Unnatural Histories

"disability narratives offer what we have called unnatural histories, visions
of lives lived against the grain of normalcy" (DSR 250).
Faye Ginsburg and Rayna Rapp's "Enabling Disability" (2001)

Points for Reflection

C. Dickens' Barnaby Rudge (1841), chps 17-33

1. does Dickens provide the reader enough clues in chapters seventeen and eighteen (143-159) to explain the mystery behind the man harassing Mrs. Rudge?
2. is Barnaby capable of emotional affection and devotion? Is what Barnaby says of his raven's capacity for learning and improvement (147) true of himself?  Does Barnaby demonstrate the capacity for profound mental change and maturation?
3. what precipitates Barnaby’s “shivering fit” (148-50)?
4. why have Barnaby and Hugh been frequenting the forest and road side at nighttime recently (150)?
5. is the syntax of Barnaby’s words “Let us to supper” (151) consistent with what we know thus far of his spoken facility with language?
6. why does Barnaby think it his birthday (151-52)?
7. is Barnaby’s attention easily controlled? Is he easily distracted, or manipulated?  
8. what virtues does Mrs. Rudge locate within Barnaby’s cognitive difference, and do they outweigh its drawbacks (154, 208, 209)?
9. what method does the vision-impaired Stagg use to assess another’s person and character (159)? 
10. Mrs. Varden aligns herself with Christian principle and practice frequently, and even the narrator assigns her a “Christian smile” at one point (162).  What does her brand of Christianity look like?
11. over the course of today’s reading, Mrs. Varden’s sympathies are directed in previously unfamiliar directions, both while at the Maypole tavern (168-69) and in Mr. Chester’s presence (225-33).  What do these moments suggest about the relative pliancy or obduracy of her opinions?
12. who is more of a coquette, Dolly Varden or Emma Haredale (169-75, 264)?
13. what position does Mr. Haredale ask Dolly Varden to occupy in his own household (174)?
14. why does Hugh accost Dolly in the woods (176-80)?
15. Hugh and the narrator both refer to the vulnerable Dolly as a bird (178), and Joe Willet appears quite happy that he has the opportunity to rescue this maiden from distress (179-86).  Does Dickens appear unwilling to create strong, confident female protagonists who can hold their own, or is Dolly an exception far different from the types of female characters we have met thus far?
16. at what points in today’s reading do we find Dolly crying, and why?
17. Dolly has to put up with a charged, sexualized gaze directed at her twice in today’s reading.  Which two men are the culprits?
18. is Mr. Chester aware of the depths of his own depravity? Does he strike you as more silly than evil?
19. why has alcohol consumption been a necessity for Hugh over the course of his life (196, 200)?
20. by what means does Mr. Chester gain such complete control over Hugh (198-200, 202)?
21. why does Mrs. Rudge determine to leave London suddenly and swiftly (211)?
22. can one easily classify Mr. Chester using that physiognomic formula which equates character with appearance?
23. which characters most frequently refer to that which is “natural” and according to “human nature”?
24. is the “capacity for gladness” which the narrator discovers within Barnaby a foundational element of human nature, according to Dickens (209, 239)?
25. do Hugh and Barnaby, constant companions, resemble each other in any noticeable ways?
26. why do the inhabitants of the village near the Maypole and Warren recognize Barnaby, but not his mother who actually grew up there (209, 218)?
27. to what end does Dickens create Gothic effects and scenarios (145, 212, 272, 280-81)?
28. at what points does Mr. Chester lie, and why? 
29. do we receive enough details about Hugh’s dream (235) to compare it with Mr. Chester’s (238)?
30. do you think Joe Willet’s life-changing decision a rash one (254-66)?
    
    
    
    illustration from chp. 17 (1841)
    George Cattermole

Dr. Paul Marchbanks
pmarchba@calpoly.edu