from or to Whoville, which can create a monolith that can be challenging for those who may want to explore different opportunities and ways of thinking that life has to offer.  

The Intolerance of Diversity

To expand a bit on our initial point, we absolutely cannot ignore the lack of diversity in the original Dr. Seuss book as well as the 1966 TV Special (The 2000 film was not much better, then finally the 2018 animated film had a notable amount of diversity). While the original book didn’t include The Grinch’s signature green coat, there was still a textural difference in how he was drawn to depict fur. Regardless of how depicted through the years, The Grinch has always been othered mainly due to the difference of his body that he has no control over. Furthermore, this is a point that is circled back to which highlights an inability to accept diversity in Whoville and to be complacent in other’s cruelty and ostracizing those who don’t fit in.

 

The Fear Mongering 

Whoville living in fear of a person that they ran out of town due to their inability to be accepting or empathetic to their community member is, in a way, familiar. When we are taught to fear something or someone without questioning the alternative, we can run into a dangerous problem. Cindy-Lou questioning everyone’s intentions and offering support to The Grinch instead of going along with the village-wide fear mongering is a great example of how we should approach these situations in life today. Be curious about others, offer empathy, and get to know people for who they are instead of continuing a dangerous narrative. 

Lack of Resources

Seeing as The Grinch was essentially forced out of the community after years of bullying and harassment, he had to think of somewhere to go. Does Mount Crumpit look like an amazing sledding hill? Yes. However, the harsh living conditions undoubtedly contribute to the amount of irritability, frustration, and resentment that The Grinch experiences in his life. Additionally, people who are harassed may find that they turn inward and isolate due to the active rejection they experienced in the past. This can be thought of as a way to protect oneself from further harm. Living in isolation for years with nothing but what people dispose of for survival is pretty significant when it comes to conceptualizing The Grinch’s social skills and ability to take care of his basic needs.

The Expectation to Comply 

One of the more disheartening messages that is portrayed in The Grinch is, in my opinion, the ending. We see that The Grinch has a change of heart and feels connected to Cindy-Lou which is beautiful. However, the conclusion is less than warm if we dissect it a little more deeply. Taking everything that we’ve discussed, I believe that the Whos in Whoville are the problem. Yes, The Grinch did take all their things but, if we think about after he returned them, there are still expectations to fit in. Now that he is back, there is a heightened importance to get him back into the culture without shifting it to be inclusive. There’s no apologies, there’s no acknowledgement of wrongdoing (other than The Grinch), and there’s no noticeable change. These types of expectations can parallel many people’s experiences with their own families and being told that they are the problem instead of the family system. 

While we hope this didn’t ruin your viewing or reading of this classic, we do like to do a little deep dive into areas that seem assumptive. With literary works having similarities to real life, it is a wonder why we deduce this to a problem with The Grinch’s heart instead of noting that this is a crushing system of oppression. 

The information on this website is not intended to diagnose or treat any medical or psychological condition and is not a substitute for therapy. If you are experiencing an emergency please call/text 988 or go to your nearest emergency room.