UNIT 6
DISABILITY IN LITERATURE AND LIFE
NARRATIVES
Structure
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Objectives
6.3 Disability in Fiction
6.4 Disability in Life Narratives
6.5 Let Us Sum Up
6.6 Glossary
6.7 References and Suggested Readings
6.8 Unit End Questions
6.9 Answers to Check Your Progress
6.1 INTRODUCTION
If you think about the everyday language that we use or stories that you have read,
you will find that notions and images of disability are everywhere. Consider, for
instance, common phrases like deaf ears, blind love, lame jokes, dumb luck,
and so on. Phrases such as these can be seen in our vernacular languages as
well. Most of us are familiar with figures such as the blind king Dhritarashtra,
the lame Shakuni, and the hunchback Manthara in the epics The Ramayana and
The Mahabharata as well as the blind parents of Shravan Kumar, the legend
of sage Ashtavakra, and the blind poet Surdas. Disabled figures also abound
in well-known European literature from Sophocles’s Oedipus, Shakespeare’s
Richard III, Victor Hugo’s Quasimodo, to Charlotte Bronte’s Bertha Mason and
Rochester. There are many famous authors with disabilities whose names you
may have heard: Homer, Milton, Keats, Helen Keller, Ved Mehta, Firdaus Kanga,
and recently, Salman Rushdie. This unit will help you gain an understanding of
the various ways in which disability has been represented in fiction and life
narratives as well as introduce you to ‘literary disability studies’.
6.2 OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit, you would be able to:
● Discuss how disability is represented in literature and life writings and
● Develop an understanding of the lived realities of persons with disabilities
through their life writings.
6.3 DISABILITY IN FICTION
The study of disability in literature began because scholars wanted to understand
how disabled characters were portrayed. Early scholars like Lennard Davis (1995)
Disability, and Rosemarie Garland-Thomson (1997) focused on the idea of ‘normalcy.’ They
Society and argued that society’s idea of being ‘normal’ was the real problem, not the
Culture disabled person themselves. These scholars noticed that in literature, disabled
characters were often shown as different or even criminal. Disability was seen
as something negative that characters had to overcome, rather than just a part of
who they were. This way of representing disability made it seem like disabled
people lacked something. By examining these representations, scholars wanted
to show that discrimination against disabled people, called ableism, was just as
harmful as racism, sexism, and other types of prejudice. You have read about
ableism in Unit 1 of the Course. These scholars emphasized the importance
of understanding disability as a full experience, not just a problem to be
solved.
Mitchell & Snyder (2000) pointed out that disability is often used in literature
in two main ways: as a common trait of characters and as a convenient
metaphor. They introduced the term “narrative prosthesis” to describe how
stories often rely on disability themes to move the plot forward. In simpler
terms, narrative prosthesis means to use disability representations in texts to
evoke feelings like pity, fear, or disgust, or as a metaphor, a narrative crutch,
that moves the plot forward without dwelling on disability as a life experience.
Even in our own epics and more modern literature, disability is sometimes used
in this way. Manthara’s hunchback and Shakuni’s lameness mark them
out as negative, villainous characters. King Dhritarashtra’s blindness is
linked with moral failure. We grow up hearing and reading these stories.
Therefore, these kinds of representations mean that from a very young age, we
begin to have negative ideas about disability. We have discussed this earlier
in Unit 5.
Scholars have also pointed out that the way in which disability is shown in
literature has ethical implications because it can influence how people see
disabled individuals in real life. They also state that positive and complex
disability representations can give us a more holistic understanding of
disability experiences. Understanding disability in more nuanced ways has led
to the concept of disability gain. Instead of seeing disability as purely negative,
a problem, or a lack, we now recognize its potential to enrich human experience.
‘Literary Disability Studies’ studies varied experiences and representations
of disability in literature. Let us now discuss some texts which will help you
understand these ideas better.
Check Your Progress 1
Answer the following questions in a sentence or two.
