Self-destructive desires and the supernatural in early modern Britain

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This study will examine the connections between supernatural experiences and expressions of suicidaland self-harming urges in early modern Britain, framed for these purposes by the witchcraft statutes of1563 and 1735. In this context, the supernatural refers to aspects of faith culture which are not everydayor 'usual', encompassing affliction by such beings as witches, ghosts, demons, and fairies. Examiningsuicide and self-harm through the lens of the supernatural offers important new perspectives on thehistory of these topics, challenging earlier studies which implicitly convey the deterministic view thatsuicidal urges lead ultimately to suicide. Narratives in which an individual experiencing suicidal and self-harming urges is seen to survive, and in many cases recover, allow a critical re-evaluation of culturalattitudes. My project will investigate the cultural mechanisms through which early modern individualscould express, understand, and engage with feelings of suicide and self-harm. In the process, it seeks tomake a significant contribution to histories of suicide and mental health more broadly, themes ofcontinuing relevance to modern society.