A woman's hell? Medical perceptions of menopause in preindustrial Europe

Bulletin of the History of Medicine

Volumn 73, Issue 3, 1999, Pages 404-428

  Stolberg, Michael ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

AGING; ARTICLE; ATTITUDE TO HEALTH; EUROPE; FEMALE; HEALTH PERSONNEL ATTITUDE; HISTORY; HUMAN; MENOPAUSE; MENSTRUATION; PHYSIOLOGY; PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT; WOMEN'S HEALTH;

AGING; ATTITUDE OF HEALTH PERSONNEL; ATTITUDE TO HEALTH; EUROPE; FEMALE; HISTORY, 16TH CENTURY; HISTORY, 17TH CENTURY; HISTORY, 18TH CENTURY; HUMANS; MENOPAUSE; MENSTRUATION; WOMEN'S HEALTH;

EID: 0033195184     PISSN: 00075140     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1353/bhm.1999.0139     Document Type: Article

References (215)

1. John Fothergill, "Of the Management Proper at the Cessation of the Menses," Med. Observ. Inquiries, 1774, 5: 160-86; quotation on p. 160.
2. E.g., Susan E. Bell, "Changing Ideas: The Medicalization of Menopause," in The Meanings of Menopause: Historical, Medical, and Clinical Perspectives, ed. Ruth Formanek (Hillsdale, N.J.: Analytic Press, 1990), pp. 43-63; Sandra Coney, The Menopause Industry: A Guide to Medicine's "Discovery" of the Mid-Life Woman (London: Women's Press, 1995).
3. E.g., Susan E. Bell, "Changing Ideas: The Medicalization of Menopause," in The Meanings of Menopause: Historical, Medical, and Clinical Perspectives, ed. Ruth Formanek (Hillsdale, N.J.: Analytic Press, 1990), pp. 43-63; Sandra Coney, The Menopause Industry: A Guide to Medicine's "Discovery" of the Mid-Life Woman (London: Women's Press, 1995).
4. Margaret Lock, Encounters with Aging: Mythologies of Menopause in Japan and North America (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993), pp. 33-34. See also Yewoubdar Beyene, "Cultural Significance and Physiological Manifestations of Menopause: A Biocultural Analysis," Cult. Med. Psychiatry, 1986, 10: 47-71; and the various anthropological contributions in The Climacteric in Perspective, ed. Morris Notelovitz and Pieter van Keep (Lancaster: MTP Press, 1986).
5. Margaret Lock, Encounters with Aging: Mythologies of Menopause in Japan and North America (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993), pp. 33-34. See also Yewoubdar Beyene, "Cultural Significance and Physiological Manifestations of Menopause: A Biocultural Analysis," Cult. Med. Psychiatry, 1986, 10: 47-71; and the various anthropological contributions in The Climacteric in Perspective, ed. Morris Notelovitz and Pieter van Keep (Lancaster: MTP Press, 1986).
6. Margaret Lock, Encounters with Aging: Mythologies of Menopause in Japan and North America (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993), pp. 33-34. See also Yewoubdar Beyene, "Cultural Significance and Physiological Manifestations of Menopause: A Biocultural Analysis," Cult. Med. Psychiatry, 1986, 10: 47-71; and the various anthropological contributions in The Climacteric in Perspective, ed. Morris Notelovitz and Pieter van Keep (Lancaster: MTP Press, 1986).
7. Joel Wilbush, "Climacteric Disorders - Historical Perspectives," in The Menopause, ed. John W. W. Studd and Malcolm I. Whitehead (Oxford: Blackwell, 1988), pp. 1-14; quotation on p. 2.
8. Patricia Crawford, "Attitudes to Menstruation in Seventeenth-Century England," Past Pres., 1981, 91: 47-73; quotation on p. 71.
9. Ruth Formanek, "Continuity and Change and 'the Change of Life': Premodern Views of the Menopause," in Formanek, Meanings of Menopause (n. 2), pp. 3-41; quotation on p. 8.
