Disability in Coalfields Literature C.1880-1948: a Comparative Study
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_________________________________________________________________________Swansea University E-Theses Disability in Coalfields Literature c.1880-1948: a comparative study Alexandra, Jones How to cite: _________________________________________________________________________ Alexandra, Jones (2016) Disability in Coalfields Literature c.1880-1948: a comparative study. Doctoral thesis, Swansea University. http://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa38883 Use policy: _________________________________________________________________________ This item is brought to you by Swansea University. Any person downloading material is agreeing to abide by the terms of the repository licence: copies of full text items may be used or reproduced in any format or medium, without prior permission for personal research or study, educational or non-commercial purposes only. The copyright for any work remains with the original author unless otherwise specified. The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holder. Permission for multiple reproductions should be obtained from the original author. Authors are personally responsible for adhering to copyright and publisher restrictions when uploading content to the repository. Please link to the metadata record in the Swansea University repository, Cronfa (link given in the citation reference above.) http://www.swansea.ac.uk/library/researchsupport/ris-support/ DISABILITY IN COALFIELDS LITERATURE c.1880-1948: A Comparative Study Submitted to Swansea University in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Swansea University; 2016 Alexandra Jones Abstract: Disability in Coalfields Literature c.1880-1948 This thesis examines disability in the literature of three coalfields: South Wales, North East England and Scotland. This focus on disability, informed by the growing field of disability studies, offers new perspectives on coalfields literature and, in particular, the relationship between the working class body and the industrial environment. Disability was a commonplace experience in coalfields communities, where injuries and occupational diseases were almost an expected consequence of employment in the life course. Thus coalfields writing offers a potentially rich source of literary engagement with disability. The period in questions, 1880-1948, is important in disability history and coalfields writing. The late-nineteenth century saw the emergence of realist fiction from the coalfields and it was a time of major shifts in the relationship between workers and health, concluding in the late 1940s with the foundation of the National Health Service and nationalisation of the coal industry. In the first part of this study, representations of disability are explored in relation to the body in society, and with reference to the intersecting categories of age, gender, class, work and sexuality. The final chapters focus on four specific themes that emerged as central concerns of the literature: war, religion, medicine and humour. Conditions in the mines and the injuries experienced by colliers are often pictured with reference to the first world war in the literature of the 1930s, whilst Christianity provides another important framework of references, imagery and moral interpretations of disability throughout the period. Increasing medical scrutiny of the body of the industrial worker characterises the late- nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, which is reflected in politicised and class-inflected portrayals in coalfields writing. Finally, the thesis considers the function of humour in coalfields literature, and the ways in which we can read and interpret the experience and social relations of disability through humour. Declaration/Statements DECLARATION This work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not being concurrently submitted in candidature for any degree. Signed ...................................................................... (candidate) Date ........................................................................ STATEMENT 1 This thesis is the result of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated. Where correction services have been used, the extent and nature of the correction is clearly marked in a footnote(s). Other sources are acknowledged by footnotes giving explicit references. A bibliography is appended. Signed ..................................................................... (candidate) Date ........................................................................ STATEMENT 2 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. Signed ..................................................................... (candidate) Date ........................................................................ Disability in Coalfields Literature c.1880-1948: A Comparative Study Contents Introduction………………………………………………….…………………….……..1 Chapter 1 – Literature, History and Disability ……………………….…….12 Chapter 2 – The Working Body: Gender, class and age……………....46 Chapter 3 – Im/perfect bodies: disability, sexuality and race……….72 Chapter 4 – War and Coalfields Literature………………………………….. 96 Chapter 5 – Christianity, the Coalfields and Disability…………….…….120 Chapter 6 – Medicine, healthcare and institutions………………….……145 Chapter 7 – Humour and Disability in the Coalfields…………………….174 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….... 197 Appendix……………………………………………………………………………….……203 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………….……225 Acknowledgements This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust [grant number 095948/Z/11/Z] My profound thanks are due first and foremost to my supervisor Dr Kirsti Bohata, for providing me with continuous support, guidance and inspiration over the course of writing this thesis. Her expert guidance has enabled me to develop as a writer, researcher and critical thinker, for which I am deeply grateful. I would further like to thank the project team of the Wellcome Trust Programme Award, ‘Disability and Industrial Society: A Comparative Cultural History of British Coalfields, 1780– 1948’: Professor Anne Borsay, Professor David Turner, Dr Kirsti Bohata, Dr Daniel Blackie and Dr Mike Mantin (Swansea University); Dr Steven Thompson and Dr Ben Curtis (Aberystwyth University); Dr Vicky Long (Glasgow Caledonian University) and Dr Victoria Brown (Northumbria University/Glasgow Caledonian University); and Professor Arthur McIvor and Dr Angela Turner (Strathclyde University). Everyone on the team has been fantastically supportive to work with, and have given their time generously in providing me with encouragement and advice. I would further like to acknowledge the support of my fellow postgraduate researchers and everyone associated with the Centre for research into the English language and literature of Wales (CREW) at Swansea University, who have variously supported me by thought- provoking literary discussions, vigorous political debates and excessively strong coffee. Finally, a special thank you must go to my fantastically understanding husband, for keeping me going through the tough stages. Thanks must also go to my wonderful parents for all of their encouragement and support, without which I would not have been able to pursue an academic path. I would further like to thank all my family (both two- and four-legged) and friends who have helped me along the way. 1 Introduction Disability, although often a marginalised social status, was a central concern to workers in the British coal industry. Both major bodily impairment and more minor injuries were a commonplace, even expected, part of the collier’s life course. Coal mining, a physically demanding and often dangerous occupation, had major social and economic impact on the areas in which it developed. The coal industry created massive population shifts into coal-rich locations, shaping the topographical, cultural and economic development of these communities and influencing wider political movements. Coal underpinned the development of industrial Britain; and the industry’s far-reaching influence on the national consciousness is still remembered in these coalfields areas today. The vast scale and influence of the coal industry, however, was accompanied by equally large-scale and devastating human costs. This is reflected throughout coalfields literature in the near- universal motif of mining accidents, and the frequent portrayal of diseased, damaged or wounded bodies. Indeed, the language and imagery of physical danger, bodily injury and the struggle for welfare pervades writing about the coalfields, whether romantic or radical. From the outset it is important to define what is meant by the terms ‘disability’ and ‘coalfields literature’, for the purposes of this study. The latter is the more straightforward to define; in this study ‘coalfields literature’ is defined as any literature that makes significant use of coal mining communities for its theme, its characters, or its setting. This thesis focuses on three specific coalfields regions: South Wales, North East England and Lowland Scotland. Most of the writers come from coal mining communities, many having experience as coal miners, but that is not exclusively the case. This thesis will not limit the selection by selecting only working-class industrial novels. However, a primary issue with this decision is the sheer volume of material and