1. What do you understand by ‘ableism’ in literature?
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2. What is meant by ‘narrative prosthesis’? Disability in
Literature and
....................................................................................................................... Life Narratives
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There are many examples of fiction and short stories in the Indian bhashas
(regional languages) which sensitively explore the themes of disability and the
familial and societal responses to it. The collection Reclaiming the Disabled
Subject: Representing Disability in Short Fiction (2022) edited by Someshwar
Sati, G.J.V. Prasad, and Ritwick Bhattacharjee, is an important work as it focuses
on disability representation in regional literatures in India. It unearths disability
themes in existing fictional works, thereby ‘reclaiming’ disability stories for the
benefit of readers. The short stories included in this volume represent a diverse
array of Indian languages spanning different periods, offering insights into the
social, cultural, and political dimensions of disability within their respective
societies and regional contexts. Beginning with Rabindranath Tagore’s “Subha,”
published in Bengali in 1912, and extending to contemporary works like the
Malayalam short story “Three Blind Men Describe an Elephant” by E. Santosh
Kumar, these narratives offer a rich tapestry of perspectives on disability across
time and linguistic boundaries. Each story provides a unique lens through which
to explore the complexities of disability, shedding light on the evolving attitudes
and experiences of individuals living with disabilities in India. Let us acquaint
ourselves with three of the stories included in the anthology.
Subha: Rabindranath Tagore
Tagore’s ‘Subha’ is the story of an innocent village girl who cannot speak.
Ironically, her full name is ‘Subhashini’ which means someone who speaks
sweetly. Her older sisters have been married off, and her parents are concerned
about how to find a match for their speech-impaired Subha. Tagore beautifully
narrates her closeness to nature, her love for her two cows and goats and kitten,
revealing that even though human society does not consider her worthy, she is
not judged by her animal friends. Subha is married off to a man in Calcutta,
without the family revealing her condition. She passes off as a suitable bride,
and the parents return to the village, relieved that they have done their ‘duty’.
Eventually, when Subha’s inability to speak is discovered, she is rejected
and her husband gets himself a new ‘able-bodied’ wife. The story reveals the
devaluation of Subha simply because she cannot speak, and her vulnerability,
both as a daughter and a disabled one at that, highlights the precarious position
of girls and women with disabilities.
Another story that reinforces the central theme of Subha— the plight of disabled
women in society—is Mahadevi Varma’s ‘Gungiya’.
Gungiya: Mahadevi Varma
The renowned Hindi writer Mahadevi Varma’s story ‘Gungiya’ (derogatory term
for a mute girl) captures the plight of the speech-impaired Gungiya who is cruelly
rejected by her marital family who treat her in a most unkind way and refuse to
accept her once her disability is discovered. Her younger sister is married off to 63
Disability, her husband, but dies in childbirth. Gungiya raises the child Hulasi as her own,
Society and showering him with love and undergoing immense hardships. Hulasi turns against
Culture her, accusing her of stealing him from his father, even after his father rejects him
and sends him back to Gungiya. Eventually, Hulasi leaves her for an unknown
destination. Gungiya continues to pine for him, and faces blame and mockery
from her neighbours for trying to be a mother to someone else’s child. In this story
too, society’s rejection and cruel treatment of a poor and disabled woman becomes
evident. The child who is ostracized and mocked by the world because of his
foster mother’s disability also rejects her in favour of the able-bodied world.
In both these stories, we can observe that the disabled character is reduced to
her impairments. Unfortunately, often in society, disabled people seem to have
no other identity than that of a person with a disability. But should we always
perceive disabled people exclusively in terms of their impairments? E Santosh
Kumar’s short story ‘Three Blind Men Describe an Elephant’ offers a way out
of such reductive representations of persons with disability and portrays them as
complete individuals with rich and interesting perspectives.
Three Blind Men Describe an Elephant: E. Santosh Kumar
E. Santosh Kumar’s story “Three Blind Men Describe an Elephant” is a retelling
of an old Indian parable where three blind men touch different parts of an
elephant and describe it based on their limited experience. One thinks the trunk
is like a snake, another says the leg is like a tree, and so on. The original parable
uses the trope of blindness metaphorically and negatively to show that people
often have limited perspectives.
The narrator of Kumar’s story, a nondisabled student of journalism, initially
sees the three men as mere subjects for an experiment based on the parable.
