' The figure upon which it now hung loose had shrunken to skin and bone'
'Waxwork and skeleton seemed to have dark eyes that moved and that looked at me'Because of this description of Miss Havisham, it is quite clear that she doesn't eat, and if she does it isn't enough to give her the proper nutrition that she needs which has an affect on her health both on the outside as well as inside. These effects are underweight causing her to look gaunt, and having iron deficiency due to lack of food, as well as having other health issues.
Malnutrition:
Its obvious that when Miss Havisham got jolted at the altar she was devastated by the news that the man she was in love with was only marrying her because of her money. I also understand why she would stop the clocks at a certain time as this was the most happiest time of her life, whilst she was getting ready to get married. She also doesn't want to forget it either, that she doesn't want to move from that one moment in time that made her so happy, making it apparent that she wants to stay in her wedding dress and never get out of it even to wash, eat or eat the bare minimum to stay alive or even go outside. Because it obvious that Miss Havisham has lost a lot of weight from the descriptions about, I thought about looking into what effects it will have on her body.
One of the main effects it can have on your body, is your heart as people who are malnourished hearts either beat faster or irregularly. People who hardly are also causing their metabolism to slow down as to conserve energy.
Physical Effects:
- Teeth are in poor condition
- Losing sense of smell and taste, which could explain why she doesn't seem bothered by the way her house has gotten.
- Reduced Movements
It can also cause mental health problems such as depression, which Miss Havisham has anyway but probably doesn't help that she hardly eats and I doubt that it is the right things when she does actually eat. It can also cause her maybe develop schizophrenia, which I think she definitely has, due to the fact that she has been alone for quite a while making her talk to herself then eventually thinking that she sees or hears something that isn't actually there.
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Iron Deficiency:
This illness is where there isn't enough iron in the blood this is caused by not eating enough food that contains iron, which obviously Miss Havisham will have as it's a struggle for her to look after herself. Iron also creates red blood cells, which helps stores and carries oxygen in the blood. Without these red blood cells your organs and tissues will suffer as they are not getting as much oxygen as they normally would, because of this Miss Havisham must be in a lot of pain, making her walk slightly funny.
Having this illness can become worse if left treated which will have a long term effect such as increasing your risk of infections as well as having problems with your heart and lung, with these effects as well she must have some sort of breathing problem as she hasn't really eaten for a good 20 years maybe even longer, causing her to have all the symptoms and them worsen as she has done nothing about it.
Symptoms of Iron deficiency:
- Tiredness
- Lack of Energy
- Shortness of breath
- Pale Complexion
- Heart Palpitations
'You are not afraid of a woman who has never seen the sun since you were born?'
- Miss Havisham
A lack of sunlight has a massive effect on your body than you think it does. The sun ejects sunlight that eventually will end up hitting your skin possibly, if you are outside,and this starts a chain reaction in your body as your skin absorbs the vitamin D it then goes through your body helping out organs and other important things. Obviously Miss Havisham never left her house, which means that her vitamin D isn't very high, making quite a few health problems. One of the main problems it causes is Osteoporosis. This is a condition that weaken bones, slight movements can cause a bone to break, which is very limiting to the person suffering from this, so when see Miss Havisham it's now obvious that she hardly moved as she would have been in a lot of pain. Because this she would have been sitting down a lot which is also quite bad for our bodies as you are more at risk of getting cardiovascular disease, which I think made Miss Havisham look older than she is due to the above problems I have just mentioned. It has also been said that vitamin D, can help depression, which could be adding to Miss Havishams moods and behaviour.
A lack of sunlight also causes visual differences which are that the skin will look pale white almost transparent, eyes looking quite dark and tired which wouldn't have helped with Miss Havisham looking a lot older than she actually was.
Because Miss Havisham never went outside, I also think she would develop some other mental health issues such as:
- Agoraphobia, which is a fear of leaving the house and being in public places. Which is seen in the seen when family members come and visit and she doesn't want to see them, because of this scene I think she might have social anxiety.
Hygiene:
Due to the lack of nutrition Miss Havisham has, probably has caused her to have bad teeth, and because she can't look after herself very well, I highly doubt that she brushes her teeth, also leading her to have bad breath and gingivitis, which a gum infection causing them to bleed, which will make her breath smell of blood when opens her mouth to speak or breathe heavily.
' I saw that everything within my view which ought to be white, had long been white.'
It is also clear that Miss Havisham would not have washed or cleaned her clothes so there would be nice smell emitting from her, that there would be this weird musky smell as well, I also think she would smell damp as well because her house would never have been clean and after a while things start to smell damp. I also think Miss Havisham would have troubles breathing, due to the fact that her house was dusty and dirty which I think she could have developed asthma.
A spider diagram of my analyses of Miss Havisham and the problems she would have had with her living lifestyle.
Book Reference:' Great Expectations'; Charles Dickens. 1867. Chapters Seven - Chapter Eight.
Internet Reference: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Anaemia-iron-deficiency-/Pages/Symptoms.aspx [Date Accessed: 20/02/2015]
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Malnutrition/Pages/Diagnosis.aspx [Date Accessed: 20/02/2015]
http://www.livestrong.com/article/290452-side-effects-of-not-eating-enough-calories/ [Date Accessed: 20/02/2015]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmqguIFMC-Y [Date Accessed: 22/02/2015]
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