10. The first statistical studies in early-nineteenth-century France and England quite consistently found an average age of around forty-five years at the last period: Alexandre J. F. Brierre de Boismont, De la menstruation, considérée dans ses rapports physiologiques et pathologiques (Paris, 1842), p. 209; Edward Tilt, The Change of Life in Health and Disease, 2d ed. (London, 1857), p. 16.
11. The first statistical studies in early-nineteenth-century France and England quite consistently found an average age of around forty-five years at the last period: Alexandre J. F. Brierre de Boismont, De la menstruation, considérée dans ses rapports physiologiques et pathologiques (Paris, 1842), p. 209; Edward Tilt, The Change of Life in Health and Disease, 2d ed. (London, 1857), p. 16.
12. v.
13. Patrice Bourdelais, Le nouvel âge de la vieillesse: Histoire du vieillissement de la population (Paris: Jacob, 1993), p. 199.
14. The only passage that is quoted fairly frequently is Hippocratic Aphorism 6.29. It claimed that women develop podagra only when their periods disappear-without specifying, however, whether the latter was due to age or suppression. An English translator (Hippocrates, vol. 6 [London: Heinemann, 1931], p. 186) takes the passage to imply a suppression.
15. r; Jean Fernel, Universa medicina (1543; Leiden, 1645), pp. 319-21.
16. r; Jean Fernel, Universa medicina (1543; Leiden, 1645), pp. 319-21.
17. r; Jean Fernel, Universa medicina (1543; Leiden, 1645), pp. 319-21.
18. Fernel, Universa medicina (n. 11), pp. 320-21. The major source for these phenomena is Pliny's Historia naturalis, bk. 7, chap. 15.
19. Fernel, Universa medicina (n. 11), pp. 320-21. The major source for these phenomena is Pliny's Historia naturalis, bk. 7, chap. 15.
20. One of the earliest proponents was Giambattista Da Monte, "De uterinis affectibus," in idem, Opuscula uaria ac praeclara, vol. 2 (Basel, 1558), pp. 704-85, here p. 716. Similar views can already be found in ancient medicine - see, e.g., Galen, "De venae sectione adversus Erasistratum," in idem, Opera omnia, ed. and trans. Karl G. Kühn, vol. 11 (Leipzig, 1826), pp. 147-86.
21. One of the earliest proponents was Giambattista Da Monte, "De uterinis affectibus," in idem, Opuscula uaria ac praeclara, vol. 2 (Basel, 1558), pp. 704-85, here p. 716. Similar views can already be found in ancient medicine - see, e.g., Galen, "De venae sectione adversus Erasistratum," in idem, Opera omnia, ed. and trans. Karl G. Kühn, vol. 11 (Leipzig, 1826), pp. 147-86.
22. Jean Liébault, Les trois livres de la santé, foecondité, et maladies de femmes (Paris, 1582), p. 329.
23. Luis Mercado, De mulierum affectionibus libri IIII (Venice, 1587), p. 18; Jean de Varanda, Opera omnia theorica etpractica, 2d (posthumous) ed. (Montpellier: P. & J. Choet, 1620), pp. 273-74; Daniel Sennert, Practica medicina, bk. 4: De mulierum et infantium morbis ac symptomatibus, 2d ed. (Wittenberg, 1649), pp. 130-31.
24. Luis Mercado, De mulierum affectionibus libri IIII (Venice, 1587), p. 18; Jean de Varanda, Opera omnia theorica etpractica, 2d (posthumous) ed. (Montpellier: P. & J. Choet, 1620), pp. 273-74; Daniel Sennert, Practica medicina, bk. 4: De mulierum et infantium morbis ac symptomatibus, 2d ed. (Wittenberg, 1649), pp. 130-31.
25. Luis Mercado, De mulierum affectionibus libri IIII (Venice, 1587), p. 18; Jean de Varanda, Opera omnia theorica etpractica, 2d (posthumous) ed. (Montpellier: P. & J. Choet, 1620), pp. 273-74; Daniel Sennert, Practica medicina, bk. 4: De mulierum et infantium morbis ac symptomatibus, 2d ed. (Wittenberg, 1649), pp. 130-31.
26. E.g., Pieter van Foreest, Observationum et curationum medicinalium liber vigesimus octavus, de mulierum morbis (Leiden, 1600), p. 11.
