Yesterday evening, I attended Tessa Fontaine’s presentation in the Creative Writing Mansion, where she read from and discussed her book The Electric Woman. While she did not spend much of her talk explicitly focusing on disability, I felt that her story was applicable to our class discussions regardless. One of the most common conundrums I’ve seen in disability’s representation in literature is what qualifies as a positive or negative representation of the disabled community. This is something I believe many of our theory pieces this semester have been grappling with as well. As this is clearly not an easily answered question, I do not believe we can come to a satisfactory conclusion about it in many cases; Fontaine’s book, however, acts as a good example of this dilemma in real literature.
The most direct mention of disability in her book and her discussion with us was when Fontaine addressed her mother’s debilitating strokes. After having severe strokes late in life, her mother was paralyzed on half her body, and faced incredible barriers in communication and mobility. Despite being rendered disabled, her mother apparently maintained an incredible sense of adventure and continued to travel the world with her husband. This story is interesting, because it represents disability in a way our society typically deems impossible or exceptional–while she was considered disabled, Fontaine’s mother still continued to live her life without the barriers placed on most disabled people. This story then has the potential to leave a positive impact on the disabled community, by showing that individuals are still capable of fully experiencing life while living with a disability.
On the flip side of this argument, however, remains the potential for this to negatively impact the disabled community. This comes from Fontaine’s mother being presented as an exceptionality, rather than the norm. This is further emphasized by Fontaine’s reaction to this disability–she felt that her mother showed remarkable bravery by living a full life despite being disabled. Fontaine, then, joined a traveling side show, which she directly associated with exceptional fearlessness, as her personal method of coping with her mother’s disability. This then circles back to the fine line we have seen and discussed already throughout Dis/Lit, regarding the various ways in which disability can be presented. When living a full life regardless of a disability is seen as normal, the pain and suffering often associated with debilitating illnesses or injuries is diminished; when it is seen as exceptional, however, negative stereotypes are perpetuated, showing disabled individuals as completely incapable of independence or satisfaction.
In Fontaine’s discussion and book reading last night, her mother’s disability played a relatively minor role; instead, it was simply the inspiration for Fontaine’s decision to join the traveling side show. I still believe, however, that this point might contain the most critical connection to our course. As I mentioned earlier, and as we’ve discussed numerous times throughout this course, it is incredibly difficult to pin down exactly what kind of positive or negative representation disability has in certain situations. In this literary example, disability does not even play a direct role in the story itself; nevertheless, The Electric Woman presents an interesting dilemma regarding disability representation.
