This thesis is in two parts. Volume 1 is the novel, The Mechanics of Blind, and Volume 2 is the accompanying exegesis. Both works are examinations of the treatment of blindness in literature. Both are concerned with how a contemporary writer can build a work that references the key signifiers of the trope developed in the 5th century BC, and in doing so reflect present day life and issues.  Using elements of poetic language, The Mechanics of Blind tells the story of a contemporary woman who loses her sight when she is in her late thirties.