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The intellectual in this movie has nothing but self-recrimination for his passivity during the time his first wife was dying, and, as an honored member of the elite, visits an insane asylum. There, on a whim, he decides that having a vivid character around the house will help him past his writer's block, so he seeks to have one of the residents released into his custody. The madman he chooses is indeed released to his custory, and is at first quite charming, but soon cuts a destructive swath through the intellectual's apartment and his life, defecating all over the place and raping his wife. This upsets the intellectual's theory that circumstances are what make one mad, rather than anything inherent. Later, when the rampaging guest calms down, he chooses to seduce the intellectual, who gets caught up all too easily in a mad folie à deux.