University:
University of Michigan
Course:
ENGLISH 473 | Topics in American Literature
Academic year:

2019
Views:

92

Pages:

20
Author:

Koen D

Chapter 3 The Intended Audience "People who write pathographies about their experience of illness are not just writing for themselves, they are addressing an audience even if only an imagined, future audience." Anne Hunsaker Hawkins (123) Chapter Introduction In the above quotation, Anne Hansaker Hawkins a theorist on illness narratives- explains an illness-narrative author's need of an audience as Arthur Frank's claim suggested at the conclusion of the previous chapter. One unique aspect of this genre is that an audience is necessary; the authors are writing for others just as much as they are writing for themselves. Hawkins continues later on in her article on this subject, "It is [...] the act of telling and the act of listening [...] that creates the sense of human community needed to turn trauma victims into trauma survivors" (127). Through incorporating the works on trauma by Judith Herman and Robert J. Lifton, Hawkins offers the idea that the existence of the audience helps illness authors during their periods of recovery. Writing is a method of catharsis, a catharsis that is purgation for the traumatized author and that can incite overwhelming emotions in an audience. It is therapeutic for a writer but it requires an audience, and, in Greek theater, catharsis was the moment that an audience emotionally connected with a character in a tragedy. In a sense, this happens in illness narratives as well. The audiences, though, approach the stories with very distinctive perspectives. There are several ways to read a narrative whether one has a personal connection to the story, sees use in reading the story, or simply finds the material interesting and engaging. This is especially true for illness narratives. There are three main audiences for reading pathographies: medical professionals, fellow sufferers, and the unspecified. The previous two chapters were split into two sections: one on Bauby and one on Grealy. This chapter, on the other hand, will discuss each of these three perspectives in three different sections and will demonstrate how episodes in both Bauby's and Grealy's writings speak to cach of these types of reader. This allows the focus of the chapter to be on the audiences and not on the texts. Rather, these texts are used to illuminate the most pertinent aspects of each perspective and demonstrate how the authors, specifically Bauby and Grealy, direct certain passages to different types of audiences. The term 'medical professionals describes anyone who works in healthcare and looks for constructive benefits in relation to their professions from illness narratives. The voice that speaks to them can help them improve their quality of care giving. Recognizing this phenomenon leads us to the question: are illness narrators trying to improve medical care? Do authors intend to teach medical professionals about the experience of the patient? In the cases of Bauby and Grealy, this outcome is definitively prevalent. Fellow sufferers include people who suffer from the any illness as well as family members and friends who also have a personal connection to the story being told. While Bauby's and Grealy's illnesses are very rare and very specific, any person experiencing illness feels some form of disablement, confusion, and struggle in their lives. Taking on this perspective means that the reader sees the author as speaking on his or her behalf. The final section of the chapter will analyze the unspecified reader who does not fall under either of the first two categories. This reader is the sympathizer, the unknowing, the outsider. The medical professionals and the fellow sufferers are a very limited audience, and illness narratives develop a wider range of readers. The narratives reach out to their audiences "Fellow sufferer" is a term that I borrow from Arthur Frank while the "unspecified reader" is my own term. Page 68 world that was formally unknown to such an audience. It provides readers insight into a part of the human condition which the readers are unable to get through their own life experiences. The Unspecified Reader The interest in these stories for medical professionals and for fellow sufferers is clearer than the interest of audience members who do not fit under these categories. Based on my readings of DBB and AF, I see the authors opening a door to unspecified readers that is normally. shut. Bauby and Grealy publicize the privacies of their lives and give the unspecified readers insight into the illness experience. Arthur Kleinman's theory, which bears on the interest of the unspecified reader, is that illness narratives have the ability to represent something much greater than overcoming illness. He writes: "To maintain one's aspirations in the face of grave adversity, to work hard to contend successfully with the daily assault of an impaired body on a robust spirit, to be victorious over the long course of losses and threats that constitute disability these are lessons for us all, examples of what is best in our shared humanity" (137). Kleinman sees a deeper meaning in illness experiences that extends beyond medical professionals and fellow sufferers. This section will look at moments where the author lets the reader witness something very specific to his or her illness experience since these are the moments that seem most directed to readers who are not as familiar with illness as medical professionals and fellow sufferers. By narrating scenes that are explicitly private moments of their lives, Bauby and Grealy show unspecified readers something they would never witness without reading these stories. While being wheeled through Paris and recognizing the sites and sounds around him, Bauby becomes very sentimental. His eyes start to water, and he tells the reader, "I shed a few tears as we passed the corner café where I used to drop in for a bite. I can weep quite discreetly. People

The Story of Illness-4

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