The Metanarrative of Blindness ― A Re-reading of Twentieth-century Anglophone Writing

Although the theme of blindness occurs frequently in literature, literary criticism rarely engages the experiential knowledge of people with visual impairments. The Metanarrative of Blindness counters this trend by bringing to readings of 20th-century works in English a perspective appreciative of impairment and disability. Author David Bolt examines representations of blindness in more than 40 literary works, including writing by Kipling, Joyce, Synge, Orwell, H. G. Wells, Susan Sontag, and Stephen King, shedding light on the deficiencies of these representations and sometimes revealing an uncomfortable resonance with the Anglo-American science of eugenics.

What connects these seemingly disparate works is what Bolt calls “the metanarrative of blindness,” a narrative steeped in mythology and with deep roots in Western culture. Bolt examines literary representations of blindness using the analytical tools of disability studies in both the humanities and social sciences. His readings are also broadly appreciative of personal, social, and cultural aspects of disability, with the aim of bringing literary scholars to the growing discipline of disability studies, and vice versa. This truly interdisciplinary monograph is relevant to people working in literary studies, disability studies, psychology, sociology, applied linguistics, life writing, and cultural studies, as well as those with a general interest in education and representations of blindness.

David Bolt is Lecturer in Education Studies at Liverpool Hope University and the founding editor of the Journal of Literary & Cultural Disability Studies.