However, he soon realizes that they have rich, complex lives and emotions
just like anyone else. In Kumar’s version, the blind characters—Shekhar,
Raghuram, and Chandran—are not metaphorical but real people with jobs and
hobbies. They are not just defined by their blindness. Shekhar is a telephone
operator, Raghuram is a music teacher, and Chandran is a tourist guide. They
each describe the elephant differently, based on their feelings: fear, indifference,
and reverence. While each of their rich descriptions of the elephant astonishes
the narrator, he himself struggles when asked, in turn, to describe the elephant.
In his struggle to articulate the imposing presence of an elephant, he realises the
similarity between his own perceptions and those of the blind men.
Kumar’s story challenges the idea that disabled people are fundamentally
different from non-disabled people. It shows that each person has a unique
perspective and experiences emotions deeply, urging readers to understand and
appreciate the full humanity of people with disabilities.
In recent years there has been a growing interest in the representation of disability in
literary and cultural studies. As India progresses towards a more inclusive society,
the intersection of disability studies with literary analysis promises to initiate a
deeper understanding and representation of disabled experiences within Indian
literature and society. The three stories we have dwelt on so far have been written
by able-bodied authors. Nowadays, a great emphasis is being laid on narratives by
disabled authors. A case in point is Firdaus Kanga’s Trying to Grow.
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Trying to Grow: Firdaus Kanga Disability in
Literature and
An Indian novel in English that brings out the life experiences of a person with
Life Narratives
a serious disability is Firdaus Kanga’s semi-autobiographical work Trying to
Grow (1991). Kanga was born and grew up in Mumbai, in a Parsi family, and
has a congenital disability that affected his physical growth. Trying to Grow tells
the story of Brit Kotwal from childhood to early adulthood. Like the author, Brit
is a boy with osteogenesis imperfecta or ‘brittle-bone syndrome’ who, according
to his doctor, would break his bones often, never walk, never have teeth, and if
he survived at all, would grow to be only four feet tall. It is the story of a boy
who is very aware of his marginal identity as he negotiates with family, society,
and his developing sexuality. The novel begins with Brit’s father taking him to a
holy man named Wagh Baba, hoping for a cure for Brit’s condition. While Brit’s
mother, Sera, sees him as a normal person with a “problem,” his father, Sam,
struggles to accept Brit’s disability. Sam tries various remedies, including visits
to doctors, ingesting unusual substances like pulverized pearls and goat bone
marrow, and seeking help from questionable sources like a woman who claims
to cure with electricity. This reflects the influence of the medical model where
people strive to bring ‘normality’ or improved functionality to the lives of those
with disabilities. It also reflects how families resort to all kinds of remedies,
whether magical or medical, to ‘cure’ their disabled children.
While Brit’s life is overshadowed by his father’s desire to cure him, he is also
sheltered and cared for by his family. His family readily assists him in daily tasks
and ensures he receives a good education, offering him intellectual stimulation
through books, music, and art. However, decisions about Brit’s life are made
without his input, with people assuming what he needs without asking for his
opinion. For instance, when they had to go somewhere important, Brit would be
bathed, powdered and dressed by his family members as if he was a baby, even
though he was quite capable of doing so himself.
Sam’s attitude towards Brit’s disability reinforces prevalent societal notions
about disabled people in India. He tells Brit sadly that even though he might
study, he will never get a job.
He sees Brit as intellectually capable but fears that his disability will make him
a misfit in a competitive world, leading to a life without job opportunities or
romantic love. As Brit puts it, “When you can’t do some things people feel
you can’t do anything” (52).
