Bedridden but Blessed: Toxic Positivity in The Princess Casamassima

Abstract

Abstract:In this article I compare Rosy Muniment's "contradictious optimism" with the twenty-first-century phenomenon of toxic positivity, arguing that these two phenomena share the same structure and aims. The Princess Casamassima, therefore, offers us a window into the way both phenomena function within the conservative political systems that characterize the novel's world and our own. I also discuss how Rosy Muniment's invalidism and her coping mechanisms serve as a trope for the capitalist subject. More importantly, however, I argue that the novel provides an antidote to Rosy's toxic positivity and to the political and economic agendas it supports.