"The Wretched State of My Nerves:" Hysteria and Sympathy in Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White

<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>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters Thesis

Year dc:date.available

2025

Author dc:creator

• Brock, Hollie

Contributors dc:contributor

• Alexandra Valint
• Leah Parker
• Emily Stanback

• Victorian literature
• sensation fiction
• hysteria
• disability studies
• Wilkie Collins
• The Woman in White
• Literature in English, British Isles

Repository record dc:identifier

https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/1164

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:aquila.usm.edu:masters_theses-2251