This research examines how nineteenth-century literature helped shape modern attitudes toward disability. By analysing French realist novels and their connections to public spectacles such as morgues and wax museums, it argues that bodily difference was transformed into entertainment, influencing how contemporary audiences perceive disability and human value.
2026
This thesis examines representations of “strangeness” in The Tempest and their historical roots in medieval travel writing and early colonial exploration. By analyzing how Shakespeare constructs fear and fascination toward unfamiliar places and peoples, the research argues that strangeness is not inherent, but psychologically and culturally produced.