Holy Anorexia by Rudolph M. Bell (English) Paperback Book

Description: Holy Anorexia by Rudolph M. Bell An account which compares the contemporary anorexic teenager, counting every calorie in her single-minded pursuit of thinness, and the ascetic medieval saint, examining her every desire. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description Is there a resemblance between the contemporary anorexic teenager counting every calorie in her single-minded pursuit of thinness, and an ascetic medieval saint examining her every desire? Rudolph M. Bell suggests that the answer is yes."Everyone interested in anorexia nervosa . . . should skim this book or study it. It will make you realize how dependent upon culture the definition of disease is. I will never look at an anorexic patient in the same way again."—Howard Spiro, M.D., Gastroenterology"[This] book is a first-class social history and is well-documented both in its historical and scientific portions."—Vern L. Bullough, American Historical Review"A significant contribution to revisionist history, which re-examines events in light of feminist thought. . . . Bell is particularly skillful in describing behavior within its time and culture, which would be bizarre by todays norms, without reducing it to the pathological."—Mary Lassance Parthun, Toronto Globe and Mail"Bell is both enlightened and convincing. His book is impressively researched, easy to read, and utterly fascinating."—Sheila MacLeod, New Statesman Author Biography Rudolph M. Bell, professor of history at Rutgers University, is the author of a number of books in Italian history, among them Fate and Honor, Family and Village: Demographic and Cultural Change in Rural Italy Since 1800, Holy Anorexia, How to Do It: Guides to Good Living for Renaissance Italians, and The Voices of Gemma Galgani: The Life and Afterlife of a Modern Saint (with Cristina Mazzoni), all published by the University of Chicago Press. Table of Contents Preface 1. Recognition and Treatment 2. I, Catherine 3. The Cloister 4. Wives and Mothers 5. Historical Dimensions: Ascent 6. Historical Dimensions: Decline Epilogue Notes Bibliography Sources for Figures Index Kirkus US Review A brilliant, disturbing study of anorexic behavior amongst medieval Italian female saints. According to Bell, the demon that spurs self-starvation in women is an ever-elusive ideal: in modern America, "bodily health, thinness, and self-control"; in medieval Christendom, "spiritual health, fasting, and self-denial." In both cases, anorexia represents a womans "war against bodily urges" in a search for autonomy from a suffocating, male-dominated society. Among Italian women saints, 50 percent of whom were anorexic, this rebellion struck at the "patriarchy that attempts to impose itself between the holy anorexic and her God." While holy anorexia did little to weaken the patriarchy, it did create a new model of holiness - the ascetic female of absolute self-sacrifice and willpower - an image finally replaced centuries later by the ideal of female saint as do-gooder (Mother Teresa). Bells psychoanalytical approach, which often pinpoints the partial source of "saintly" behavior in childhood traumas, and consequently threatens to undermine conventional ideas of spiritual development, will bother many readers. He builds his case carefully, however, with a abundance of historical documentation. Still more disquieting are some of his anecdotes about popular saints. St. Catherine of Siena, we learn, flogged herself with an iron chain until blood poured from her body; St. Veronica of Guiliani couldnt keep down simple bread and water, but she avidly consumed plates of cat vomit and scoured spider-infested walls with her tongue. An unsettling epilogue by psychologist William Davis examines the implications of Bells study for modern medical treatment of anorexia nervosa. All in all, an original, controversial, superbly executed shocker in academic garb. (Kirkus Reviews) Details ISBN0226042057 Pages 255 Language English Edition 2nd ISBN-10 0226042057 ISBN-13 9780226042053 Media Book Format Paperback Illustrations Yes Year 1987 Imprint University of Chicago Press Place of Publication Chicago, IL Country of Publication United States Short Title HOLY ANOREXIA 2/E Author Rudolph M. Bell Residence US DOI 10.1604/9780226042053 UK Release Date 1987-06-15 NZ Release Date 1987-06-15 US Release Date 1987-06-15 Publisher The University of Chicago Press Publication Date 1987-06-15 DEWEY 248.47082 Audience Undergraduate AU Release Date 1987-06-14 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:133233456;

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