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“Meet me at the Intersection,” edited by Ambelin Kwaymullina, present the audience with the unique perspective of the often marginalized authors. In contrast to the majority of popular literature, this collection of stories includes features of Australian writers who represent First Nations, People of Colour, LGBTIQA+, and living with a disability. Thus, it naturally reflects the book’s main idea, which combines the author’s experience to show what it means to be different. The main characters of each piece go through the struggle to fit into society due to the inherent differences beyond their control. It is best shown in “Harry Potter and the disappearing pages” by Olivia Muscat. This struggle is not the only focus, as this piece explores the deeper ideas of normalcy in the sense of being a part of society. The majority of classic literature often portrayed the perspective of only one group, affluent White men. Due to this lack of variety and historical discrimination, the idea of normalcy permeated the human psyche. However, this short story shows that being different is not and should not be an exclusionary criterion, as everyone cannot be the same.
In “Harry Potter and the disappearing pages,” Muscat is the main character, demonstrating her real experiences and thoughts as a blind person. Muscat begins her story at 13 years old, as her sight slowly deteriorates over that time. The small details of the story, like Olivia’s love for books, facilitate the deep connection between the author and the audience. They can only imagine how difficult it might have been for Olivia to lose vision at such a young age and experience difficulty continuing her reading hobby. Despite these challenges, Olivia persists in fighting against the disadvantages of being completely blind. However, the problem comes not from blindness but from society’s refusal to accept Olivia’s strength and perseverance.
People around her treat her differently, providing her with unwanted benefits. Despite their possible kind intentions in giving her these accommodations, all it managed to accomplish is diminishing her autonomy. In other words, they take away her freedom to do things independently in the spirit of helping with her disability, gaslighting her to believe in her own supposed helplessness. This behavior has an adverse effect on Olivia’s mental health state. She starts questioning her abilities and believes in her inability to accomplish simple tasks independently. Thus, by treating her differently, society manages to convenience Olivia of her failure to fit into this society properly.
Olivia’s depressed state presents in her self-isolation as she struggles to face the discrepancy in her treatment by others. Olivia expresses that she wants to be alone, “Some days I want to curl up in a ball and give up, because the society we live in likes to make life stupidly difficult for anyone who is a bit different” (Kwaymullina, 2018, p. 67). Even when she tries to escape the suffocating environment of her home, she still faces the same treatment. People assist her by giving her their seats and aiding her in getting on and off the bus. It further contributes to her deteriorating mental state, as like any other teen Olivia just wishes to fit in.
In some ways, people around Olivia dehumanize her by making her a ‘poster child.’ They deny her humanity by making her a symbol of struggles against disability. Society refuses to look at her as a person with strengths, weaknesses, and unique characteristics. Instead, it confines her to one group stereotype, failing to see the nuances in her particular life situation. It comes from misguided compassion, as it is easier to fit a person in the box rather than explore them. It can be clearly seen in the fact that Olivia’s words and wishes are silenced. Only surface-level suffocating care she does not need is provided to check off the compassion from these people’s mental lists. Olivia recognizes this attitude and fights internally with it, “The fight to not always be an inspiration, a role model, a poster child. I didn’t sign up for this, I didn’t choose it” (Kwaymullina, 2018, p. 68). She rejects the notion of being a living stereotype for one group, wishing for society to see her as an individual.
Moreover, this process of reducing her to one category further complicates her mental battle in accepting her condition. As mentioned previously, Olivia goes through the difficult life-altering situation of losing sight and learning to continue with her everyday tasks at a young age. This fact alone creates a massive burden on her mental state. However, society’s treatment only worsens this state, making her despise the condition internally for her inability to fit into this society. By unconsciously hating her blindness, Olivia denies this part of herself, making accepting herself and the situation more difficult. Thus, she does not want to be recognized and defined only by her condition but for people to see all parts of her personality and being.
Through these challenging times, Olivia comes to acceptance of herself and her blindness. She reaffirms every part of her being, refusing to succumb to society’s dehumanization of her character, “I’m here for myself. Not for someone else’s idea of what I should be” (Kwaymullina, 2018, p. 70). Moreover, Olivia appreciates and values the challenges she faced to come to this peaceful conclusion, as she thanks her old self, “She made me, and I thank her” (Kwaymullina, 2018, p. 71). She finally reconnects with her old hobby of reading by listening to audiobooks, continuing her life by embracing her blindness. Olivia’s story follows the pattern of the book by showing that being different should be acceptable to society and individuals. The main message is the same, as the novel reaffirms the value of accepting oneself and moving on with life, embracing the difference.
Reference
Kwaymullina, A. (Ed.). (2018). Meet me at the intersection. Fremantle Press.
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