Writing about oneself and a disease: A study on biographical and autobiographical work by survivors of hansen’s disease

Abstract

This article investigates some elements of representation in literary work based on memoirs of people with Hansen’s disease (formerly known as leprosy) who lived the confinement forced upon people with this disease in Brazil until the mid-1980s. In addition to the stigma associated with leprosy, this policy traumatized patients, who faced social exclusion and loss of relationships; these experiences yielded autobiographies, biographies, and even romances inspired by their memories of life in isolation. Our objective is to understand, through the study of some of these records, how these people saw themselves and how they viewed the disease and their places of confinement.