The lives of dwarfs : their journey from public curiosity toward social liberation
"Now, for the first time, in this comprehensive volume, the lives of dwarfs are explored in all their fullness and humanity." "Spanning the centuries from ancient Egypt to the present, this unique social history chronicles the various ways this population has been exploited, describes their strategies for coping, and notes the persistent influence of mythology upon perceptions of them by others. The narrative also highlights the lives of eminent individuals and contains a thought-provoking account of the representation and participation of dwarfs in the arts, enhanced by color photographs. Betty M. Adelson, the mother of a daughter with dwarfism, brings special insight and sensitivity to the research. She traces the widespread mistreatment of dwarfs over the centuries, engendered by their being viewed as curiosities rather than as human beings capable of the same accomplishments as people of average height, and deserving of the same pleasures."--Jacket
Print Book, English, ©2005
Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, N.J., ©2005
History
xxiv, 431 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 26 cm
9780813535487, 0813535484
55981420
I: The past: social constraints and the struggle to cope
History from ancient Egypt through the Nazi era
Biographies of eminent dwarfs
II: The transition: confronting mockery, myth, and medical mysteries
Stigma
Mythology
Anthropology
Medical aspects
III: The cultural mirror: images of dwarfs in the arts
Art
Literature
Theater, film, and television
Music
IV: Lives today: transforming destiny
Lives today