Doctors and Medical Practices in Ann Radcliffe’s The Romance of the Forest

Medical practice and the Gothic imagination within the context of medicine and literature in the late eighteenth century present fruitful intersections that have only recently been investigated, since they both transgress and test the limits of human knowledge. As a major representative of Gothic fi...

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Main Author: Serena Baiesi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Firenze University Press 2025-04-01
Series:Lea
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Online Access:https://oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/bsfm-lea/article/view/16027
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author Serena Baiesi
author_facet Serena Baiesi
author_sort Serena Baiesi
collection DOAJ
description Medical practice and the Gothic imagination within the context of medicine and literature in the late eighteenth century present fruitful intersections that have only recently been investigated, since they both transgress and test the limits of human knowledge. As a major representative of Gothic fiction, Ann Radcliffe frequently includes surgeons and physicians in her romances, who experiment with several methods of alleviating and curing mental as well as bodily diseases. Even though their marginal role in Radcliffe’s works is often overlooked by critical studies, this article offers a new and original enquiry on the dynamics of injuries, the methods of cure and the relationship between patients and doctors that Radcliffe employs in The Romance of the Forest (1791) in order to challenge traditional interpretations of Gothic medical issues as well as gender roles.
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spelling doaj-art-c84d58b45dee413a81d041b6d98e16352025-08-20T02:11:29ZengFirenze University PressLea1824-484X2025-04-017273810.36253/lea-1824-484x-1602714864Doctors and Medical Practices in Ann Radcliffe’s The Romance of the ForestSerena Baiesi0Università di BolognaMedical practice and the Gothic imagination within the context of medicine and literature in the late eighteenth century present fruitful intersections that have only recently been investigated, since they both transgress and test the limits of human knowledge. As a major representative of Gothic fiction, Ann Radcliffe frequently includes surgeons and physicians in her romances, who experiment with several methods of alleviating and curing mental as well as bodily diseases. Even though their marginal role in Radcliffe’s works is often overlooked by critical studies, this article offers a new and original enquiry on the dynamics of injuries, the methods of cure and the relationship between patients and doctors that Radcliffe employs in The Romance of the Forest (1791) in order to challenge traditional interpretations of Gothic medical issues as well as gender roles.https://oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/bsfm-lea/article/view/16027ann radcliffedoctorsgothicillnessthe romance of the forest
spellingShingle Serena Baiesi
Doctors and Medical Practices in Ann Radcliffe’s The Romance of the Forest
Lea
ann radcliffe
doctors
gothic
illness
the romance of the forest
title Doctors and Medical Practices in Ann Radcliffe’s The Romance of the Forest
title_full Doctors and Medical Practices in Ann Radcliffe’s The Romance of the Forest
title_fullStr Doctors and Medical Practices in Ann Radcliffe’s The Romance of the Forest
title_full_unstemmed Doctors and Medical Practices in Ann Radcliffe’s The Romance of the Forest
title_short Doctors and Medical Practices in Ann Radcliffe’s The Romance of the Forest
title_sort doctors and medical practices in ann radcliffe s the romance of the forest
topic ann radcliffe
doctors
gothic
illness
the romance of the forest
url https://oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/bsfm-lea/article/view/16027
work_keys_str_mv AT serenabaiesi doctorsandmedicalpracticesinannradcliffestheromanceoftheforest