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Public Duty: Medicine and Commerce in Nineteenth-Century American Literature and Culture" (2015)

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Public Duty: Medicine and Commerce in Nineteenth-Century American Literature and Culture University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--English English 2015 A PUBLIC DUTY: MEDICINE AND COMMERCE IN NINETEENTH- CENTURY AMERICAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE Heather E. Chacon University of Kentucky, [email protected] Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Chacon, Heather E., "A PUBLIC DUTY: MEDICINE AND COMMERCE IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY AMERICAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE" (2015). Theses and Dissertations--English. 22. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/english_etds/22 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the English at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--English by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. Proper attribution has been given to all outside sources. I understand that I am solely responsible for obtaining any needed copyright permissions. I have obtained needed written permission statement(s) from the owner(s) of each third-party copyrighted matter to be included in my work, allowing electronic distribution (if such use is not permitted by the fair use doctrine) which will be submitted to UKnowledge as Additional File. I hereby grant to The University of Kentucky and its agents the irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free license to archive and make accessible my work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I agree that the document mentioned above may be made available immediately for worldwide access unless an embargo applies. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of my work. I understand that I am free to register the copyright to my work. REVIEW, APPROVAL AND ACCEPTANCE The document mentioned above has been reviewed and accepted by the student’s advisor, on behalf of the advisory committee, and by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), on behalf of the program; we verify that this is the final, approved version of the student’s thesis including all changes required by the advisory committee. The undersigned agree to abide by the statements above. Heather E. Chacon, Student Dr. Jeffory A. Clymer, Major Professor Dr. Andy Doolen, Director of Graduate Studies A PUBLIC DUTY: MEDICINE AND COMMERCE IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY AMERICAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE DISSERTATION A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences At the University of Kentucky By Heather E. Chacón Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Jeffory A. Clymer, Professor of English Lexington, Kentucky Copyright © Heather E. Chacón 2015 ! ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION A PUBLIC DUTY: MEDICINE AND COMMERCE IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY AMERICAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE Using recent criticism on speculation and disability in addition to archival materials, “A Public Duty: Medicine and Commerce in Nineteenth-Century American Literature and Culture” demonstrates that reform-minded nineteenth-century authors drew upon the representational power of public health to express excitement and anxiety about the United States’ emerging economic and political prominence. Breaking with a critical tradition holding that the professionalization of medicine and authorship served primarily to support and define an ascending middle class, I argue that the authors such as Robert Montgomery Bird, Fanny Fern, George Washington Cable, and Pauline Hopkins fuse the rhetoric of economic policy and public health to advocate that the era’s disenfranchised “ill” (classified as such due to demographic factors or disability/disease) be recognized as worthy citizens capable of enhancing the economic and cultural wealth of the nation. While many nineteenth-century authors drew upon the ability for sickness and death to unify disparate peoples, such instances often tend toward sentimentalism, imparting the message of inclusion by invoking readers’ sympathy. The authors included in my project, however, do not fit this mode. Instead, they used their works to insinuate that looking after the health and welfare of one’s fellow humans was simply good economics. In featuring issues of public health rather than private disability, depicting illness realistically in accordance with medical treatises and beliefs of the period, and showing the widespread consequences of disease these writers rely on their readers’ desire for economic prosperity, rather than affect, as a catalyst for social solidarity in a capitalist society. As such, my project causes us to rethink how the ascent of the novel not only helped define, but also challenged and critiqued, the identity-politics of an emerging middle class. By showing the authors studied in “A Public Duty” used literature’s pedagogical potential to argue the “sick” literally and figuratively had worth, I demonstrates these writers’ works help create and support a reconceptualization of the political body suiting a country poised to assume global prominence and urged their readers to see the variety of people living in the United States as a source of national innovation and strength. KEYWORDS: Language, literature and linguistics, social sciences, speculation, medicine, fiction ! A PUBLIC DUTY: MEDICINE AND COMMERCE IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY AMERICAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE By Heather E. Chacón Dr. Jeffory A. Clymer Director of Dissertation Dr. Andy Doolen Director of Graduate Studies 20 July 2015 Date ! ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation is the culmination of several years of hard work, rigorous questioning, and the thrillingly beautiful and frustrating process of intellectual pursuit. Along the way so many people have contributed in ways large and small that an entire chapter, rather than an acknowledgements page, seems barely adequate space to express my gratitude. However my committee (particularly Andy Doolen) always urged me to write more concisely, so I will honor their wishes as best I can. First and foremost, I wish to thank Jeff Clymer for helping me work around walls, showing me places to gain footholds, and, occasionally, talking me off of high ledges. The insights, suggestions, encouragement, and trust he continually demonstrated---from the early and haphazard conception of this project to the texts and discussions about job market talks---were indispensable to this project’s successful defense. I count myself extremely lucky for such a mentor. The rest of my committee, too, aided tremendously. Andy Doolen consistently challenged me to think bigger and dig deeper. This project is and will be much richer because of it. Marion Rust offered support and insights in the early stages of this dissertation that helped set the trajectory for the form it would eventually take. JoAnne Melish provided leads on important historical contexts and events, enabling me see the various ways these texts responded to and engaged with the larger cultural concerns of nineteenth-century America. Randall Roorda not only helped my ideas find better expression, he was a considerable good sport about being pulled in for an emergency summer defense. My outside examiner, Stephen Voss, provided feedback during the defense that is still rattling around my head today as I anticipate and plan for expanding this work. Aside from my committee, the intellectual generosity of many others helped bring this dissertation to fruition. In 2014 and 2015 I attended the Futures of American Studies Institute, where conversations with Duncan Faherty, Soyica Diggs Colbert, Donatella Izzo, and fellow seminar participants inspired me to strengthen my work in the best and most enjoyable ways possible. Colleagues at Kentucky such as Michelle Sizemore, J. Seth Lee, Hannah Ruel, Amy Anderson, Morgan Richardson, Mary Clai Jones, and Jesslyn Collins-Frohlich kindly read and critiqued drafts that ran the spectrum from journal submission to critical hot mess. Thank you for your shining smartness and solidarity, as well as your beautiful humor. This project also benefitted from the support of many organizations. In particular, a Dissertation Year Fellowship from the Graduate School at the University of Kentucky allowed me the necessary time and support to finish strong. Additional fellowship support from the University of Kentucky’s Women’s Club and Association of Emeriti Faculty provided the opportunity to spend valuable time in the archives, as did a Dissertation Enhancement Award from UK’s graduate school. In addition to these awards, a version of Chapter Four appeared as an article in the Spring 2014 volume of Studies in American Fiction. Many thanks go to the Johns Hopkins University Press for allowing me to recirculate this chapter here. Finally, my deepest thanks and loving gratitude goes to my family. My husband, David, is a rock of support and kindness that I can only admire awestruck. My parents’ encouragement and generosity were vital throughout this whole process. Thanks, dad, for the good advice and work ethic; thanks, mom, for the sacrifices and love. And Graeme, thank you for being the most inspiring person I have ever met and making me one of the most fortunate of people. I love you. ! iii! TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments……….……………………………………………………………….iii List of Figures…...…………………………….…………………………………………..v Chapter One: Introduction…………………………………………………………….…..1
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