This is an unusual book in that it does not discuss what it
is like to be sick, just how we perceive those that are sick. Specifically,
Sontag focuses on cancer and tuberculosis. Tuberculosis was a disease of the
Victorian era, while cancer is more modern. She goes through works of
literature, history, and even science fiction in her analysis. Although this
was published in the 70s, it’s amazing to see how little has changed in the perception
of these diseases today.
One point that I found fascinating was how those with these
sicknesses reflect the ills of society. Tuberculosis is a disease of passions,
of excesses. Those with TB are said to acquire a mysterious aura, to the point
where some people wanted to get TB to be more appealing to ladies. In contrast,
cancer is an individual disease that destroys us from the inside out. Someone
with cancer wastes away, their hair falling out and confined to a bed hooked up
to chemo. It is associated with repressing emotions. Both diseases’ portrayals
reflect the society around them to an extent. Victorian era people would
repress their sexuality for fear of taboos, while today we find ourselves
increasingly more cut off from each other and only interact through the
internet.
Sontag’s point with this is that we have all of these
misconceptions about sickness, we think that these diseases are a punishment on
the sick, we think that only certain personality types contract these diseases,
etc. However, that is not the case. Acknowledging these misconceptions that we
hold will lead to a better treatment of the sick, and a better understanding of
their troubles. Only then can we alleviate their suffering.
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