27. Rare exceptions are Mercado, De mulierum affectionibus (n. 15), p. 11; and John Freind, Emmenologia (London, 1729), p. 61 (1st Latin ed. 1703).
28. Rare exceptions are Mercado, De mulierum affectionibus (n. 15), p. 11; and John Freind, Emmenologia (London, 1729), p. 61 (1st Latin ed. 1703).
29. Liébault, Trois livres (n. 14), p. 321.
30. Thomas B. Bertrand, Quaestio medica... An catamenia a plethora? prop. A. Delaleu (Paris, 1711), p. 5.
31. [Jean Goulin and Anselme L. B. Bréchillet Jourdain], Le médecin des dames, ou l'art de les conserver en santé (Paris, 1771), pp. 107-8.
32. Friedrich Hoffmann, Medicina rationalis (Frankfurt, 1738), p. 230; Robert James, A Medicinal Dictionary, vol. 2 (London, 1745), s.v. "menses"; Chr. A. F. Heumann, Dissertatio medica solemnis de cessante, ob aetatem, mensium fluxu et morbis inde oriundis (Helmstädt, 1776), pp. xxvii-xxix; Nicolas Chambon de Montaux, Des maladies des femmes, vol. 2 (Paris, 1784), pp. 184-95.
33. Friedrich Hoffmann, Medicina rationalis (Frankfurt, 1738), p. 230; Robert James, A Medicinal Dictionary, vol. 2 (London, 1745), s.v. "menses"; Chr. A. F. Heumann, Dissertatio medica solemnis de cessante, ob aetatem, mensium fluxu et morbis inde oriundis (Helmstädt, 1776), pp. xxvii-xxix; Nicolas Chambon de Montaux, Des maladies des femmes, vol. 2 (Paris, 1784), pp. 184-95.
34. Friedrich Hoffmann, Medicina rationalis (Frankfurt, 1738), p. 230; Robert James, A Medicinal Dictionary, vol. 2 (London, 1745), s.v. "menses"; Chr. A. F. Heumann, Dissertatio medica solemnis de cessante, ob aetatem, mensium fluxu et morbis inde oriundis (Helmstädt, 1776), pp. xxvii-xxix; Nicolas Chambon de Montaux, Des maladies des femmes, vol. 2 (Paris, 1784), pp. 184-95.
35. Friedrich Hoffmann, Medicina rationalis (Frankfurt, 1738), p. 230; Robert James, A Medicinal Dictionary, vol. 2 (London, 1745), s.v. "menses"; Chr. A. F. Heumann, Dissertatio medica solemnis de cessante, ob aetatem, mensium fluxu et morbis inde oriundis (Helmstädt, 1776), pp. xxvii-xxix; Nicolas Chambon de Montaux, Des maladies des femmes, vol. 2 (Paris, 1784), pp. 184-95.
36. See Michael Stolberg, "The Monthly Malady: A History of Premenstrual Afflictions," Med. Hist., 2000, 44, forthcoming.
37. Liébault, Trois livres (n. 14), p. 332. Liébault's work was clearly inspired by Marinello, Le medicine (n. 8), but it does not offer as literal a rendering as some scholars have assumed.
38. James Primrose, De mulierum morbis et symptomalis libri quinque (London, 1655), p. 4.
39. Felix Platter, in the seventeenth century, therefore felt compelled to explain why God had ordained a natural cessation of the periods with age in the first place. God, he concluded with a surprisingly "modern" twist, wanted woman to be fertile for only a limited part of her life, because otherwise mankind would grow to such numbers that not even the whole earth would be able to nourish all: see Felix Platter, Quaestionum medicarum paradoxarum et endoxarum, juxtapartes medicinae dispositarum centuria posthuma (Basel, 1656), pp. 74-76.
40. Nicolas Puzos, Traité des accouchmens, (posthumous) ed. M. Deslandes (Paris, 1759), p. 47; Franz A. Mai, Fata ac incommoda ex menstruis naturae lege landem cessantibus oriunda, prop. Fr. J. Vanderlinde (Heidelberg, 1789), p. 7 (Mai's authorship is evident from the text).
