Narratives of Disability in A Christmas Carol and Little Dorrit by Andrew Bramwell

Abstract: The nineteenth century was a period when the ‘afflicted’ or ‘defective’ body was a common sight on the streets of Victorian Britain. Disabled characters pervaded popular fiction and were often used as metaphors for social comment around notions of welfare, morality, and health. Writers such as Charles Dickens introduced the characters of Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol and Mrs Clennam in Little Dorrit to provoke an emotional response but also as a commentary on contemporary values and attitudes. At first glance, these characters appear to promote a narrative of sentimentality and melodrama, but this narrative is far more complex on closer reading. A Christmas Carol and Little Dorrit display not only scathing indictments of societal judgements concerned with class, gender, and power but also surprising hints of individual agency. I will reveal how both Tiny Tim and Mrs Clennam exhibit resistance to contemporary attitudes and roles foisted upon them, asserting their rights and taking control of their individual situations.