Power Within Pages - Disability and Narrative Empathy in Contemporary Young Adult Literature
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2025-07-15
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en
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This thesis explores how disability representations and narratological features and content in contemporary Young Adult Literature (YAL) can foster narrative empathy. By exploring the intersection of YAL, disability representation, and narrative empathy, this thesis examines the potential of literature to promote ethical reflection and challenge biases toward disability. A corpus of six twenty-first-century YA novels is analysed based on Suzanne Keen’s theory of narrative empathy. Through close reading, the analysis examines how these novels immerse readers in the lived experiences of disabled characters and whether they have the potential to evoke empathy.
The theoretical framework of this thesis explores the definitions of disability and empathy, the theory of narrative empathy, literary representations of disability and the conventions and themes of YAL. This exploration establishes commonalities between empathic engagement, disability portrayals and YA fiction; they are all concerned with representation, potential affective engagement and recognition, and literature’s ethical potential. The key findings of each field reveal several overlapping values, such as perspective-taking, self-exploration and identity, as well as the focus on balancing difference and likeness. Literature, in particular, offers a space where readers are faced with diversity and are encouraged to adopt these unfamiliar perspectives. In doing so, they are invited to practice their Theory of Mind and develop empathic understanding.
Narrative empathy is often supported by narratological devices regarding character identification and narrative situation, or other intentional choices made by authors. The analysis of this thesis demonstrates how narration, focalisation, structure, and pace are not only essential to narrative empathy but also complement the themes of the six corpus novels. Whether through fragmentation, visual diversification, shifts in pace, or chronological disruptions, each narratological choice demonstrates an essential part of a protagonist’s identity or disabled experience.
In terms of character identification, each author adopts a different approach to represent disabled characters. However, all try to create well-rounded characters with recognisable and relatable traits, experiences, and dreams. The disabled characters are shown as whole, imperfect, and dynamic people rather than objects of inspiration or pity. Characters’ interior monologues can dismantle people’s preconceptions and improve readerly engagement. Providing readers with an intimate glimpse into a character’s mind does not guarantee empathy, but it does make it more feasible and improves understanding.
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As suggested by Keen, the authorial intentions can also be significant to narrative empathy. The exploration of the corpus’ use of strategic empathy confirms that most authors not only use narratological devices to increase readers’ empathy but also dedicate space to advocate for better disability representation and recognition of the marginalisation of people with disabilities. The three approaches to strategic empathy show the variety of methods authors can employ to emotionally and ethically engage readers with disabled characters.
Ultimately, YA authors often appear to make deliberate choices to direct the affective and ethical engagement of their readers, which may promote readerly empathy, ethical contemplation, and a greater understanding of the lived realities of disabled people. This thesis tries to demonstrate that the corpus novels show considerable potential in terms of both narrative empathy and disability representation.
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