Of Human Bondageby W. Somerset Maugham (1915)

Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham (1915)

The first novel to have a representation of a disabled medical student and doctor was the 1915 novel Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham where the protagonist has a clubfoot. Following his jounery where he fumbles (used intentionally) both professionally and personally, we see Philip Carey dabbling in several professions, medicine being one of them, but never really fully engaging in any. This is shown to be not due to the physical ramifications of his disability or lack of access but due to the psychological effects of being disabled and growing up in an unloved home. As a result, even though Carey's disability is used as a prosthesis to give some body and structure to the narrative, it is never fully engaged in, losing an opportunity for a disabled doctor representation to shine through. 

W. Somerset Maugham

1915

Mahvish Nazar