What is the symbolism of Joe's wheelchair in the play, A Day in the Death of Joe Egg?

Joe's manual wheelchair symbolizes her helplessness, as people with disabilities are often perceived as helpless. For Joe, a wheelchair also symbolizes her lack of control over her own body. Though it is a wheelchair, she cannot wheel it herself. Sometimes, her wheelchair provides her with physical stability. When her head is still, it is either pressed against her wheelchair tray or held in place against the back of her wheelchair by one of her parents. The frame of her wheelchair gives her increased stability during seizures, although that stability does not lessen their severity.