Synaesthesia

If you've read through the "Muses" page there's probably a word in Drusilla's description that seems a little foreign. As a psychology major I've encountered it on many occasions, and even done some independent study on it because I find it so interesting. I've taken some artistic liberties with Drusilla's version of synaesthesia, but it's still somewhat true to life.

Synaesthesia is essentially a "crossing" of the senses. This can (and does) happen naturally, though more often than not people hear about it because of psychadelic drugs. There are a number of different forms, but a simple example would be seeing music as well as hearing it. The individual experiences the stimuli though the intended sense as well as through another sense. The information "crosses" over and is perceived by both sight and sound.

Generally people experience one kind of synaesthesia throughout their life. Whether it be grapheme-color, auditory, visual, or otherwise, it is generally just one. Not to say that people can't experience multiples, it just isn't frequently documented.

Drusilla's character is unique in that she does experience an intense, complete synaesthesia with all her senses. Her angelic form was non compatible with the human body, and so many things got "crossed" along the way. Generally when stories are told of angels coming down in a physical sense, they do not take a true human form. Either they appear in a more divine way or they have a semblance of humanity. In my fiction of Drusilla I term it as them having a "shell" body. That body is not fundamentally human but a creation, and as such fits the angelic aspect perfectly. Drusilla's body on the other hand was human. Angels are described as being along the lines of pure energy or spirit, and this spirit cannot just slip into a human body like the "ghost in the machine."

As such, Drusilla perceives things with both her human and angelic senses. She perceives bits of energy and spirits, but also the physical sensations. This is interpreted as a kind of synaesthesia. She may listen to music and see the sound waves and notes as various colors/pictures, as well as receiving the sensation of sound. Such an existence is complicated to say the least, and it was very overwhelming for her.

As I mentioned earlier, synaesthetics usually don't experience a mix of all senses, and part of the reason why may be because it would be too much. Synaesthesia does take some getting used to, and even still some individuals with this condition do report being overwhelmed when they go out and experience too many levels of sensation. So while Dru's synaesthesia is a little exaggerated, it does have a basis in fact.

For more information about synaesthesia check out this site.