Alexis Bentz ‘24

WUJUR (2025)

Abstract

Readers and literary critics alike have begun incorporating the lessons of disability studies into their textual approaches. This article argues that the disability studies field would benefit equally from adopting the reparative reading practices of literary theorists like Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick and Heather Love. Drawing on these scholars’ works, this article utilizes a dual reparative and paranoid approach while exploring intersectional impacts of gender and disability on character portrayal in nineteenth century novels Jane Eyre and Olive. Subsequent analysis highlights ways in which disability ruptures traditional gender expectations and demonstrates how bodies are pressured into compulsory able-bodiedness and heterosexuality. Simultaneously, this article celebrates ways in which these novels champion joyful futures for disabled individuals and portray disabled characters as strong, attractive, and multi-faceted, reinforcing the importance of reparative reading.

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Citation (APA)

Bentz, A. (2025). Cripping literature through reparative reading: Gender, disability, and the case for symbiosis. The Washington University Journal of Undergraduate Research, 1(1), 55–59. https://doi.org/10.7936/wujur.9261

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Bentz, Alexis. Washington University in St. Louis.
Corresponding Author. Send correspondence to a.bentz@wustl.edu.

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