Eloquent Bodies: Disability and Sensibility In

ELOQUENT BODIES: DISABILITY AND SENSIBILITY IN THE NOVELS OF FRANCES BURNEY AND JANE AUSTEN A Thesis Submitted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy In The Department of English University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon By KATHERINE MARY SKIPSEY © Copyright Katherine Mary Skipsey, March 2015. All rights reserved. PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this dissertation in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a Postgraduate degree from the University of Saskatchewan, I agree that the Libraries of this University may make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for copying of this dissertation in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor or professors who supervised my dissertation work or, in their absence, by the Head of the Department or the Dean of the College in which my thesis work was done. It is understood that any copying or publication or use of this dissertation or parts thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of Saskatchewan in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my dissertation. Requests for permission to copy or to make other uses of materials in this dissertation in whole or part should be addressed to: Head of the Department of English University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A5 Canada i ABSTRACT The Culture of Sensibility permeates both Burney’s and Austen’s novels. Burney and Austen both use anomalous bodies and minds as a vehicle to explore the performative requirements of the Culture of Sensibility. The performance of disability, including bodily manifestations of nervous disorders, melancholy, and hypochondria, allows sensibility to become visible on the body. This dissertation examines the similarities between Burney’s and Austen’s portrayals of disability in order to understand how Austen’s texts engage and reflect Burney’s influence. Despite the frequency with which disability is necessary for the production of Sensibility, the connection between disability and Sensibility remains unexplored. This dissertation investigates the connection between various performances of disability with the Culture of Sensibility and exposes the narrative reliance on the anomalous body in both Burney’s and Austen’s novels. Through a combination of disability theory and performance theory, this dissertation examines the Culture of Sensibility’s reliance on the non-normative body for the performance of sentimental behaviour. Disability theory allows for the examination of the anomalous body beyond that of a strictly medical definition. Mansfield Park’s Fanny Price illustrates the difference between the medical and social construction of disability. Using only the medical model, Fanny’s debility represents her poor health; however, the social construction of disability connects Fanny’s debility to the fetishization of the anomalous body by the Culture of Sensibility. Disability features in Burney’s and Austen’s courtship narratives, as temporary physical and mental impairment provide opportunities for physical proofs of Sensibility, somatic communication of desire, and narrative resolution. Both Burney’s and Austen’s illness narratives of characters with permanent disabilities reveal concerns of the appropriation of the ii invalid’s favourable position within the Culture of Sensibility through an affected performance of disability. Male characters with temporary or permanent physical impairment suffer effeminization and exclusion from courtship narratives, whereas instances of female invalidism contribute to successful resolution of courtship narratives. I conclude that Burney’s and Austen’s reliance on the anomalous body to prove sensibility indicates that the late-eighteenth century sentimental novel normalizes the anomalous body. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I wish to acknowledge and thank Dr. Kathleen James-Cavan for her tireless support, patience, and guidance while I was writing this dissertation. Having Kathleen as my supervisor and mentor enriched my academic and writing experience immeasurably. As I’ve spent the past few years abroad, her flexibility and availability ensured that I was always able to call on her expertise. I also want to thank the committee members, Dr. David Oakleaf, Dr. Ray Stephanson, Dr. Ulrich Teucher, and Dr. Lisa Vargo for their time, careful reading, and insightful comments. In addition to his committee work, I would like to thank Dr. Stephanson for encouraging my investigations into the non-normative body in the eighteenth-century British novel. My friends and colleagues listened patiently to my ideas and provided feedback during the writing of this dissertation. Specifically, I want to thank Janet Grafton, whose academic