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Psychology major Jenny Boyar ’08 (Hillsborough, N.J.) analyzed epilepsy in literature and gained new insights into the representation of the disease in the works of three noted epileptic writers.
The interdisciplinary research examined historical perceptions of the illness. She studied Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Idiot, Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, and David B’s graphic novel Epileptic and used Freudian psychoanalytic theory to examine how an author’s affliction with epilepsy affects his creative work.
“I have always been fascinated by the relationship between physical illness and artistic creativity,” Boyar says. “Epilepsy is particularly interesting because it has both physical and psychological manifestations. Given this dual nature, I felt it would be impossible for the disease not to impact the intellectual capacity for creativity. In this case, literature illuminates what medical books and case studies cannot.”
“What’s noteworthy [about the research] is the fact that it’s interdisciplinary; she brought together English literature and the history of medicine,” says Paul Cefalu, associate professor of English and Boyar’s independent study adviser. “She was at the intersection of science, medicine, psychoanalysis, and literary criticism.”
He notes that Boyar contributed to the burgeoning field of disability studies by bringing together different theoretical discourses.
“She began to dip into theoretical work that has been produced by disability studies theorists, so she was on the cusp of doing something that I think is really going to break in a couple of years,” he says.
Boyar studied historical perceptions of epilepsy from Ancient Greece, the Middle Ages, Renaissance Enlightenment, Victorian period, and modern times. She found epilepsy is viewed in accordance with societal values; for example, medieval religious views attributed epilepsy to being possessed by the devil or a spirit. Once thought to be contagious, epilepsy was accepted as a neurological disorder in the 19th century.
Freud’s “epileptic pathology” theory was a significant component of Boyar’s project, requiring her to research Freudian psychoanalysis so she could apply it to the works and analyze the illness’ role in the texts.
“Freud argued that there is some kind of psychopathological cause of epilepsy; psychoneurosis [a neurosis based on emotional conflict in which an impulse that has been blocked seeks expression in a disguised response or symptom] precedes epilepsy,” she says.
Boyar challenged Freud’s theory, arguing, “Psychoneurosis may be the result of epilepsy, and not the cause. I drew on the literature in order to argue that epilepsy induces an altered state that leads to some sort of psychoneurotic complex.”
Commenting on the final aspect of her project, she says, “Analyzing the role of epilepsy from a psychoanalytic perspective reveals that though each text is different in terms of literary style and historical period, all authors portray the disease as being all-encompassing, and inexplicable by its very nature.”
“Dostoevsky uses characterization in order to demonstrate the all-encompassing aspects of epilepsy,” she continues. “But ultimately, he deconstructs all causal explanations of the illness, which may be seen as a protest not only against Freud’s theory, but against the conflicting theories about epilepsy during the time in which The Idiot was written.
“Alice in Wonderland deals more with a representation of the seizure itself. Many critics have claimed that Carroll wrote [the book] as a metaphorical representation of the epileptic seizure. One can’t know for sure, but if you approach the text from that perspective, there’s plenty of evidence.”
Her contemporary example brought yet another view, questioning the benefits of modern medicine in treating epilepsy.
“In Epileptic, the protagonist is portrayed as being stupefied by his illness; the medical treatment he receives in order to prevent seizures has permanently dulled his senses,” she explains. “Medication prevents him from experiencing any form of psychoneurosis, but other aspects of his psychopathology are sacrificed.”
“It’s been interesting to see the contrast between how the epileptic character is portrayed in contemporary fiction versus what Dostoevsky wrote in the 19th century,” she says. “If you look at the literature, [epilepsy] clearly does affect the psychological disposition. The compelling representation of the illness within the three texts could not have been achieved without first-hand experience.”
Though she focused on three authors, she notes that many other writers had, or are thought to have had, epilepsy, including Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens, Dante, Lord Byron, and Jonathan Swift.
“It makes sense; I don’t see how epilepsy can’t force you to see things differently,” she says.
“Jenny has done a very creative and innovative thesis,” says Cefalu. “She is a precocious student. She has a facility of language and a knack for understanding these kinds of psychoanalytic theories, and she is a very good interpreter of texts. Her strength is her ability to see the counterintuitive; she never goes for the obvious explanation. She goes for the explanation that somebody else might believe is idiosyncratic; she goes for the creative, almost minority, position when she analyzes things. And that makes her an original.”
Boyar found the ideal mentor for her project in Cefalu, an interdisciplinary scholar who has focused on the relationships among philosophy and literature, ethics, ethical theory and literature, and political theory.
Cefalu has given his latest project the working title of “Obsessions and Compulsions: A Cultural History,” a project he says “is very much like Jenny’s because it’s at the crossroads of the history of medicine, psychology, and literature.” A member of the Lafayette faculty since 1999, he is the author of two books and multiple articles and reviews.
“I knew from taking his Literary Questions class that he is knowledgeable about a wide range of topics, including psychoanalysis,” says Boyar. “And he’s been just as passionate about my project as I am.”
The project has “reawakened” her passion for literature, Boyar says, noting that while she always was an avid reader, “now I love every aspect of it – the research and writing.”
Boyar is assistant editor of The Lafayette, secretary of communications for Hillel Society, and secretary of Dry Surfers.
Independent study courses are among several major programs that have made Lafayette a national leader in undergraduate research. The College sends one of the largest contingents to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research each year; 39 students were accepted to present their research at last year’s conference.