'You Must Allow Me to Measure Myself': Problems of Disability in Henry James's The Outcry

The field of disability studies interrogates the many ways narrative and rhetorical devices depend upon disability to construct conceptions about normalcy. While the fields of disability and James studies have begun to intersect in recent years, the present state of discourse is still insufficient....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Henry James review 2021-03, Vol.42 (2), p.165-189
Main Author: Gomez, Anthony
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
American literature
British & Irish literature
Disability studies
Disorders
Dramatists
Failure
James, Henry (1843-1916)
Literary criticism
Novels
Plot (Narrative)
Reception (Artistic works)
Social factors
Theater
Theater criticism
Writing
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Summary:The field of disability studies interrogates the many ways narrative and rhetorical devices depend upon disability to construct conceptions about normalcy. While the fields of disability and James studies have begun to intersect in recent years, the present state of discourse is still insufficient. Henry James's often overlooked late novel The Outcry provides a striking confluence of personal biography and industrial history to illuminate conditions and representations of disability. Views about ableness, ailment, and personal choice are fueled by social factors and the novel demonstrates how these expectations can prove more disabling than disability itself.
ISSN:0273-0340
1080-6555
1080-6555
DOI:10.1353/hjr.2021.0015