![]() The body can only be represented through language. We cannot see, feel, smell or taste bodies in literature. On writing, reading, and eatingĤ Unfortunately, “writing the body” presents a dilemma, a paradox, because we have to put a physical thing into words. We put ourselves in their shoes – or better: in their bodies. The portrayal of illness changes from an abstract description of symptoms in a medical textbook to the feeling of really getting to know someone who suffers from this illness and what it might feel like to be this person. Instead, it offers a look into a subjective experience. It shows us the inner perspectives of living with illness without providing a universal understanding of it. 5ģ In terms of illness experiences I want to argue that literature gives us an understanding of what it means to live with an illness. ![]() ![]() 4 Art and especially literature teach us to put “ourselves in others’ shoes ”. It helps us to “acquire experience by proxy”. ![]() This doesn’t have to be a point of view we necessarily identify or sympathize with – it would be utterly boring to only read books about characters we like – but it might give us a glimpse into what it means to be another person. , p. 130.Ģ Therefore, we can understand literature as a means to teach us what it feels like to go through a certain experience – it allows us to see the world from another point of view. ![]()
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