THE TROPES OF DISABILITY IN DAVID SMALL’S STITCHES THROUGH POSITIVE DISINTEGRATION AND NARRATIVE DEVIANCE

Abstract

This paper discusses the graphic memoir of David Small, Stitches (2009) as an exemplary case of graphic autopathography, basing on the theory of positive disintegration by Kazimierz Dabrowski and the theory of narrative prosthesis, introduced by David T. Mitchell and Sharon L. Snyder to discuss tropes of disability. The study examines the role that the memoir takes in using narrative deviance in terms of non-linear patterns, visual metaphors, and fragmentation of the story to disrupt stereotypical depictions of illness and impairment and rebrand the existence of depressive moods and physical harm as initiators of self-growth and the emergence of greater personality. Through the visual and textual analysis of such critical aspects as silence motifs, absent eyes, and vortexes, the paper shows how Stitches manipulates the discourses of ableism and makes personal sufferings a place of empowerment and creative strength. The researchers use textual analysis as its main technique, is a contribution to the research areas of disability studies and graphic medicine as it emphasizes the subversive nature of the graphic narratives in the development of empathy, autonomy, and complex representation of the experiences of the disabled. Finally, the paper suggests that those memoirs are counter-narratives to misplacement, which provides understanding of how disintegration becomes transformative in the process of artistic work and identity development