Publication 1190
By Nibs on
Thursday, May 7, 2009
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This is just an interesting factoid I thought I'd share. I read on Uriah Heep's WiseGeek article that he is widely believed to have a muscular disorder, due to Dickens' descriptions. Most believe this is dystonia, and Uriah seems to have generalized dystonia, which affects most of the body but particularly the legs and the back. Dystonia causes repetitive movements, twisting, and strange posturing; it also impedes everyday tasks and can be quite painful. Dickens may have been simply repeating observations that he knew would make Uriah seem extra-freaky. But if he had any knowledge of the disease dystonia, he may have intended a bit of sympathy for the character. After all, a person with dystonia can't help being "galvanic", and would provoke unnecessary aversion in other people.
What do you think about this? Do you think Dickens purposely gave Uriah a disease he knew would be painful and involuntary, or do you think it just so happened he described dystonia when he was repeating observations he had made at the time? Do you have any more info on this? Please share!
Publication 1191
By absent-minded on
Thursday, May 7, 2009
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I believe you are very right. After all, Dickens would certainly have mentioned that Uriah had this disease.
Publication 1192
By Nibs on
Thursday, May 7, 2009
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09:33
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Quote: Originally posted by absent-minded on Thursday, May 07, 2009 I believe you are very right. After all, Dickens would certainly have mentioned that Uriah had this disease.
Sorry, I'm a bit confused, lol....what am I right about? Do you agree that Dickens intentionally gave Uriah the disease? (I'm not sure myself, I'm just curious about what you think.) And if you do, do you think he was trying to stir up sympathy? I know that when he gave Joe the Fat Boy Pickwickian syndrome he didn't know it was a disease, it was just for comedy effect. Maybe he didn't know dystonia was a disease, he was just trying to make Uriah seem weirder. IDK!
Publication 1194
By absent-minded on
Thursday, May 7, 2009
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12:03
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I thought you disagreed that Dickens created Uriah as a dystonia patient. Any way, personally I disagree with that. If he did create Uria this way, he certainly would have mentioned that his hero is a patient of such and such a disease. Beyond this, Dickens doesn't seem anywhere in the book to want to make Uriah more sympathetic, on the contrary. And the contrary is not possible if the man is ill independently of his will.
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Uriah Heep and Dystonia
I read on Uriah Heep's WiseGeek article that he is widely believed to have a muscular disorder, due to Dickens' descriptions. Most believe this is dystonia, and Uriah seems to have generalized dystonia, which affects most of the body but particularly the legs and the back. Dystonia causes repetitive movements, twisting, and strange posturing; it also impedes everyday tasks and can be quite painful. Dickens may have been simply repeating observations that he knew would make Uriah seem extra-freaky. But if he had any knowledge of the disease dystonia, he may have intended a bit of sympathy for the character. After all, a person with dystonia can't help being "galvanic", and would provoke unnecessary aversion in other people. 
Do you agree that Dickens intentionally gave Uriah the disease? (I'm not sure myself, I'm just curious about what you think.) And if you do, do you think he was trying to stir up sympathy? I know that when he gave Joe the Fat Boy Pickwickian syndrome he didn't know it was a disease, it was just for comedy effect. Maybe he didn't know dystonia was a disease, he was just trying to make Uriah seem weirder. IDK!