The Living and the Dead plot
Ex-Lord Donald Brockleban is nearly bankrupt. In order to take care of his sick wife and support his schizophrenic son James, he is forced to sell his enormously stately mansion in order to get some money. He has to go to London to find potential buyers and therefore hires a private sister for his wife. James wants to prove himself to his father by taking care of his mother himself. To accomplish this, he locks out the sister. He no longer takes his own medicines and takes care of his mother. Taking care of a bedridden patient is mentally and physically demanding of a caregiver. James' mental position is already unstable, and by also taking care of his mother, he loses the ability to distinguish between truth and fantasy.