Mapping the Brain and the Body: The Example of Greek Aesthete Nikolaos Episkopopoulos

This article concentrates on the neurological condition of epilepsy in the short story “Mavra” by Greek author Nikolaos Episkopopoulos. An attempt is made to see the condition via the lens of social preconceptions, those who support degeneration, as well as neurological beliefs, through the identification and analysis of the themes that make up the protagonists’ epileptic identities. The reflection of the scientific atmosphere of the 19th century in fin-de-siècle literature is visible through the methodological prism of cognitive literary historicism. The socio-cultural makeup of the epileptic self eventually seems to be captured by the narrator’s body. The narrator’s brain functions are examined using introjection, visual perception, and the most recent finding of mirror neurons, indicating the particular and subjective experience of the illness. Article visualizations: