Victorian writing anticipates our thoughts about what drugs can do to us. Evans also asserts that the disease clearly affected the poor more than the rich, and therefore acted as a device to reveal areas of great poverty and poor sanitation in the large cities. Esther is cared for and receives medical attention. The Woodcourts trace their claim back to the old heroes of Wales. The wetter conditions during summer will increase the risk posed by rust … Michael Neve’s exploration of personal drug narratives on mescal, peyote and nitrous oxide produce some wonderful quotes. Members of the upper classes are also less likely to contract diseases such as smallpox in the first place, as they generally live in cleaner environments and work less strenuously. The more these diseases infected the general population, the more number of people were attempting to combat them. In the rusty skeleton of a grate, pinched at the middle as if Poverty had gripped it, a red coke fire burns low” (Dickens 124). The MTBC comprises several human-adapted lineages known as M. tuberculosis sensu stricto , as well as two lineages (L5 and L6) traditionally referred to as Mycobacterium africanum . The people from that age thought than an individual caught a sickness because that individual caused offence to a spirit due to that person’s actions or behavior. Medical professionals came to the forefront of the battle against infectious diseases; people such as Florence Nightingale, who acted as a leading figure in medicine during the Crimean War (1853-56), were tasked with finding preventive and curative measures for each disease. These changes grew out of the massive restructuring of British society that followed the industrial revolution of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Quite possibly, the only difference between them during their periods of illness is that their quality of care would have differed greatly. The most serious disease in the poor quarters was tuberculosis, until the 1860s cholera, as well as rickets, scarlet fever, and typhoid. A similar situation is seen with the modern AIDs epidemic. Luckily, this disease has been lost to history. Instead, possible cures to diseases such as smallpox would truly provide equality. The people, who were earlier narrow-minded and refused to accept new theories, broadened their thinking. And this is a disease that used to kill 400,000 Europeans a year, and was responsible for a third of all human blindness. While Esther is effectively middle-class because of her social connections, she is actually lower-class by her parentage. The different response to smallpox of characters from different economic classes highlights the necessity for equality that modernization would help provide. He is reasonably young and a professional surgeon. They argue that Dickens’ depiction of disease is meant to explicitly call for sanitation reform, in spite of the fact that Dickens never names these prevalent diseases. For him, the smallpox is fatal, and he dies impoverished, dirty, and covered in sores. When Queen Victoria ascended to the throne in 1837, medicine was a world away from what it is today. An article by Richard J. Evans asserts that “cholera has a good claim to be regarded as the classic epidemic disease of the nineteenth century”. Group 6: Nikkel Gohel, Rachel Campbell, John Panus, Kelsey Telgash, Peter Cala. This is yet another example of Dickens’ demonstration of the importance of working together. In addition, both Esther and Allan work to aid the sick and prevent the spread of disease, despite their separate heritages and obligations to society. The obvious physical scarring brought about by smallpox was most likely the reason that Dickens used this disease in Bleak House rather than any of the other prevalent diseases at the time; physical ‘war wounds’ created more of an impact on both characters and readers. Disease as a metaphor for bloodlines: how whats in your blood may detrimentally affect your well-being. At one point in her description of her illness, Esther says that, “It may be that if we knew more of such strange afflictions we might be the better able to alleviate their intensity” (Norton 432). Mr. Woodcourt is an Englishman of Welsh descent. It is not an equalizer. “Epidemics And Revolutions: Cholera In Nineteenth-Century Europe.” Past and Present 120.1 (1988): 123-46. Such is the case for Richard and Lady Dedlock, who were at least semi-well-off and fell victim to diseases of their own infliction. Certain people are more likely to catch the disease than others. Depending on lifestyle choices, exposure to education about preventing the spread of the disease, and access to medical care, some people are more at risk of contracting AIDs than others. Although in Africa for much of his adult life, Livingstone's let… By the end of the era, a simpler silhouette was making waves, leading the next Edwardian generation to new freedoms in life and fashion. time, asserting the disease’s role in Victorian culture and society. He toes the line between this equality with his profession, but his lineage keeps him humble. As we have discussed in class at some length, Dickens uses disease primarily as an equalizer, shattering the concept of social class by demonstrating the pervasive nature of illness. The reign of Queen Victoria brought about a change in the treatment of diseases. Victorian Era Research Project - English Is Amazing Diseases/Health Issues in 1800s. Anesthesia, a hypodermic syringe, antiseptics, pasteurization, the discovery of the causes of tuberculosis and cholera, rabies vaccine, etc were all discovered … Smallpox was a dreaded disease across London: there were epidemics in 1816–19, 1825–26, 1837–40, 1871 and 1881. Ironically, Dickens and Chadwick seemed to have had a fairly friendly relationship that was based on mutual interests like their concerns for the public health of England. The concept of contagious diseases began to be understood. In some cases this problem manifests itself over the ownership of wealth in a family and its affect on members of a family and those close to them. The reason why they also deemed the term consumption is because that is what they thought of when body tissue was wasting away (1, 19th Century diseases). Disease is not an equalizer. In illustrating Esther’s choice of quarantining herself in order to stop the disease from spreading to her upper class friends, we see that her actions are comparable to her desire to not become implicated in the Dedlock family’s wealth and affairs. In The Ugly-Girl Papers by S.D. Rheumatism: Any disorder associated with pain in joints. Library of Congress Collection on Flickr. Dickens disapproved of reducing the sick to just statistics. As such, smallpox can be used to represent the internal battles of the characters in a simple yet incredibly effective way. Tuberculosis, or consumption, was another one of the most common diseases of the Victorian Era. Powers, she declared that the clearest, most beautiful complexions were seen on people in the earliest stages of consumption. Those with good insurance or money can afford treatments that will prolong their lives. During that time, the atmosphere in the medical fraternity was very positive and everyone started believing that all ailments and illnesses would vanish forever with the discovery of new medicines. In illustrating that Esther made the correct choice by avoiding her rich friends. Scientists started conducted myriad experiments in the spirit of scientific discovery. Dickens, through the knowledgeable Mr. Woodcourt, is showing us how not only disease, but banal political situations can damage a person, as well as a nation. On the other end of the spectrum, members of the upper class can afford proper medical attention. However, the Oxford English Dictionary defines it as hysteria and John Graunt (2) suggests that it may be an inflammation of the liver, similar to livergrown (q.v.