Allen R. Dyer
East Tennessee State University Johnson City, USA
Lawrence and the Metaphors of Illness
Lawrence says, "One is ill because one doesn't live properly—can't. It's the failure to live that makes one ill . . ."This is exactly the sort of metaphor Sontag suggests we ought to reject, the sort of metaphor that blames and shames and stigmatizes the victim. Yet Lawrence's insightful "can't" may belie the cant Sontag struggles to get beyond. Surely living a romantic, impoverished life does not cause tuberculosis. With all we know about biological determinism, people should not be blamed or feel responsible for their cancers, and we know enough to realize that it is a virus that causes AIDS. Yet Lawrence anticipates and insists that we look at forces beyond our awareness. Science now acknowledges that illnesses have multiple determinants, and the author helps us understand disease is not entirely reducible to biological causes. Medical science in the 21st century is now better prepared to appreciate the bio-psycho-social and even spiritual aspects of illness and may even be able to appreciate the psycho-neuro-immunological aspects of that complexity in a way that is faithful to spirit of Lawrence's experience and insights.