curiosity and bravery inspires me, Lindsay MacDonald, whose theory discussions over sticky buns were invaluable, and Dr. Uta Hinrichs, who helped me navigate the last months of writing and revising with emotional support, whisky, and pancakes. Finally, my family both in Canada and Spain have supported me without fail over the past years. Specifically, I want to thank Laura, Craig, and Owen, and Francisco Javier, Rebeca, Pablo and Daniel for welcome glimpses of life beyond the dissertation. I would like to thank Ángeles and Miguel Ángel for their kindness and endless food while I worked on this dissertation visit after visit. I would also like to thank my parents Jan and Dave for introducing me to Jane Austen, fostering my love of knowledge, and continually supporting me. Lastly, this dissertation could never have been completed without the love, support, and patience of my partner, Miguel. iv DEDICATION For Mom and Dad, and Miguel. v TABLE OF CONTENTS PERMISSION TO USE.…………………………………………………………………………...i ABSTRACT.……………………………………………………………………………………...ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………………………………iv DEDICATION…………………………………………………………………………………….v TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………………………………vi INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………...1 1. CHAPTER ONE: “EVERY LOOK SPEAKS!”: SENSIBILITY, THEATRICALITY, AND THE PERFORMANCE OF DISABILITY………………………………………………………19 1.1 “Nobody knows how I suffer!”…………………………………………………..…..31 1.2 Power and Performance…………………………………………………………..….41 1.3 Method Acting…………………………………………………………………….....45 1.4 Theatricality of The Wanderer and Mansfield Park………………………………....52 1.5 Family Theatricals…………………………………………………………………...65 1.6 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………...73 2. CHAPTER TWO: RESISTANT HEROINES AND WILLING CONVALESCENTS: HOW BURNEY AND AUSTEN ENGAGE WITH SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION AND COMPLICITY…………………………………………………………………………………...75 2.1 Social Construction in Burney’s Camilla……………………………………..……..82 2.2 Social Construction in Austen’s Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice………..…….90 2.3 Performative Power of Gout and Male Hypochondria………………………..……..97 2.4 Conclusion………………………………………………..………………………...115 3. CHAPTER THREE: MORAL DISORDER: TEMPORARY ILLNESS, MORAL REFORMATIONS, AND COURTSHIP NARRATIVES……………………………………..117 3.1 Feverish Heroines and Reformed Harlots……………..……………………………120 vi 3.2 Reformed Rakes………………..…………………………………………………...135 3.3 Austen and the Fallen Woman..…………………………………………………….141 3.4 Conclusion……………..…………………………………………………………...146 4. CHAPTER FOUR: TEMPORARY MENTAL IMPAIRMENT AND THE CULTURE OF SENSIBILITY………………………………………………………………………………….148 4.1 Performing Melancholy……..……………………………………………………...155 4.2 Temporary Mania in Burney’s and Austen’s Heroines……..……………………...162 4.3 The Problematic Case of The Wanderer’s Elinor…………..………………………170 4.4 Conclusion…………………………..……………………………………………...175 CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………………177 WORKS CITED………………………………………………………………………………..188 vii INTRODUCTION In a letter to her sister Cassandra, Jane Austen describes Miss Fletcher, a new friend: “There are two Traits in her Character which are pleasing; namely, she admires Camilla, & takes no cream in her Tea” (9). Austen’s high regard for Frances Burney’s novels, as well as both authors’ popularity as late-eighteenth-century female writers, lead to inevitable comparisons of their novels. Austen read Evelina, Cecilia, and Camilla while writing her own Juvenilia, some of which forms the narrative basis for her published novels and contains various oblique and specific references to Burney’s novels. Austen reuses names and archetypes from Burney’s novels for characters in her own novels, such as the libertine Willoughby, who is found first in Evelina before appearing in Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. In the closing pages of Cecilia, “PRIDE and PREJUDICE” is writ large as the cause of all Cecilia and Delvile’s past trouble. Austen takes this phrase for the title of her second published novel, which features romantic leads who represent pride and prejudice respectively, as well as a meddling and opinionated Lady Catherine de Bourgh sitting in for the sanguineous Mrs. Delvile. Camilla Tyrold’s delirium is rewritten as Marianne Dashwood’s putrid fever, as both stem from conscious and practiced self-neglect, and both characters are criticized for their performative aspects. The link between Burney’s and Austen’s work is long established in scholarship. Academic scholarship focuses on similarities and references to Burney in Austen’s novels, including comparisons of the representation and status of women, of men, of marriage plots, use of propriety, and the

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