Sergeant Bothari and Disability Representation in the Early Vorkosiverse

[davidgillon]

Rose Lemberg has a really very good article about Bothari and the way Bujold handles disability in the Vorkosiverse (I'm not sure that 'early' strictly applies given they also talk about Mark).

However, the essay is discussing Bothari, and his arc includes a lot of very unpleasant, if not outright disturbing stuff, so trigger warnings are provided for

• Ableism
• Abuse
• Child sexual abuse
• Mental health issues
• Rape/sexual assault
• Shaming
   

It's very thought provoking, and I'd personally have added the artificial way Bujold lumbers Miles with a seizure disorder just at the point his fracture disorder is rendered no longer quite as limiting via bone replacements. Good writing should make disability incidental to the plot, not blatantly pitch in another layer in order to retain your character's unique selling point.

The article can be found here.

Comments

[yhlee]

That's a really good essay; thanks for linking to it.

(I confess I only ever go to Strange Horizons anymore if directly linked there, rather than browsing it independently, because I cannot for the life of me navigate their new site layout.)

[sovay]

and I'd personally have added the artificial way Bujold lumbers Miles with a seizure disorder just at the point his fracture disorder is rendered no longer quite as limiting via bone replacements.

Hm.

Good writing should make disability incidental to the plot, not blatantly pitch in another layer in order to retain your character's unique selling point.

I would also think that living with a seizure disorder would be very different from living with fragile bones; they are both disabilities, but they are not identical experiences, and one can't simply be swapped in for the other regarding plot points or states of mind.

(I have not read this series past Shards of Honor and Barrayar, which I read years ago in the omnibus Cordelia's Honor.)

[davidgillon]

With the fracture disorder, Miles had physical limitations, and particularly needed to steer clear of any unprotected high impact situations, which limited him in combat. And usually something would happen which would force him to ignore that, and then limit him with the consequences.

With the seizure disorder, he has a slow, but constant climb of brain chemicals towards the seizure threshold, and can be tipped over by stress (IIRC). So not only is he limited in combat (to the point of being banned from operational assignments), he has a ticking clock in his head towards a seizure that will debilitate him for a day. He can artificially trigger a seizure in order to reset the clock, but again, that will debilitate him.

They are different, but Bujold uses them to restrict him in similar ways, and also to impose a ticking clock mechanism on the plot in a very artificial way.

[sovay]

They are different, but Bujold uses them to restrict him in similar ways, and also to impose a ticking clock mechanism on the plot in a very artificial way.

Understood. I may not have been clear in my original comment: treating them as interchangeable feels just as artificial to me as the idea that if your disabled character gets accommodations, somehow you need to keep them disabled for the sake of the story. I see that Bujold is using them in the same way, but that just feels rigged.

[jesse_the_k]

Being a completeist, I read Shards of Honor first, and my favorable impression of LMB's interest and insight in disability was wholly shaped by her treatment of Bothari.

So, I'm rushing right off to read it, although that content note list is daunting.

[cesy]

Definitely thought-provoking, thanks for the link.

[shehasathree]

Ooh, I need to read this! Thanks for sharing.
(And, to make myself feel *slightly* better before diving in, I shall use one of my relevant icons. *g*)