41. Nicolas Puzos, Traité des accouchmens, (posthumous) ed. M. Deslandes (Paris, 1759), p. 47; Franz A. Mai, Fata ac incommoda ex menstruis naturae lege landem cessantibus oriunda, prop. Fr. J. Vanderlinde (Heidelberg, 1789), p. 7 (Mai's authorship is evident from the text).
42. James, Medicinal Dictionary (n. 21), s.v. "menses"; John Leake, Medical Instructions Towards the Prevention, and Cure of Chronic Diseases Peculiar to Women, 4th ed. (London, 1777), p. 94; Mai, Fata (n. 26), pp. 6-11.
43. James, Medicinal Dictionary (n. 21), s.v. "menses"; John Leake, Medical Instructions Towards the Prevention, and Cure of Chronic Diseases Peculiar to Women, 4th ed. (London, 1777), p. 94; Mai, Fata (n. 26), pp. 6-11.
44. James, Medicinal Dictionary (n. 21), s.v. "menses"; John Leake, Medical Instructions Towards the Prevention, and Cure of Chronic Diseases Peculiar to Women, 4th ed. (London, 1777), p. 94; Mai, Fata (n. 26), pp. 6-11.
45. John Bond, An Essay on the Incubus, or Nightmare (London, 1753), p. 50.
46. Leake, Medical Instructions (n. 27), p. 87. See also Puzos, Traité (n. 26), p. 47; Bond, Essay (n. 28), p. 50; Johannes C. Buhl, Dissertatio medica inauguralis de praeservatione morborum postplenariam mensium cessationem (Leiden, 1722), p. 15.
47. Leake, Medical Instructions (n. 27), p. 87. See also Puzos, Traité (n. 26), p. 47; Bond, Essay (n. 28), p. 50; Johannes C. Buhl, Dissertatio medica inauguralis de praeservatione morborum postplenariam mensium cessationem (Leiden, 1722), p. 15.
48. Leake, Medical Instructions (n. 27), p. 87. See also Puzos, Traité (n. 26), p. 47; Bond, Essay (n. 28), p. 50; Johannes C. Buhl, Dissertatio medica inauguralis de praeservatione morborum postplenariam mensium cessationem (Leiden, 1722), p. 15.
49. Leake, Medical Instructions (n. 27), p. 87. See also Puzos, Traité (n. 26), p. 47; Bond, Essay (n. 28), p. 50; Johannes C. Buhl, Dissertatio medica inauguralis de praeservatione morborum postplenariam mensium cessationem (Leiden, 1722), p. 15.
50. Carlo Musitano, De morbis mulierum tractatus (Coligny, 1709), p. 52. The fermentation was thought to be effected either by the impurities themselves or by a specific ferment.
51. Daniel Duncan, Seconde partie de la chymie naturelle, ou l'explication chymiijueet méchanique de l'évacuation particulière aux femmes (Paris, 1687), pp. 165-90; quotation on p. 182.
52. This is described similarly by Martin Lister in Dissertatio de humoribus (London, 1709), p. 422.
53. Duncan, Chymie naturelle (n. 31), p. 174.
54. Ibid., p. 172.
55. Ibid., p. 183.
56. Simon D. Titius, Define mensium initiis morborum variorum opportune (Halle, 1710).
57. Buhl, De praeservatione (n. 29); Heumann, De cessante (n. 21); Mai, Fata (n. 26). (I have not seen Johann L. Regemann, De morbis ex menstruis per aetatem cessantibus [Leiden, 1737].)
58. Buhl, De praeservatione (n. 29); Heumann, De cessante (n. 21); Mai, Fata (n. 26). (I have not seen Johann L. Regemann, De morbis ex menstruis per aetatem cessantibus [Leiden, 1737].)
59. Buhl, De praeservatione (n. 29); Heumann, De cessante (n. 21); Mai, Fata (n. 26). (I have not seen Johann L. Regemann, De morbis ex menstruis per aetatem cessantibus [Leiden, 1737].)