In the novel, however, Brit undergoes a significant transformation in his
understanding of disability, shifting from a negative to a positive perspective. As
he navigates his journey, Brit begins to challenge ingrained beliefs and embrace
his disability as an integral part of his identity. Through encounters with various
individuals (particularly his two friends Cyrus and Amy) and experiences, Brit
discovers his own worth beyond social norms and expectations. He recognizes
that his impairments do not define his potential or limit his capacity for fulfilment
and meaningful connections. Interestingly, it is not just Brit who grows as an
individual owing to his relationships with Cyrus and Amy. The novel shows how
these characters also benefit from their relationship with Brit. In questioning
their own internalized prejudices, they grow as individuals, friends, and lovers
and learn as much about themselves as about Brit (Bhattacherjee 2018). This
shift marks a deep realization for Brit, empowering him to embrace life and his
disability with resilience, self-acceptance, and a newfound sense of purpose. 65
Disability,
Activity
Society and
Culture Think of the stories you heard/read as a child. Can you recall disabled
characters in the stories? How have they been represented? What can
you understand about the cultural perceptions of disability in the context
of the story?
6.4 DISABILITY IN LIFE NARRATIVES
We have seen how the cultural representations of disability have mostly been
constructed by the non-disabled, and thus not taken into account the voices and
accounts of persons with disabilities themselves. Life narratives, both first-person
and third-person accounts can provide a corrective. Through these narratives,
persons with disabilities can control the way they are represented and tell their
own stories in their own voices. Since the late twentieth century, disabled people
have increasingly sought to claim their own narratives through the medium
of life writing (Couser, 2005).
In terms of the history of disability life writing in the West, we hardly find
any such literature before the Second World War. War leads to disability and
hence, we can locate several narratives by disabled veterans after the war. Polio
narratives also came onto the scene during this time. Wilson (1994) observes
that polio, in fact, may be the first disability to have produced a large body
of autobiographical literature. This was followed by several life narratives by
persons with breast cancer and HIV/AIDS in the 1980s and 1990s, many of which
resisted the notions of tragedy and stigma that accompany these conditions. The
production of a substantial body of life narratives about certain conditions was
therefore a major cultural phenomenon after the Second World War. Couser
(2005) writes, “As the twentieth century drew to a close, then, many disabilities
came out of the closet and into the living room of life writing”.
Disabled people often feel pressured into explaining their conditions to others.
Autobiographies by disabled people offer a way for them to tell their stories,
share their experiences, and challenge discrimination. They can reclaim their
narratives, and represent themselves as full and autonomous individuals.
They offer valuable insights into the lived experience of disability, promoting
a more nuanced understanding of human diversity. Autobiographies by persons
with disabilities also serve as forms of advocacy, stressing the need for social
accommodations and support for disabled persons. Let us learn more about some
of these life narratives.
Count Us In: Growing Up with Down Syndrome (1994), for instance, is a
collaborative narrative by two individuals with Down Syndrome—Kingsley
and Levitz. The title as well as the subtitle (with its pun on ‘up’ and ‘down’)
of the book challenge stereotypes (such as people with Down syndrome are
perpetually immature ‘children’) about the condition and thereby demonstrate
the authors’ agency and their claiming of self-representation.
Autobiographies by visually-impaired authors like Georgina Kleege’s Sight
Unseen (1999) and Steven Kuusisto’s Planet of the Blind (1997) merge
advocacy with life writing. These works help disabled readers to ‘come out’ and
66 claim their disability while enabling all readers to shun negative stereotypes.
Several Indian authors with disabilities have also written their autobiographies. Disability in
One of the first was Ved Mehta’s Face to Face (1957), in which he writes in Literature and
detail about his blindness. Madan Vasishta’s Deaf in Delhi (2006), Malini Life Narratives
Chib’s One Little Finger (2010), Preeti Monga’s The Other Senses (2012),
and Shivani Gupta’s No Looking Back (2014), among many others, draw
attention to the realities of persons with disability in India and the disabling
conditions they are often forced to battle. Let us discuss some of them.
Shivani Gupta’s autobiography, No Looking Back, portrays the journey of
a determined young woman who suffers a severe spinal injury following a
car accident. Transitioning from a vibrant hotel management graduate with
aspirations of studying abroad to a wheelchair user, Shivani confronts the reality
that her life has completely changed. In this, she has to battle many prejudices.
For instance, Shivani talks about her experience of visiting the Kanyakumari
temple:
“I wasn’t allowed to enter the temple in my wheelchair as it was considered
impure. After a great deal of hesitation, I allowed one of my colleagues to carry
me in his arms to get a darshan. I didn’t know better, so I agreed to be carried,
but it was one of the most humiliating and embarrassing experiences of my life”
(119-120).
