1. Introduction – An Overview of the History of Body and Mind
Over the course of history the link between the body and the mind has been conceptualised in numerous different ways. From Ancient Greece throughout the Middle Ages philosophers and physicians used the “four humours” (blood, black bile, yellow bile and phlegm) to explain certain mental dispositions. An excess of black bile, for example, was supposed to lead to depression. It was believed that the composition of your bodily fluids could alter your mood, thus physical and mental health were perceived to be closely related to each other (cf. Bynum and Porter).
In the seventeenth century, however, Descartes separates the mind from the body. According to Sedlmayr “the body is not conceptualised anymore as being fundamentally entangled with the soul, but, on the contrary, it is circumscribed as an entity strangely removed …show more content…
In the following I will analyse how Frame and Miller approach the relationship between body and mind in their books and compare them.
2. Toby's Epilepsy and Daphne's Life in the Asylum in Owls Do Cry
Janet Frame's novel Owls Do Cry tells the story of a New Zealand family who struggles with poverty. Set in the fictional town of Waimaru, the story follows the lives of Bob and Amy Whithers and their children Francie, Toby, Daphne and Chicks. Aside from their monetary struggles the family has to deal with the early death of their daughter Francie (cf. Frame 50), Toby's epilepsy (cf. 9 ff.) and Daphne's mental illness (105). My analysis of the novel shall start with how it describes Daphne and her life in the asylum before I move on to Toby's struggle with physical illness.
The narration is partly focalised through Daphne Whithers, who has been institutionalised in a mental asylum. These sections set themselves apart from others by their use of
Over the course of history the link between the body and the mind has been conceptualised in numerous different ways. From Ancient Greece throughout the Middle Ages philosophers and physicians used the “four humours” (blood, black bile, yellow bile and phlegm) to explain certain mental dispositions. An excess of black bile, for example, was supposed to lead to depression. It was believed that the composition of your bodily fluids could alter your mood, thus physical and mental health were perceived to be closely related to each other (cf. Bynum and Porter).
In the seventeenth century, however, Descartes separates the mind from the body. According to Sedlmayr “the body is not conceptualised anymore as being fundamentally entangled with the soul, but, on the contrary, it is circumscribed as an entity strangely removed …show more content…
In the following I will analyse how Frame and Miller approach the relationship between body and mind in their books and compare them.
2. Toby's Epilepsy and Daphne's Life in the Asylum in Owls Do Cry
Janet Frame's novel Owls Do Cry tells the story of a New Zealand family who struggles with poverty. Set in the fictional town of Waimaru, the story follows the lives of Bob and Amy Whithers and their children Francie, Toby, Daphne and Chicks. Aside from their monetary struggles the family has to deal with the early death of their daughter Francie (cf. Frame 50), Toby's epilepsy (cf. 9 ff.) and Daphne's mental illness (105). My analysis of the novel shall start with how it describes Daphne and her life in the asylum before I move on to Toby's struggle with physical illness.
The narration is partly focalised through Daphne Whithers, who has been institutionalised in a mental asylum. These sections set themselves apart from others by their use of