This is the intro to Metamorphosis: The Horror of Disability, an expertly crafted video by the YouTube channel Tale Foundry where they discuss their interpretation of The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. In their analysis, they highlight Gregor’s transformation into the beetle as a metaphor for being disabled. His family are shocked and horrified when they find Gregor in his new insect form, shutting him in his room all day and all night. At first his sister Gretta tries to accommodate him the best she can, but after a while she sees him as less than human and resents the fact that she has to care for him. Eventually Gregor dies, and the family is relieved that he is no longer a burden. 

This video made me sad and introspective all at once. As a blind person myself I know what it’s like to be cut off from the outside world, my vision is only as expansive as my experiences. With this premise, I wanted to shine a spotlight on what disability in art looks like. 

Let’s get the negative out of the way first. Most famous novels that have disabled characters, make them into outcast misunderstood monsters or pitiful childlike adults. Of Mice and Men and Flowers for Algernon famously depict mental disability, pitying and humiliating respectively. I wish to highlight Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, for it’s unique take on the treatment of and exploration of a disabled character. We are transported into the mind of WWI veteran Septimus Warren Smith, who is clearly experiencing PTSD. As this was written and takes place shortly after the war ended, responses by doctors to a veteran’s condition are inadequate; Dr. Holmes says there is nothing wrong with Septimus and he needs to get out and do things to cure his visions and obliviousness to his wife, while William Bradshaw seems to know more on the subject and yet wants to put Septimus in a home for the mentally ill. And yet while Septimus has fits and talks to himself according to his wife, the passages where we as readers go into his mind are beautifully constructed poetic moments. By giving us this glimpse into his mind, Woolf allows us to see the inner workings of a man who is not mentally well, and yet even the mentally fragile can still think and their perspective should be valued. 

In my research, I found that children’s literature was the most prominent genre where disability was being written about in a positive way. One example was a book that was read to me called Keep Your Ear on The Ball by Genevieve Petrillo. This tells the story of Davey who is a very independent blind boy who is respected by his classmates. He is discriminated against, however, because he can’t play kickball like the other sighted kids. He misses kicks and tramples over the base keeper, but these mishaps don’t stop the other kids from adapting the game for him. This story makes me happy and hopeful, as it spreads the message to disabled children that thoughtful people can adapt the world for their needs and wants, without making them sacrifice their independence. 

Now if we’re talking about a disabled character who took the world and made it bend to her will, we have to talk about Toph Beifong from Avatar the Last Airbender. Avatar is a TV show and not a novel, but the writers of the show made her blindness an integral part of her character without leaning into clichéd stereotypes. She made up her own style of Earth bending that involves feeling the Earth with her feet, giving her a unique awareness of the world around her. She is the most rebellious character in Team Avatar, not wanting to be coddled or sheltered by anyone. She cracks jokes at her own expense, using her blindness as a punchline which shows that she is comfortable with her disability. She is a bright and confident character; delighting in the adventurous challenge the world offers her, breaking barriers because of her blindness. 

Whether holding a white cane, wearing a set of hearing aids, or moving through one’s house in a wheelchair, disability presents in all forms. In minds full of war induced illusion or brains lacking in intelligence, the seen and unseen beauty and tragedy of the disabled world is inescapable. We may not turn into human sized beetles, but we can appreciate and find empathy for those that are disabled through the ever-changing representative landscape of art.