The Ethics of the Gaze
Representing (Dis)ability and Otherness in Mariangela Di Fiore and Hilde Hodnefjeld’s Elefantmannen
Abstract
Theme: Norms of (Dis)ability in Nordic Children’s and Young Adult Literature.
This article examines the ethics of the gaze in disability representation in Mariangela Di Fiore and Hilde Hodnefjeld’s Elefantmannen (Elephant Man) from 2013, a Norwegian picturebook that recounts the life of Joseph Carey Merrick (1862–1890). Drawing on critical disability studies, Laura Mulvey’s gaze theory, and Ato Quayson’s concept of aesthetic nervousness, the analysis explores how the book stages five distinct gazes: the spectacle gaze of the freak show, the societal gaze of everyday encounters, the clinical gaze of medical professionals, the empathetic gaze of visitors, and Merrick’s own gaze. The article argues that Elefantmannen deploys multiple gazes to implicate readers in the ethics of looking at disability, exposing how visibility is shaped by ableist norms while foregrounding the limits of empathy. By turning the gaze back on the reader and generating aesthetic nervousness, Elefantmannen challenges conventional disability narratives and invites reflection on how children’s literature can move towards ethical representation based on recognition.
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