Dr. Townsend feels that Rosie's synesthesia made her life miserable. Did it? Do you know someone with synesthesia?

Dr. Townsend tells Helen that Rosie's synesthesia made her life miserable. Did it? Do you know someone with synesthesia?

I do not think Rosie’s life was made miserable at all by synesthesia. On the contrary, she seemed to speak of it in very positive terms. The only negative was her mother telling her at a young age not to let others know. I feel this created some measure of fear in Rosie that she must never tell her “secret” and indeed, when she did, it had the most dire consequences.

I don't think her life was miserable. I think she was happy to know others had the same condition and was happy to spread the word.

Her mother scared her which I thought was terrible - just as you said LizB.

Dr Townsend was the one person that made Rosie feel miserable about the condition. Her Mother’s admonitions about talking about it certainly did not help Rosie.

I agree that Dr Townsend was the one who made Rosie feel bad about her condition. He seemed to view her as a science experiment that might bring him accolades from his peers if he could “cure” Rosie’s affliction. I had never heard of synesthesia before reading this book.

Rosie did not feel miserable. Dr. Townsend wanted her to feel miserable so did those around her who knew. I have never heard of Synesthesia before reading "Only The Beautiful" I wonder what the percentage of the population is that has this sensation. I won't call it a disease.

Dr. Townsend was a product of his medical education and training, not so much out of sinc with the rest of his colleagues at the time. I don't think he was evil, just stubborn and unwilling to research alternative solutions. We are appalled when we learn about the practice of "bleeding" patients to cure them or of sending lepers to colonies. Each generation has its dark times. I wonder what kind of books will be written about cancer treatments (surgery, chemo and radiation) one hundred years from now?

Excellent answer, Muse48

And…very interesting about one hundred years from now. Thanks

On a smaller scale, Rosie's secret was like keeping Brigitta's disability a secret. It is a huge burden for a child to keep such a secret. Today she might be thought to have a super power.
Another book that addresses synesthesia is Hester by Laurie Albanese. Ironically I read that book right before this one!!

I did not know about synesthesia before this book. I found it fascinating and didn't think it made Rosie feel miserable. I think it was other people's approach to synesthesia that was able to make Rosie miserable. It actually strikes me as an extra blessing that some people are fortunate to have, but since I have not known anyone with it, I don't know if those thoughts are accurate. I can understand her mother telling her not to let anyone know. I see this as a time when differences were kept quiet - you never knew how others would react. I also think families were, and still may be, different about openness. My family kept many things quiet while my husband's family did not. I still see too many instances of people today having difficulty accepting differences.

I do not think that synesthesia made Rosie's life miserable. I felt that she considered her "colors" a gift, although one that must be hidden. The idea of being different was, and still is, somewhat frightening to the community at large.

I worked with a woman who had synesthesia and I always found her observations to be fascinating. She is one of the reasons that I chose to ask for this book.

The condition of synesthesia enhanced Rosie’s appreciation of sound and the world around her. Dr. Townsend viewed it as a mental illness and attempted to eradicate it through therapy and electric shocks. His perception of the condition probably made her miserable, but not the condition itself. Being different doesn’t need to cause misery, but the world’s perception of the difference and response to it can certainly result in a lot of misery.

SSH says it very well.
I have heard of synesthesia before and have a non-fiction book about it on my TBR pile.....

I pretty much agree with the comments above. I do think the condition enhanced Rosie’s life. It is yet another instance of close minded individuals passing judgment about things they don’t understand, are fearful of being different, feel threatened by, etc. It is an unfortunate pattern that continues today

Rosie's life was ultimately enriched as a result of Synesthesia. This was dramatically depicted at the conclusion of the book. Unfortunately, her earlier years were filled with those people who treated her as though she was damaged. Dr. Townsend clearly didn't help with his approach to treating her as though she had an illness and needed to be cured.

It is sad to think about everyone who has lived with a condition that wasn't fully understood during their lifetime. All of our different experiences and perspectives are what makes life beautiful. I've known a few people with synesthesia over the years, and all have spoken fondly of it.

I had never heard of synesthesia before and found it fascinating. Rosie never thought of her sensory condition as a hindrance, but rather as a gift. Keeping it secret, as advised by her mother, was difficult but necessary. Her mother warned her about that in order to protect her daughter and prevent unfortunate situations. Dr. Townsend thought this ability, being out of the ordinary, was wrong. Anything, and anyone, who was different was wrong and needed to be "fixed". The misery caused by synesthesia was in the secret-keeping, and the response by others, not in the ability itself.

Rosie's life is made much more colorful and full or joy with her "affliction". Dr. Townsend sees the world through the eyes of a stanch scientist who has no room for imagination or deviation in his world view. His position in the organization makes him superior to Rosie and all the underlings in the organization bow to his "expertise" without thinking that Rosie might be happier left alone.

Though I have never met a person with synesthesia and Dr. Townsend’s holier-than-though attitude was infuriating. At the beginning of chapter 17, Dr. Townsend said synesthesia was a burden for Rosie and others with this condition. I was glad to read Rosie’s perception of the colors at the end of that chapter where she had 5 things that were hers. She then added “Six things, actually. I still have the colors.” I think Rosie appreciated the interplay of the colors and found their appearance fascinating.

I felt that Rosie's life was enhanced by having synesthesia. Individuals, such as Dr. Townsend, believed synesthesia was a burden to those with the condition and thought they would not be able to care for themselves. We were never really presented with information showing this to be true, only were we shown the evils of those not being able to accept an individual's differences. To see the thinking of this time period is horrifying.