Comments on: Victorian illness

Question: Victorian illness

oneirodynia — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 14:13:07 -0800

What is the 19th Century illness that disfigures Esther Summerson of Dicken's Bleak House?

In mid 19th century London, Esther Summerson contracts a fever from her young maid that disfigures her face and damages her appearance. At one point, as the fever comes on, she is temporarily blind. Any ideas as to what this disease may have been? There's nothing very helpful in the text so far, other than that the alteration is rather shocking.

By: dilettante

dilettante — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 14:14:10 -0800

Smallpox?

By: MsMolly

MsMolly — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 14:31:15 -0800

I've always assumed it was smallpox, which could often be quite disfiguring. PubMed seems to agree with me.

By: chelseagirl

chelseagirl — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 14:39:22 -0800

In the Little House on the Prairie series, Mary went blind from scarlet fever.

By: fearfulsymmetry

fearfulsymmetry — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 14:41:12 -0800

It's smallpox.

'I looked liked a pizza'

By: oneirodynia

oneirodynia — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 15:50:37 -0800

Cool, thanks everyone!

By: thomas j wise

thomas j wise — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 16:47:28 -0800

There are actually two theories: smallpox and erysipelas.

By: Violet Hour

Violet Hour — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 21:07:03 -0800

If you watch the miniseries, which is a lot of fun, they come right out and say it's smallpox. I realize this may have only been a dramatic decision, but still.

By: brujita

brujita — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 02:12:13 -0800

It's not in the Little House books, but apparently Mary Ingalls also had a stroke at the same time as her scarlet fever.

By: oneirodynia

oneirodynia — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 09:35:49 -0800

thomas j wise: google turns up a tantalizing fragment of an article from the Oxford Journals that I'm to lazy to register for:

"West diagnoses Esther's illness as a combination of erysipelas of the face and ..."

... so it looks like there's definitely two possibilities. Thanks!