Agency in illness narratives

Abstract

In this essay, I argue that structural approaches to narrative articulate identity and agency as internal constructs. As such, these analyses neglect the roles of institutional and social factors. A pluralistic analysis of these illness narratives, such as the one offered in this essay, can help narrative scholars better understand how these forces interact with the individual experiences of people living with illness in supporting and constraining agency.

Storytalk and complex constructions of nonhuman agency

“…The idea of agency also implies the agent's separation from others, their awareness of their own actions, and ability to reflect upon those actions (Harré, 1993;Marchand, 2018;Pope, 1998;Yamamoto, 2006). Even the more language-oriented, narrative conceptualizations of agency tend to define it rather narrowly as a sense of control embedded within dynamics of empowerment vs. constraint (Arduser, 2014), or as individual characteristics such as independence, personal achievement, power, and victory, as opposed to concepts of community, dialogue, caring, and togetherness (Wilinsky & McCabe, 2021). Also within literary scholarship, the notion of agency has for long gone hand in hand with notions of human exceptionalism, reflecting its intricate ties with a limited (anthropocentric) understanding of subjectivity and power (Marchand, 2018).…”

Stigma Stories: Rhetoric, Lived Experience, and Chronic Illness

“…Stories tell us how to make sense of and give order to a variety of conditions, diseases, and medical tests; how to define wellness, health, and sickness; what it is we might expect as we navigate our embodied selves and lives. Accordingly, rhetoricians of health and medicine have been drawn to the persuasion and power of stories in health and medical contexts (see, e.g., Arduser, 2014;Bennett, 2019;Berkenkotter, 2008;Johnson, 2014;Segal, 2012;Yergeau, 2018). Stories are not only a valuable mode of rhetorical activity; they also enable us to engage with people, conditions, and experiences on the terms of the storytellers themselves (Frank, 2010;Jones, 2016;Mol, 2002).…”

The wounded leader: The illness narratives of Boris Johnson and Donald Trump

“…An important aspect of retrospective narratives of disease is how narrators portray the agents of their restitution -who or what they 'give credit to' for their recovery,and how they portray their own role in it (Arduser, 2014;Jones, 2018). According to Frank (1995), 'quest' narratives often depict illnesses as initiating a crisis of agency when the narrator becomes a 'patient', and a key element of their restitution is a restoration of independence and control.…”