This paper investigates Samuel Butler’s “Erewhon; or, Over the Range” (1872) through an interdisciplinary lens highlighting the sociocultural and behavioural dynamics that, in the Swiftian topsy-turvy world described in the novel, are fuelled by the taboo of ill health. Here, an all-out criminalisation of disease combined with a draconian social selection process is bound to lead to a dramatic and often irredeemable loss of the sick person’s political and moral ‘fitness’ as a citizen. An anti-utopian and half-essayistic novel where Butler famously gave voice to a biting satire of Victorian society’s double standards, materialism and utilitarian policies – from a perspective that encompassed economic, legal, scientific, religious, bioethical and Darwinian discourse – “Erewhon” offers much food for thought. As we shall see, when considering possible intersections with the fields of biopolitics and the sociology of illness, it is evident how this text is capable of foregrounding practices of silencing, normalisation and disciplining aiming to exercise authority over individuals, communities, and the very management of life.
Questo articolo esamina “Erewhon; or, Over the Range” (1872) di Samuel Butler attraverso un’ottica interdisciplinare in grado di evidenziare le dinamiche socioculturali e comportamentali che, nel bizzarro universo swiftiano del romanzo, sono catalizzate dal tabù della cattiva salute. Nell’opera di Butler, un’ipercriminalizzazione della malattia, accompagnata da un processo draconiano di selezione sociale, finisce per determinare una perdita drammatica e spesso irrecuperabile dell’‘idoneità’ politica e morale del soggetto malato in quanto cittadino. Romanzo dai tratti anti-utopici e saggistici in cui Butler diede notoriamente voce a un’aspra satira della doppiezza, del materialismo e delle politiche utilitaristiche della società vittoriana – in un’intersecazione tra discorso economico, legale, scientifico, religioso, bioetico e darwiniano – “Erewhon” offre numerosi spunti di riflessione. Quando si considerano le possibili intersezioni con i campi della biopolitica e della sociologia della malattia, risulta evidente come questo testo riesca a riportare in superficie pratiche di silenziamento, normalizzazione e regolamentazione che mirano ad esercitare autorità sugli individui, le comunità e la gestione della vita stessa.
Biopolitical Entanglements and the Stigma of Disease in Samuel Butler’s “Erewhon; or, Over the Range”
GIOVANNELLI LAURA
2024-01-01
Abstract
This paper investigates Samuel Butler’s “Erewhon; or, Over the Range” (1872) through an interdisciplinary lens highlighting the sociocultural and behavioural dynamics that, in the Swiftian topsy-turvy world described in the novel, are fuelled by the taboo of ill health. Here, an all-out criminalisation of disease combined with a draconian social selection process is bound to lead to a dramatic and often irredeemable loss of the sick person’s political and moral ‘fitness’ as a citizen. An anti-utopian and half-essayistic novel where Butler famously gave voice to a biting satire of Victorian society’s double standards, materialism and utilitarian policies – from a perspective that encompassed economic, legal, scientific, religious, bioethical and Darwinian discourse – “Erewhon” offers much food for thought. As we shall see, when considering possible intersections with the fields of biopolitics and the sociology of illness, it is evident how this text is capable of foregrounding practices of silencing, normalisation and disciplining aiming to exercise authority over individuals, communities, and the very management of life.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
