Epilepsy in contemporary fiction: Fates of patients

Fictional accounts of epilepsy are of interest because they may convey info rmation on images and public views of epilepsy which are not contained in m edical texts. Thus, medical and nonmedical traditions together form the cul tural history of epilepsy. Of the numerous possible aspects of epilepsy in fiction, this paper looks especially at the writers' background of knowledg e about epilepsy; epilepsy as a handicap and a reason for social rejection, with special reference to epilepsy under the Nazi rule; threats to patient s' lives; the motive of the child with epilepsy as a divine child; and Epil epsy as a fate, and a reason for distinction. Literary writers may help the ir readers understand that a person's suffering and fighting a condition li ke epilepsy very much deserves our attention and sympathy. Without being ex clusive, the paper pays special attention to epilepsy in the writings of Ca nadian authors.