In early modern Europe, syphilis tormented individuals regardless of social standing. The various stages of infection rendered individuals with visible chancres or “pocky” marks throughout their body. The tertiary stage signaled the spreading of the disease from the infected parts into the brain and cardiovascular system, eventually leading to dementia and a painful death. Beginning with the initial medical responses to venereal disease in the sixteenth century and throughout the early modern period, medical practitioners attempted to identify the cause of syphilis. During the seventeenth century, English practitioners maintained that women were primarily responsible for both the creation and transmission of syphilis. In England, venereal disease became the physical manifestation of illicit sexual behavior and therefore women with syphilis demonstrated their sexual immorality. Contrastingly, French medical practitioners refrained from placing blame on women for venereal infection. The historiography of early modern discourse on venereal disease fails to account for this discrepancy between English and French perceptions of syphilis in the seventeenth century. This thesis seeks to fill the gap in this historiography and suggest why French practitioners abstained from singling out women as the primary source of venereal infection by suggesting the importance that cultural influences and religious practices had toward shaping medical perceptions. The cultural impact of the querelle des femmes and Catholic practices in France plausibly influenced the better portrayal of women within the medical treatises of seventeenth-century France when compared to Protestant England.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc407748 |
| Date | 12 1900 |
| Creators | Findlater, Michelle J. |
| Contributors | Morris, Marilyn, Stern, Laura, Roberts, Walter |
| Publisher | University of North Texas |
| Source Sets | University of North Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | Text |
| Rights | Public, Findlater, Michelle J., Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights Reserved. |
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