This thesis explores the sympathy shown to disabled characters in Wilkie Collins’s 1860 novel The Woman in White with an emphasis on hysteria. Using disability studies framework and historical context of hysteria in the Victorian era provides a nuanced reading of the novel which subverts gendered stereotypes relating to hysteria and supports a reading of Mr. Fairlie, the only male disabled character, as a hysteric. Close reading passages of the text reveal that the sympathy shown to the disabled female characters is not given to Mr. Fairlie because of his appearance and actions: he is described as having feminine features and he often proclaims his suffering, which does not conform to conventions of traditional masculinity. The dismissal of Mr. Fairlie’s symptoms is akin to the dismissal of the symptoms of a hysterical woman, while the disabled women of the novel are believed and treated with kindness rather than skepticism. Reading Mr. Fairlie as a man with hysteria complicates his role in the novel and raises questions about which disabilities are worthy of sympathy.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis explores the sympathy shown to disabled characters in Wilkie Collins’s 1860 novel <em>The Woman in White</em> with an emphasis on hysteria. Using disability studies framework and historical context of hysteria in the Victorian era provides a nuanced reading of the novel which subverts gendered stereotypes relating to hysteria and supports a reading of Mr. Fairlie, the only male disabled character, as a hysteric. Close reading passages of the text reveal that the sympathy shown to the disabled female characters is not given to Mr. Fairlie because of his appearance and actions: he is described as having feminine features and he often proclaims his suffering, which does not conform to conventions of traditional masculinity. The dismissal of Mr. Fairlie’s symptoms is akin to the dismissal of the symptoms of a hysterical woman, while the disabled women of the novel are believed and treated with kindness rather than skepticism. Reading Mr. Fairlie as a man with hysteria complicates his role in the novel and raises questions about which disabilities are worthy of sympathy.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Brock, Hollie"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Alexandra Valint","Leah Parker","Emily Stanback"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-12-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-12-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:45:55Z","subjects":["Victorian literature","sensation fiction","hysteria","disability studies","Wilkie Collins","The Woman in White","Literature in English, British Isles"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/1164","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Alexandra Valint","Leah Parker","Emily Stanback"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Brock, Hollie"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2040-12-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Victorian literature","sensation fiction","hysteria","disability studies","Wilkie Collins","The Woman in White","Literature in English, British Isles"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/1164"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis explores the sympathy shown to disabled characters in Wilkie Collins’s 1860 novel The Woman in White with an emphasis on hysteria. Using disability studies framework and historical context of hysteria in the Victorian era provides a nuanced reading of the novel which subverts gendered stereotypes relating to hysteria and supports a reading of Mr. Fairlie, the only male disabled character, as a hysteric. Close reading passages of the text reveal that the sympathy shown to the disabled female characters is not given to Mr. Fairlie because of his appearance and actions: he is described as having feminine features and he often proclaims his suffering, which does not conform to conventions of traditional masculinity. The dismissal of Mr. Fairlie’s symptoms is akin to the dismissal of the symptoms of a hysterical woman, while the disabled women of the novel are believed and treated with kindness rather than skepticism. Reading Mr. Fairlie as a man with hysteria complicates his role in the novel and raises questions about which disabilities are worthy of sympathy.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["\"The Wretched State of My Nerves:\" Hysteria and Sympathy in Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Alexandra Valint","Leah Parker","Emily Stanback"],"dc:creator":["Brock, Hollie"],"dc:date.available":["2040-12-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis explores the sympathy shown to disabled characters in Wilkie Collins’s 1860 novel The Woman in White with an emphasis on hysteria. Using disability studies framework and historical context of hysteria in the Victorian era provides a nuanced reading of the novel which subverts gendered stereotypes relating to hysteria and supports a reading of Mr. Fairlie, the only male disabled character, as a hysteric. Close reading passages of the text reveal that the sympathy shown to the disabled female characters is not given to Mr. Fairlie because of his appearance and actions: he is described as having feminine features and he often proclaims his suffering, which does not conform to conventions of traditional masculinity. The dismissal of Mr. Fairlie’s symptoms is akin to the dismissal of the symptoms of a hysterical woman, while the disabled women of the novel are believed and treated with kindness rather than skepticism. Reading Mr. Fairlie as a man with hysteria complicates his role in the novel and raises questions about which disabilities are worthy of sympathy.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/1164"],"dc:subject":["Victorian literature","sensation fiction","hysteria","disability studies","Wilkie Collins","The Woman in White","Literature in English, British Isles"],"dc:title":["\"The Wretched State of My Nerves:\" Hysteria and Sympathy in Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:45:55Z"}