To gain insight into minds like the Depressed Person's - not just as described dryly, but actually experienced first-hand as a result of the way it is written.
I understand the purpose of the writing style. And it works on me. That's why my brain hurts. My question was why anybody would do this to himself? Masochism?
Probably the most important thing that literature can do, in my opinion, is transport us into someone else's mind. Even if it isn't necessarily pleasant, it can still be broadening.
I feel the way you do about Eraserhead, to some extent. It's an amazing work of genius that I'll never watch again, because it made me feel physically il. I'm still glad I watched it once.
