ASD in the Classics of English Lit
I think that in particular, the Romantic and Gothic Romantic eras features and even Idolized individuals who may have been DX'd on spectrum today. In fact, there are even a number of academic papers on the spectrum-ness of certain characters!
What chracters from English Lit do you think are on spectrum?
Savannah Nicole Logsdon-Breakstone Director of Advocacy 
Great call about Jane Eyre!
Charlotte Bronte later wrote this really weird and wonderful experimental novel called Villette, which I highly recommend. I think the AS comes out strongly there as well.
Oh yeah, and I've often wondered about Herman Melville. Interesting stories ...
And also Mrs. Dalloway's husband and daughter?
Dr. Tony Attwood, author of The Complete Guide To Asperger's Syndrome wrote a foreward in the book, So Odd a Mixture: Along the Autistic Spectrum in "Pride and Prejudice.
Dr. Attwood is quoted as saying, "Jane Austen was an astute observer of people and relationships and she describes and obviously knew people who today could have been referred to a clinician for a diagnostic assessment for Asperger's syndrome."
I love this topic.
Malvolio from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, most definitely!
Amy
I've always related well to Jane Eyre too! I love that book!
In reference to Sharon's comment about Jane Austen, I've always felt that Marianne Dashwood, and possibly also Colonel Brandon & Edward Ferrars from Sense and Sensibility are on the spectrum. Thoughts?
My Favorite of the English "Classics" is Jane Eyre (Wikipedia) by Charlotte Brontë. I've always felt a kinship with Jane, and as I learned more about the Autism Spectrum, the more I have felt that Jane was on the Spectrum.
Appearently I am not alone in this thought. “On the Spectrum”: Rereading Contact and Affect in Jane Eyre by Julia Miele Rodas was published in 19th Century Gender Studies and proposes that Jane is on spectrum; Cathrine Bristow says that Jane Eyre is a good read but doesn't offer practical advice for women on spectrum; And some High school classes even reccomend Jane Eyre as a companion reading to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon.
I personally feel it is one of the fullest stories about the life of a young woman on spectrum. The scenes from her early childhood describe Meltdowns, and obsession with travelogues, some sensory issues, and even her Aunt's feelings of being alienated by the strange little girl thrust into her care are things young girls on spectrum experience regularly today. Her Bluntness- from childhood through her adult life- will be familiar to both those on spectrum, and those who know someone on spectrum. Even her difficulties making friends- and extreme attachment to the one childhood friend she has- will be familiar.
I also think that It is important to keep this all in mind in reviewing her adult relationships. Her adherence to her personal ideas of what is right and wrong even in the face of a society that would expect otherwise, and her at times black and white thinking leads her to do things that that same society would never have guessed. It also gives her unique perspective on the interactions of those around her, allowing her to give an assessment of society that is more to the point than any of her peers would ever dare be.
A comparison of her Aunt to the parents who are unable to accept their child's spectrum-ness rings true, and from her mouth we get a perspective that is all too familiar even today.
Never read Jane Eyre, but want to? You can pick up a copy most anywhere, or you can even read the entire book on Google Books (see the link to Jane Eyre Above). I re-read it every year- and why not? It is a story about a woman not unlike myself, and has a happy ending that is none the less in line with her reality.
Savannah Nicole Logsdon-Breakstone Director of Advocacy