author: Uliana Zhornokui
Relevance of the research. The need to investigate the phenomenon of blindness in literature arises from its ability not only to deepen the interpretive potential of a literary text but also to contribute to the renewal of cultural and social perceptions of disability, restoring a full-fledged image of the blind person in artistic discourse and returning them human and existential wholeness. This highlights the interdisciplinary nature of the chosen topic.
Problem statement. The category of blindness in fiction undergoes an evolution from a symbol of physical limitation to a complex interpretative model that reflects the inner development of an individual. In Eleanor Porter’s novel “Dawn”, this category requires a new reading that takes into account the shift in semantic accents and narrative functions.
Analysis of recent research and publications. Scholarly literature on blindness has evolved significantly – from medical, deficit-based, and compensatory models to social, cultural, and phenomenological approaches. Several landmark works have shaped how blindness is conceptualized within different academic paradigms. The most recent studies examine blindness through the lens of intersectionality, analyzing the interaction of race, class, and gender with disability (works by J. Kleege “Sight Unseen”; R. Michalko “The Mystery of the Eye and the Shadow of Blindness” and “The Difference That Disability Makes”; T. Titchkosky, and others). These studies emphasize that the experience of blindness is not homogeneous but shaped by multiple identities and systems of social oppression and discrimination.
Research task. It becomes essential to conduct a comprehensive analysis of existing interpretative models and their transformations throughout cultural and historical development and the socio-political shifts that motivated it.
The statement of basic materials. In mythological and literary tradition, blindness frequently appears as a sign of chosenness or tragedy. In Antiquity, the loss of sight functioned simultaneously as punishment and as the granting of supernatural abilities, making the blind character a bearer of “higher knowledge” (Tiresias, Homer). In later European literatures, another model became dominant – blindness as catastrophe leading to the hero’s dehumanization and the need for “atonement” or even death, as seen in works by J. Milton, J. Conrad, or R. Kipling. This perception was influenced by “body-centric” culture and visual dominance, in which the blind people found themselves marginalized in a world defined by visual imagery.
In the Ukrainian tradition, the blind figure often acquires prophetic connotation (the kobzar in T. Shevchenko and P. Kulish), while the early XXth-century American literature focuses on adaptive and psychological dimensions. In Eleanor Porter’s novel Dawn, blindness is depicted as a physical and spiritual ordeal that the protagonist Keith Burton undergoes, experiencing fear, denial, escapism, and gradual social reintegration. The author explores the loss of sight in its physical, psychological, social, and familial aspects, showing that catharsis may occur not only within the protagonist but also among those around him – as in the case of his father, Daniel Burton, for whom his son’s loss of sight becomes a catalyst for spiritual awakening.
Conclusions. Historically, the category of blindness has undergone numerous transformations: from sacral interpretations in Antiquity and the Middle Ages, where blindness was associated with divine gift or chosenness, through Romantic tradition, which viewed the blind hero as deprived yet spiritually insightful, to contemporary representations in mass culture, where blind characters often possess supernatural abilities. Given the scope and complexity of the issue, the need for the systematization of literary material and the development of consistent classifications becomes evident. The study of this topic is particularly important for filling a gap in contemporary Ukrainian literary scholarship, especially considering that Eleanor Porter’s works, including her novel Dawn, have received minimal scholarly attention in Ukrainian academic discourse.
Keywords: visual dominance, interpretative model, catharsis, category of blindness, receptive evolution, acceptance.t influenced them.
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