Title The Portrayal of Miss Havisham's Body
Title (croatian) Prikaz tijela gospođice Havisham
Author Tea Vlašić
Mentor Zlatko Bukač (mentor)
Mentor Emilia Musap (komentor)
Committee member Emilia Musap (predsjednik povjerenstva)
Committee member Monika Šincek Bregović (član povjerenstva)
Committee member Zlatko Bukač (član povjerenstva)
Granter University of Zadar (Department of English) Zadar
Defense date and country 2022-09-16, Croatia
Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline HUMANISTIC SCIENCES Philology Theory and History of Literature
Abstract This paper is concerned with the question of whether the character of Miss Havisham from Charles Dickens’s novel Great Expectations suffers from anorexia nervosa. Anorexia nervosa was first diagnosed in the 19th century, and certain ideologies of the period are thought to have encouraged the incidence of this eating disorder in a portion of the population, particularly young women. Investigating this issue on the example of Miss Havisham can provide insight into this disorder from the period when it was first diagnosed. Although Miss Havisham was frequently analysed and discussed by literary theorists, she was generally regarded as a “madwoman”, while other, specific mental illnesses were not as widely examined. Therefore, due to the peculiar portrayal of her body and erratic behavioural patterns, the paper focuses on the possibility of Miss Havisham suffering from an eating disorder, or more precisely, anorexia nervosa. In order to investigate this issue, the paper first presents a brief, general overview of Miss Havisham’s life; secondly, it moves on to the portrayal of her body; thirdly, it examines Miss Havisham’s relationship with food; then, it provides an overview of anorexia in the Victorian era; subsequently, it focuses on Miss Havisham’s behavioural aberrations in relation to the symptoms of anorexia nervosa; and finally, it discusses the potential causes of Miss Havisham’s eating disorder. It has been concluded that Miss Havisham was indeed suffering from the restrictive type of anorexia nervosa and that the primary cause of her illness is the trauma of being abandoned on her wedding day.
Abstract (croatian) Ovaj rad propituje boluje li gospođica Havisham, lik Dickensovog romana Velika očekivanja, od anoreksije nervoze. Anoreksija nervoza prvi je put dijagnosticirana u 19. stoljeću, a smatra se da su određene ideologije toga vremena potaknule pojavu ovog poremećaja kod dijela populacije, posebice kod mladih žena. Istraživanje ovog poremećaja na primjeru gospođice Havisham daje uvid u okolnosti zbog kojih je prvi put dijagnosticiran. Iako su književni teoretičari često analizirali i raspravljali o gospođici Havisham, ona se uglavnom smatrala „luđakinjom”, dok se druge mentalne bolesti nisu toliko detaljno proučavale. Stoga, s obzirom na svojstven prikaz njezinog tijela i nepravilne obrasce ponašanja, ovaj rad usmjeren je na mogućnost da je gospođica Havisham bolovala od poremećaja u prehrani, ili točnije, od anoreksije nervoze. Kako bismo istražili ovu problematiku, ovaj rad prvo daje kratak, opći pregled života gospođice Havisham; potom prelazi na prikaz njezina tijela; zatim ispituje odnos gospođice Havisham s hranom; nakon toga pruža pregled anoreksije nervoze u viktorijanskom dobu; slijedom toga usredotočuje se na aberacije gospođice Havisham u svezi sa simptomima anoreksije nervoze; i, naposljetku, razlaže moguće uzroke poremećaja u prehrani gospođice Havisham. Zaključno, rad prikazuje kako je gospođica zaista bolovala od restriktivnog tipa anoreksije te da je glavni uzrok njezine bolesti trauma koja je nastala kada ju je Compeyson ostavio na dan vjenčanja.
Keywords
Victorian literature
Great Expectations
Charles Dickens
Miss Havisham
eating disorders
anorexia nervosa
Keywords (croatian)
viktorijanska književnost
Velika očekivanja
Charles Dickens
gospođica Havisham
poremećaji u prehrani
anoreksija nervoza
Language english
URN:NBN urn:nbn:hr:162:505799
Study programme Title: English Language and Literature (double major) Study programme type: university Study level: undergraduate Academic / professional title: sveučilišni/a prvostupnik/prvostupnica (baccalaureus/baccalaurea) engleskoga jezika i književnosti (sveučilišni/a prvostupnik/prvostupnica (baccalaureus/baccalaurea) engleskoga jezika i književnosti)
Type of resource Text
File origin Born digital
Access conditions Open access
Terms of use
Created on 2022-09-22 11:54:00