Between 1870 and 1970 when "unsightly beggar laws" began to restrict the movement and presence of visibly and mentally disabled persons in public, American novels saw a marked increase of disabled characters. Some scholars note that this was likely a form of fetishization fueled by curiosity due to the increased institutionalization at the time. 

Claremont Graduate University

Physical disabilities are portrayed in literature somewhat frequently. In fact, physical disability is the most common type of disability portrayed in literature. It is also the most commonly studied depiction of disability in literature by humanities scholars. 

Physical Disability in Literature

Hall, A. (2016). Literature and disability (Ser. Literature and contemporary thought). Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

Literature and Disability

Physical disabilities in American literature before 1815 were quite rare, as noted by some disability scholars such as Sari Altschuler. Often these early American novels and short stories focused on using simpler, allegorical characters to further political commentaries. 

Physical Disability in Early American Literature

Disability studies scholar Lennard Davis presents the idea that perhaps the mid 1800s saw an increase in the frequency of disabled characters in American literature due to a shift in cultural thought at the time. At the omphalos of this shift, Davis points to the introduction of the word "normal" as it is currently used as well as the industrial revolution and the boom in productivity-obsessed capitalism that came along with it. 

The Advent of Normalcy in the Novel and Disability

Lenard Davis introduces the idea that the very structure and conception of the novel as an artform promotes othering of disabilities and conceptions of normalcy and generalization as writers are prompted to create characters that are "average" or "relatable", characters that can function as a stand-in for the reader. 

The Structure of the Novel and Normalcy vs Disability

Popularity of Disability in American Novels

Academic Henri-Jacques Stiker writes that the 1920s were a time of cultural shift in attitudes towards physical disabilities as many veterans returned to the US with missing limbs and other physical disabilities. The attitude became less about hiding away the disabled person and more about covering up their disability with a prosthetic. Novels and short stories of the time began to similarly cover up a character's disability by not depicting it directly but by showing it via unusual narrative flow or structure such as the narrative used in Faulkner's story Soldier's Pay.

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