However, she refuses to succumb to despair and instead embarks on a new path,
dedicating herself to advocating for inclusivity and universal design in society.
With the support of her partner, Vikash Sharma, she establishes Access Ability,
an NGO aimed at promoting accessibility for people with disabilities. She writes
about her experiences of love, marriage and conjugal relationship as a woman
with disability. Shivani Gupta’s story has been interpreted as one of remarkable
courage and overcoming adversities. At the same time, this autobiography also
reveals her deeper sociopolitical aspirations for accessibility and autonomy, not
just for herself, but all persons with disability.
Madan Vasishta’s memoir Deaf in Delhi also similarly points out how the lack
of social accommodations for disabled people can lead them to despair. Madan
acquired deafness when he was eleven years old and it affected all aspects of
his life, including his access to education. He was a very bright student, but as
no school in or near his village in Gagret could accommodate deaf children,
the doors of formal education seemed shut for him. He writes, “according to
everyone in the village, including my family, a deaf person could do only one
kind of work—manual labour” (72). Madan’s despair begins to transform into
hope once he learns sign language after shifting to Delhi and interacts with other
members of the Deaf community. He gains confidence, secures a government
job where he had to compete against hearing people, before finally travelling to
study at Gallaudet University in America, a university for the education of deaf
persons. “I fell in love with sign language. It opened up a whole new world for
me,” writes Madan (110). Through his memoir, Vasishta shows how his life was
diminished not because of his deafness but because of social prejudices and
because most schools neither teach sign language nor can accommodate a sign
language user. Both Gupta and Vasishta make readers question the ingrained
ableism in all of us and inspire us to rally for change.
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Disability, Autobiographical narratives by disabled people in India show that they not
Society and only have to suffer because of systemic lapses such as lack of accessible public
Culture healthcare system, education, and employment opportunities but also owing
to widespread superstition and pessimism regarding disability, even within the
medical fraternity. Some of them also highlight the gap in disability awareness
and facilities between rural and urban areas in India. Gender emerges as another
crucial concern in these works, with disabled women’s narratives stressing the
double oppression of women with disabilities—first, by gender and then, by
disability. They also challenge stereotypical perceptions of disability and often
seem to be in tune with the social model and rights-based models of disability,
about which you read in Unit 3. They reveal the disabling aspects of society
and the injustices PWDs in India have to experience almost daily. They stress
greater awareness, the importance of community, and the need to rewrite their
narratives on their own terms. They emerge as complete human beings who
think, feel, opine, and have the same rights as any other Indian citizen. This
includes access to healthcare, education, and employment, but also to often-
overlooked aspects that lend meaning to life— love, sexuality, dignity, and
meaningful relationships.
Disability representation in literature is gradually becoming more positive and
realistic. This has been made possible through disability activism, the development
of critical theories that have questioned the stigma associated with disability, as
well as the emergence of narratives by persons with disabilities. Novels like
Firdaus Kanga’s Trying to Grow (1991); Amandeep Sandhu’s Sepia Leaves
(2006); Indra Sinha’s Animal’s People (2008); and Jerry Pinto’s Em and the
Big Hoom (2012), among others, have drawn attention to the personal and social
experiences of PWDs as well as the multiple ways in which society denies them
access to basic human dignity. Life narratives of persons with disabilities speak
not for individuals but for entire categories of people who have to experience
similar systemic injustices. Thereby, both fiction and life narratives hold the
power to change existing notions of disability, and affirm the voices and dignity
of persons with disability.
Check Your Progress 2
Read the above section carefully. Write a note of 75-100 words on the various
types of discrimination and ableism that persons with disabilities experience in
their lives.
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Disability in
6.5 LET US SUM UP Literature and
In this Unit, we discussed the representation of disability in literature and life Life Narratives
writings. We discussed the themes in some well-known works of fiction which
brought out the stigma, rejection, and devaluing experienced by persons with
disability. We discussed how life writings have contributed towards a more
holistic understanding and appreciation of the everyday lives, experiences,
and challenges experienced by PWDs. We noted that both fictional texts and
life narratives can enable an understanding of disability as a social issue and
sensitise readers about the discriminations experienced in all walks of life.
