Self-destructive desires and the supernatural in early modern Britain

本研究将探讨近代早期英国的超自然经验与自杀和自残冲动的表达之间的联系，这些目的是由1563年和1735年的巫术法规所规定的。在这种情况下，超自然是指信仰文化的方面，这是不是日常或'通常'，包括痛苦的人，如巫婆，鬼，恶魔和仙女。通过超自然的透镜来审视自杀和自残，为这些主题的历史提供了重要的新视角，挑战了早期的研究，这些研究含蓄地传达了自杀冲动最终导致自杀的决定论观点。一个人经历自杀和自我伤害冲动的叙述被认为是生存，并在许多情况下恢复，允许对文化态度进行批判性的重新评估。我的项目将调查文化机制，通过这些机制，早期现代人可以表达，理解和参与自杀和自残的感觉。在这个过程中，它试图作出重大贡献的历史自杀和心理健康更广泛，主题的持续相关性，以现代社会。

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.