1995/09/01 by Alison Winter · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Psychology · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Medicine · #Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes #Historical Psychiatry and Medical Practices #Historical Economic and Social Studies #Period (music) #Perspective (graphical) #Medical illness #Variety (cybernetics) #Sociology #History #Law #Political science #Medicine #Aesthetics #Art #Visual arts #Illness behavior
paper · doi:10.1017/s0018246x00019993
openalex publication_date 1995/09/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/24
ABSTRACT This article argues that within the debates over medical reform which took place throughout the Victorian period, there flourished a variety of models of authority with respect to illness and the body. The controversies surrounding the illness and cure of the journalist, Harriet Martineau, provide a particularly useful vehicle for exploring some of these different models. During a time when many doctors were anxious to establish the medical profession as an authoritative body within British society, Martineau put forward a portrayal of invalidism that gave invalids, especially women, a degree of authority that made many medical men uneasy. By examining the question of the status of the sick individual during this period, and especially Martineau's case, historians can gain a new perspective on broader issues of reform and the status of women in Victorian society .