Three Thrown Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Sometime in the 1940s an improbable encounter occurred at a mental
institution in Maryland. Two women, each of whom was
institutionalized for believing she was the Virgin Mary, chanced
upon one another and engaged in conversation. They had been
chatting for several minutes when the older woman introduced
herself as "Mary, Mother of God." "Why you can't be, my dear," the
other patient replied, unable to conceive of such a notion. "You
must be crazy. I am the Mother of God." "I'm afraid it's you who
are mixed up," the first asserted, "I am Mary." A hospital staff
member eavesdropped as the two Virgin Marys debated their
identities. After a while the women paused to quietly regard one
another. Finally, the older patient seemed to arrive at a
realization. "If you're Mary," she said, "I must be Anne, your
mother." That seemed to settle it, and the reconciled patients
embraced. In the following weeks the woman who had conceded her
delusion was reported to be much more receptive to treatment, and
she was soon considered well enough to be discharged from the
hospital. This clinical anecdote was retold in a 1955 issue of
Harper's Magazine, and a highly-regarded social psychologist named
Dr. Milton Rokeach read it with great interest. What might happen,
he wondered, if a psychologist were to deliberately pair up
patients who held directly conflicting identity delusions? Perhaps
such psychological leverage could be used to pry at the cracks of
an irrational psyche to let in the light of reason. Dr. Rokeach
sought and secured a research grant to test his hypothesis, and he
began canvassing sanitariums for delusional doppelgängers. Soon he
found several suitable subjects: three patients, all in state care,
each of whom believed himself to be Jesus Christ. And he saw that
it was good.