“He sat in a wheeled chair, waiting for dark,
Disabled – Wilfred Owen
And shivered in his ghastly suit of grey,
Legless, sewn short at elbow. Through the park
Voices of boys rang saddening like a hymn,
Till gathering sleep had mothered them from him.”
Throughout the semester, I have been immensely interested in the portrayals of disability across the literature we have read. I have never engaged in disability studies outside of this class, so upon reading All Quiet on the Western Front, I was overwhelmed with information with nowhere to connect it. Thankfully, the rest of the literature we read provided me with more information to hopefully strengthen my knowledge of disability studies.
While there is a sweeping range of literature from this time period, the attitude towards disability remains consistent: from home front to war front, it is something to be feared and resented. This website will explore the many perspectives of disability and fear as it is presented in literature of the Great War.
While this website will focus on physical disability acquired during wartime and reactions to said disability, mental disability, such as “shell-shock” and other early labels for PTSD (among other traumas), often goes hand in hand with physical disability. The intersection of these disabilities is not lost on me and will be expanded upon when possible.
