1927—Asthma Research Council created--”aimed to promote research into the prevalence, causes, and treatment of asthma” (Jackson 121). 

In the beginning chapters of the novel, The Flight of Gemma Hardy, Gemma’s friend Miriam suffers from asthma attacks, which eventually result in her death. According to Asthma: The Biography, asthma has been studied for centuries. In the past, many scientists and doctors believed sufferers of asthma simply needed a change in climate to help prevent attacks. Although a change helped, many people still died from the disease. After Miriam’s death, Sister Cullen mentions had Miriam “been in a sanatorium when she first developed asthma; if someone had made sure she had the best possible diet, plenty of rest, and cheerful company,” she might not have died” (Livesey 117). According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a sanatorium is “a place to which , on account of favourable climatic and other conditions, invalids resort for the improvement of their health” (sanitorium). During the 1950s, advancements were still being made in the study of asthma, and many people still believed it could be managed by moving to a warmer climate. Here, Sister Cullen also mentions if Miriam had “cheerful company,” she might have survived. Gemma tried to be this for Miriam, and in her death, Miriam’s face glowed with the friendship they shared. The same is true in Jane Eyre. Both Jane and Gemma sought to comfort their friends in death. Their kindness reveals a character trait which will continue throughout both novels—a willingness to serve others. Their willingness to do so will enhance their relationship with other characters and becoming a driving force in their decisions. Jane Eyre, for example, is willing to serve others in her position as governess. She is also willing to provide care for Mr. Rochester when she discovers he has been wounded in the fire at Thornfield.  

Asthma is defined as “a disease of respiration, characterized by intermittent paroxysms of difficult breathing, with a wheezing sound, a sense of constriction in the chest, cough, and expectoration” (asthma). In the novel, Miriam often has asthma attacks where she needs an inhaler to help ease her discomfort and steady her breathing. According to Asthma: The Biography, physicians and scientists have used many different remedies to treat the disease. The “first electric vacuum cleaner” was designed to help prevent asthma attacks triggered by dust (Jackson 117). Today, asthma is treated using “anti-inflammatory agents...bronchodilators...and leukotriene receptor antagonists” (asthma).  

"asthma, n." OED Online, Oxford University Press, December 2021, www.oed.com/view/Entry/12143. Accessed 14 February 2022.

"Asthma." Britannica Academic, Encyclopædia Britannica, 3 Mar. 2017. academic-eb-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/levels/collegiate/article/asthma/9973. Accessed 13 Feb. 2022.

asthma . image. Britannica Academic, Encyclopædia Britannica, 13 Nov. 2021. academic-eb-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/levels/collegiate/assembly/view/59903. Accessed 13 Feb. 2022.

Jackson, Mark. Asthma: the Biography : The Biography, Oxford University Press USA - OSO, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/coastal/detail.action?docID=472302.

Livesey, Margot. The Flight of Gemma Hardy. New York, HarperCollins Publishers, 2012.

"sanatorium, n." OED Online, Oxford University Press, December 2021, www.oed.com/view/Entry/170455. Accessed 14 February 2022.