Hobday, R. (1999). Your Body And Mind In The Sun. In: Brochel, P The Healing Sun. USA: Findhorn Press. 17-37.
A key part of the creation of Miss Havisham's character is to take into account the effects of her lifestyle choice i.e. spending the past 30 years locked away in her own home, starving herself of natural light. This conditioning of the body is now classified as Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD and is more common within the 21st century than it was at the time of Victoria's reign. To gain an understanding of the condition that Miss Havisham's skin would be in regardless of whether she is presented in a youthful or aged state, it is vital to examine the effects of SAD which would dramatically effects her body. Much like all living and breathing creatures, the human body responds dramatically to a deprivation from natural light. Such a deprivation of this natural light severely effects the bodies Circadian Rhythm; which is a natural process required by the body to digest food, regulate appetite, mood, the quality of sleep and mental behaviours.
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- Tiredness, lack of natural energy which rendered you incapable of carrying out a daily routine.
- Sleep inabilities such as finding it hard to stay awake during the day and unable to sleep effectively at night.
- Lack of interest in sexual and other physical contact.
- Mental conditions such as Anxiety, Depression, Paranoia.
- Hormonal Issues that can lead on to cause inbalances such as Bipolar, Manic Depression and Schizophrenia.
- Social problems, detachment from society and irritability.
- Dramatic weight loss or weight gain e.g anorexia.
The Healing Sun - Richard Hobday
Brittle Bones: Insufficient vitamin D is a significant problem in well developed, urban environments and countries. Often it has been linked to brittle bones caused as a direct result of sunlight deprivation. The earliest recordings of this come from the Green Historian Herdus (480-425 BC) who took notes on the differences in the quality of bones between Egyptians and Persians. The skulls of the Persians were significantly thinner than that of the Egyptians and could be shattered easily with a rock, however the bones of the Egyptians were much thicker and could not be broken so easily. Egyptian skulls were regarded as thicker due to the exposure to the suns rays through having their heads shaven from a young age e.g. early childhood. This meant that the bone was thickened through a source of Vitamin D.
Osteoporosis: Statistically women are more common to suffer from this illness than men with hip fractures being a more common cause of death than ovarian, cervical and womb cancers combined. Women loose roughly 1% of their bone density each year from the age of 30 and this only worsens through a lack of Vitamin D. "Dowagers Hump" is a frequently occurring condition caused by a crumbling of the spinal cord which results in a visible humping of the back. For this condition to take effect bone density must be lost by at least 1/3rd. The condition is irreversibly once attained and also affects the wrists, hip and shoulder joints.
Rickets - "The Disease of the Dark": A most common disease during the years of the great industrialisation such as that of the Victorian era and French Revolution. The condition causes a great level of bone deformity, thinning of the skin and weakening of the muscle. Teeth also often fell out as a result of this condition, this includes blackening/yellowing as a result of severe malnourishment and vitamin deficiency. During the early 20th century the condition was common, affecting roughly 80% of the population in some way be it minor or life threatening. Most frequent of those effected by the disease were children. The condition could be improved through better diet, cod liver oil and outdoor activity.
Diabetes: Caused by the immune system destroying the cells within the pancreas. As a result it is severely damaging on the digestive system and overall brain function of the body. Long term negligence of the condition will cause heart disease, nerve damage, blindness and gangrene. Those with high blood sugar levels can proven that condition through increased sun exposure. The burning of glucose caused through sweat lowers the blood sugar level, meaning less of a reliance on insulin.
How does this apply to Miss Havisham:
From my research there are a number of conditions that would most likely have started to affect Mrs Havisham, during her time within isolation she is completely withdrawn from the suns rays and would therefore most defiantly suffer as a result. The most likely conditions that would have affected her within the early years of her isolation would be as follows:
- Malnourishment/Anorexia
- Mental conditions e.g Depression/Bi-Polar
- Sleep Inability
- Brittle Bones
- Diabetes
Brittle Bones: Insufficient vitamin D is a significant problem in well developed, urban environments and countries. Often it has been linked to brittle bones caused as a direct result of sunlight deprivation. The earliest recordings of this come from the Green Historian Herdus (480-425 BC) who took notes on the differences in the quality of bones between Egyptians and Persians. The skulls of the Persians were significantly thinner than that of the Egyptians and could be shattered easily with a rock, however the bones of the Egyptians were much thicker and could not be broken so easily. Egyptian skulls were regarded as thicker due to the exposure to the suns rays through having their heads shaven from a young age e.g. early childhood. This meant that the bone was thickened through a source of Vitamin D.
Osteoporosis: Statistically women are more common to suffer from this illness than men with hip fractures being a more common cause of death than ovarian, cervical and womb cancers combined. Women loose roughly 1% of their bone density each year from the age of 30 and this only worsens through a lack of Vitamin D. "Dowagers Hump" is a frequently occurring condition caused by a crumbling of the spinal cord which results in a visible humping of the back. For this condition to take effect bone density must be lost by at least 1/3rd. The condition is irreversibly once attained and also affects the wrists, hip and shoulder joints.
Rickets - "The Disease of the Dark": A most common disease during the years of the great industrialisation such as that of the Victorian era and French Revolution. The condition causes a great level of bone deformity, thinning of the skin and weakening of the muscle. Teeth also often fell out as a result of this condition, this includes blackening/yellowing as a result of severe malnourishment and vitamin deficiency. During the early 20th century the condition was common, affecting roughly 80% of the population in some way be it minor or life threatening. Most frequent of those effected by the disease were children. The condition could be improved through better diet, cod liver oil and outdoor activity.
Diabetes: Caused by the immune system destroying the cells within the pancreas. As a result it is severely damaging on the digestive system and overall brain function of the body. Long term negligence of the condition will cause heart disease, nerve damage, blindness and gangrene. Those with high blood sugar levels can proven that condition through increased sun exposure. The burning of glucose caused through sweat lowers the blood sugar level, meaning less of a reliance on insulin.
How does this apply to Miss Havisham:
From my research there are a number of conditions that would most likely have started to affect Mrs Havisham, during her time within isolation she is completely withdrawn from the suns rays and would therefore most defiantly suffer as a result. The most likely conditions that would have affected her within the early years of her isolation would be as follows:
- Malnourishment/Anorexia
- Mental conditions e.g Depression/Bi-Polar
- Sleep Inability
- Brittle Bones
- Diabetes
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