logo

58 pages 1 hour read

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 1997

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapter 1Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 1 Summary: “The Wheelchair”

Bauby opens this chapter by recounting the day that his wheelchair arrived in his hospital room. On that day, a bevy of white-coated medical staff, including nurses, orderlies, a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, a psychologist, a neurologist, interns, and even the department head arrive in his room for the unveiling of the chair. Bauby, however, confesses that he could not make the connection between the wheelchair and himself, and instead thought that he was being ejected from his room to make room for another patient. Because no one had yet clearly articulated his situation to him, he had clung to the belief that he would soon very quickly recover his ability to move and speak.Rather than thinking about such a thing as a wheelchair, his mind was occupied with “a thousand projects: a novel, travel, a play, marketing a fruit cocktail of [his] own invention” (8).

On this day, the members of the medical staff dress him by painfully manipulating his limbs into clothing. Two attendants then lift him from the bed by his shoulders and feet, and dump him “unceremoniously into the wheelchair” (8). It is through these occurrences that Bauby realizes that he has crossed the threshold into being a full-fledged quadriplegic, rather than merely a patient with an uncertain prognosis.

blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
Unlock IconUnlock all 58 pages of this Study Guide

Plus, gain access to 8,500+ more expert-written Study Guides.

Including features:

+ Mobile App
+ Printable PDF
+ Literary AI Tools