Caution: Illness in Literature May Actually Mean Something

       In the chapter "Marked for Greatness," it seemed kind of wrong to judge a character based on their physical markings. However, I came to terms with the fact that it is a good way to tell characters apart and see into the future of the character while they are still young. Something seems different about judging a character by their illness. It could be because it's more temporary (in some cases) or that there is less stigma related to it (as long as it isn't syphilis or AIDS.) Actually, I can't explain why it seems more harmless. It just does. In chapter 23, "It's Never Just Heart Disease," Foster tells us that illness in literature is often more than what meets the eye.
       The most immediate character that comes to mind when I think of problems of the heart relating to emotional and social trouble is the Grinch. I admit this is pretty cheesy. Said to have a heart “two sizes too small,” the Grinch is a misanthropic cave creature who hates all things to do with Christmas. Through the course of the story, the Grinch learns the real meaning of Christmas from the people in Whoville are content and grateful even without their presents, and his emotional problems are fixed. The heart problems play a big role in the mediocre live-action movie version, showing that the Grinch's heart is initially broken when his childhood sweetheart rejects his valentine. Either way, in both versions, he comes out of the story with a little more empathy and humanity, and as a result, his heart grows.
       As Foster explains in the chapter, not all illnesses of the heart are so obvious. It can even have to do with a pacemaker and a murder. In the television series Homeland, one character has a run-in with “heart trouble.” Responsible for a drone attack that killed the precious child, also Nazir’s son, Issa, that Brody had come to love, Brody and Nazir plan William Walden’s assassination.  They do this by manipulating Walden’s pacemaker from a distance, while Brody is with him. When his heart starts to fail him, Walden tries to reach for the phone, but Brody snatches it away and says, "You still don't get it, do you? I'm killing you." The idea of a sick heart could come into play in several places here. Both Brody and Nazir suffer from broken hearts after the death of Issa. It is for separate and semi-twisted reasons, but that’s another story. Also, both assassins kill Walden believing that only a man with a very sick heart would be capable of bombing a school filled with children, even if it was abroad.
       Tiny Tim’s story from A Christmas Carol could also fit in under this chapter: the idea that Scrooge’s greed is killing Tiny Tim. Scrooge gives a face to the many greedy misanthropes that have hoarded money, and Tiny Tim gives a face to all of the starving children who suffer as a consequence. Fantine’s death in Les Miserables is not far behind on this train of thought. I have only seen it once, but the feeling I had as the last curtain closed was that society killed Fantine, and that it was not a direct consequence of any character, nor was it her fault.
       I can think of one example that fits the category of “illness, starring as illness.” In other words, once case in which tuberculosis does not mean much at all. This is the character of Buddy Willard in The Bell Jar. Although his time spent in the TB hospital parallels Esther’s time in the mental institution, the TB itself doesn’t seem to be very relevant to the overarching plot. Buddy's illness is just as boring as Buddy himself.
       Since most modern work has grown out of the stereotypical “fever,” when an author in our times chooses to include an illness or disease, it is to serve their agenda. Whether it’s for the symbolism, to drive the plot, or as a result of the time period, heart disease or another such ailment, is not to be ignored. I will definitely be thinking about this the next time someone dies of a heart attack in a book.