ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author seeks to address the issue of embodiment by excavating and criticizing the Cartesian origins of the separation and privileging of the mental over the physical and by re-evaluating the role of other, non-visual sensations. She sets out her interpretation of Merleau-Ponty's approach, before attempting to demonstrate its particular power and relevance in relation to a case study, that is, a detailed account of the particular narrative of one individual agoraphobic, Linda. The author focuses on one respondent's account of her agoraphobic experiences. She presents a more rounded account of agoraphobia, one which can integrate the various stages of the syndrome's development, from panic attack, to anxious incarceration in the home. The sufferer from agoraphobia, however, lacks the ability to assert their own subjective spatiality in the face of the spaces of others. When subjected to high degrees of sensory stimulation, sufferers feel 'trapped'.