These narratives help us to view PWDs as autonomous individuals with their
own voice and agency and listen to their stories respectfully.
6.6 GLOSSARY
Autobiography: Autobiography refers to a written account of one’s own life,
usually structured chronologically and aiming to provide a comprehensive
narrative of the author’s life story.
Life-writing: Life writing is a genre encompassing various forms of
autobiographical literature, including memoirs, diaries, letters, and
autobiographies, focusing on personal experiences and reflections.
Narrative: Story, account of events.
6.7 REFERENCES AND FURTHER READINGS
Bhattacherjee, R. (2018). “Trying to Grow Out of Stereotypes: The Representation
of Disability, Sexuality and the “Modern” Disability Subjectivity in Firdaus
Kanga’s Novel.” Concentric: Literary and Cultural Studies, 44(1), 85-105.
DOI: 10.6240/concentric.lit.201803.44(1).0005.
Brontë, C. (1847). Jane Eyre. Harlow: Pearson Education, 2008.
Chib, M. (2011). One Little Finger. New Delhi: SAGE.
Couser, G. T. (2005) “Disability, Life Narrative, and Representation.” PMLA,
120(2). pp. 602-606. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25486192.
Davis, L. J. (1995). Enforcing Normalcy: Disability, Deafness and the Body.
London, UK: Verso.
Davis, L.J. (2012). “Foreword.” The Madwoman and the Blindman: Jane Eyre,
Discourse, Disability. Ed. David Bolt, Julia Miele Rodas, Elizabeth J Donaldson.
Columbus: Ohio State UP. pp. ix-xii.
Garland-Thomson, R. (1997). Extraordinary Bodies: Figuring Physical
Disability in American Culture and Literature. New York: Columbia UP.
Gupta, S. (2014). No Looking Back: A True Story. New Delhi: Rupa.
Kanga, F. (2008). Trying to Grow. New Delhi: Penguin.
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Disability, Kingsley, J., and M. Levitz. (1994) Count Us In: Growing Up with Down
Society and Syndrome. New York: Harcourt.
Culture
Kleege, G. (1999). Sight Unseen. New Haven: Yale UP.
Kuusisto, S. (1997). Planet of the Blind. New York: Dial.
Mehta, V. (2013). Face to Face: An Autobiography. New Delhi: Penguin.
Mitchell, D., & Snyder, S. (Eds.). (2000). Narrative prosthesis: Disability and
the Dependencies of Discourse. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Monga, P. (2012). The Other Senses: An Inspiring True Story of a Visually
Impaired. New Delhi: Roli Books.
Pinto, J. (2012). Em and The Big Hoom. New Delhi: Aleph.
Sandhu, A. Sepia Leaves. India Research Press, 2006.
Sati, S., et al. (Eds.) (2022). Reclaiming the Disabled Subject: Representing
Disability in Short Fiction (Volume 1). New Delhi: Bloomsbury.
Sinha, I. (2008). Animal’s People: A Novel. United States: Simon & Schuster.
Vasishta, M. (2006). Deaf in Delhi: a Memoir. Washington: Gallaudet University
Press.
6.8 UNIT END QUESTIONS
1. How has disability been represented in fictional works? Discuss with
examples.
2. How have autobiographies by persons with disabilities contributed to our
understanding of their lived experiences?
3. How can literary texts help transform ideas of disability? Support your
answer with suitable examples.
6.9 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
Check Your Progress 1
1) In literature, disabled characters were often shown as different or even
criminal. Disability was seen as something negative that characters had to
overcome, rather than just a part of who they were.
2) Narrative prosthesis is a term coined by Mitchell and Snyder to explain how
stories often rely on disability themes to move the plot forward. This creates
feelings like pity, fear, or disgust, or to drive the story without thinking of
disability as a real experience.
Check Your Progress 2
Answer on the basis of the Learner’s reading and reflection.
70
