近代早期英国社会对“歇斯底里”的认知

The Recognition of“Hysteria”in Early Modern England

自古希腊至17世纪,由于歇斯底里症状被认为与子宫相关,所以一直被认为是女性特有的疾病。近代早期的英国,歇斯底里与巫术交织在一起。1602年清教徒之家女孩玛丽·格洛弗出现歇斯底里的症状,其邻居伊丽莎白·杰克逊被指控对其施巫术。案件的结果虽然是伊丽莎白被判巫术罪,但以爱德华·乔登为代表的医生认为歇斯底里的症状是疾病导致,并不是恶魔附体。由之可见,近代早期英国社会对歇斯底里的认知仍旧处于从恶魔附体到身体疾病的过渡时期,歇斯底里尚未成为单独分类的疾病,但医生试图将歇斯底里的解释医学化,把它从超自然主义中剥离出来。

From Ancient Greece to the 17 th century, hysteria was thought to be associated with the womb, so it had been considered as a disease specific to women. In early modern England, hysteria was intertwined with witchcraft. In 1602, the puritan family girl Mary Gloves appeared to have hysteric symptoms, and her neighbor, Elizabeth Jackson, was accused of witchcraft. Although the result of the case was that Elizabeth was convicted of witchcraft, doctors represented by Edward Jorden believed that the hysteria symptoms were caused by disease and were not demonic possession. From this case we can draw a conclusion that, in early modern England the recognition of hysteria was still in the transition period from demonic possession to physical disease. Hysteria had not yet become a separate category of diseases, and doctors had been trying to medicalize it and peeling off its coat of supernaturalism.