Children With Disabilities In Charlotte Bronte's Villette

According to the Old English Dictionary, “disability” is defined as the “lack of ability (to discharge any office or function); inability, incapacity; weakness” or as a “physical or mental condition that limits a person’s movements, senses or activities.” Both uses have been a part of the English language since the 1500s (OED). However, while this definition pertains to the technical definition, most critics argue that disability is socially constructed because we live in an able-bodied society that does not accommodate the disabled community. In literature, children with disabilities were often portrayed negatively because they were unlikely to survive until adulthood. For instance, in Charlotte Bronte’s Villette (1853), Marie Broc has an

So it becomes important to understand whether or not disability books become more about the able-bodied readers or about the readers who have the same experiences as the characters. The problem with presenting the book as a text for able-bodied children is that the character with a disability becomes a part of the “second fiddle phenomenon” where they are only there to make a change in another character (Brittain; Carroll and Rosenblum; Keith; Curwood). Rather, the character with a disability “[serves] to bring the central character/s to a better understanding of themselves or disability” (Brittain). In Cynthia Lord’s Rules, twelve-year old Catherine learns how to accept disability and learns more about herself through her interactions with her brother, David who is autistic, and new friend Jason, who is in a wheelchair and cannot speak. During her experiences with Jason and David, she comes to terms with her own self-doubt. Should characters with disabilities should be portrayed with both audiences in mind, or can there only be one or the