Dan Goodman Character Analysis

Next to Normal is a rock musical following the journey of the “perfect loving family” as they deal with loss and mental illness. Dan Goodman, the patriarch, spends his time working to provide for his family. He tries to help Diana, his wife, through her mental illness and he tries to be a supportive father to his daughter, Natalie. Throughout the show, Dan has two main conflicts, one internal and one external. Although he does his best to suppress his own feelings for Diana’s sake, Dan is also struggling with depression after the loss of his son, Gabriel. Dan also struggles with finding a solution that will work for Diana and get their lives back to “normal”. These conflicts are present the whole time as Dan continues to care for and support Diana and maintains a stoic and solid disposition. He does break down throughout the show a little bit, however, he does not really lose it until the end of the show. When Diana leaves him, Dan is devastated. His external conflict has left; he can no longer help Diana and he …show more content…
He starts out put together and stable but as the show goes on he becomes more shaggy and disoriented until he eventually can no longer shoulder his emotional weight. Dan’s continuous change affects the rest of his family in a big way. Since he is becoming more and more desperate, Diana is urged into all these different treatments. Dan thinks he is helping and he so desperately wants to restore their life, he has no idea what it is doing to her. Diana sees he is suffering too, and that’s why she leaves him. In the middle of the first act, Dan, frustrated with himself and the situation their family is in, tells Natalie that helping her mother was more important that her comfort. Natalie obviously upset, takes Diana’s medication in the hope of not feeling anything. At the end of the show, Natalie is able to overcome her depression by helping Dan out of his. These changes were all caused, in part, by Dan’s

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