60. Buhl, De praeservatione (n. 29); Heumann, De cessante (n. 21); Mai, Fata (n. 26). (I have not seen Johann L. Regemann, De morbis ex menstruis per aetatem cessantibus [Leiden, 1737].)
61. Georg E. Stahl, Observationes clinico-practicae, 3d ed. (Leipzig, 1726), pp. 49-52; Jean Astruc, Traité des maladies des femmes, vol. 2 (Lyon, 1765), pp. 169-95; Chambon de Montaux, Maladies des femmes (n. 21), pp. 184-519. See also Nicolas Chambon de Montaux, Des maladies des femmes, 2d ed. (Paris, 1799), which devoted a whole volume to the "Maladies chroniques à la cessation des règles."
62. Georg E. Stahl, Observationes clinico-practicae, 3d ed. (Leipzig, 1726), pp. 49-52; Jean Astruc, Traité des maladies des femmes, vol. 2 (Lyon, 1765), pp. 169-95; Chambon de Montaux, Maladies des femmes (n. 21), pp. 184-519. See also Nicolas Chambon de Montaux, Des maladies des femmes, 2d ed. (Paris, 1799), which devoted a whole volume to the "Maladies chroniques à la cessation des règles."
63. Georg E. Stahl, Observationes clinico-practicae, 3d ed. (Leipzig, 1726), pp. 49-52; Jean Astruc, Traité des maladies des femmes, vol. 2 (Lyon, 1765), pp. 169-95; Chambon de Montaux, Maladies des femmes (n. 21), pp. 184-519. See also Nicolas Chambon de Montaux, Des maladies des femmes, 2d ed. (Paris, 1799), which devoted a whole volume to the "Maladies chroniques à la cessation des règles."
64. Georg E. Stahl, Observationes clinico-practicae, 3d ed. (Leipzig, 1726), pp. 49-52; Jean Astruc, Traité des maladies des femmes, vol. 2 (Lyon, 1765), pp. 169-95; Chambon de Montaux, Maladies des femmes (n. 21), pp. 184-519. See also Nicolas Chambon de Montaux, Des maladies des femmes, 2d ed. (Paris, 1799), which devoted a whole volume to the "Maladies chroniques à la cessation des règles."
65. E.g.,JohannStorch, Von Weiber-Kranckheiten, vol. 8 (Gotha, 1753), pp. 52-60, 167-77, 426, whose menopause-related cases range from hysteria to uterine cancer; Herman Boerhaave, Medical Correspondence (London, 1745), p. 196.
66. E.g.,JohannStorch, Von Weiber-Kranckheiten, vol. 8 (Gotha, 1753), pp. 52-60, 167-77, 426, whose menopause-related cases range from hysteria to uterine cancer; Herman Boerhaave, Medical Correspondence (London, 1745), p. 196.
67. Tilt, Change of Life (n. 7), p. 2.
68. Fothergill, "Management" (n. 1), transl. as John Fothergill, Conseils pour les femmes de quarante-cinq ans, ou conduite à tenir lors de la cessation des règles (London, 1788; 2d ed.: Paris, an VIII; 3d ed.: Paris, 1812).
69. Jean-Baptiste CI. Jeannet de Longrois, Conseils aux femmes de quarante ans (1779; Paris, 1787); C[onstant] S[aucerotte], Nouveaux conseils aux femmes surl'âge prétendu critique, ou conduite à tenir lors de la cessation des règles (Paris, 1828) (this work is signed "C. S.," but the 2d ed. [Paris, 1829] carries Saucerotte's full name); Sébastien Guyétant, L'âge de retour et la vieillesse: conseils aux gens du monde, qui ont passé l'âge de quarante-cinq ans (Paris, 1836).
70. Jean-Baptiste CI. Jeannet de Longrois, Conseils aux femmes de quarante ans (1779; Paris, 1787); C[onstant] S[aucerotte], Nouveaux conseils aux femmes surl'âge prétendu critique, ou conduite à tenir lors de la cessation des règles (Paris, 1828) (this work is signed "C. S.," but the 2d ed. [Paris, 1829] carries Saucerotte's full name); Sébastien Guyétant, L'âge de retour et la vieillesse: conseils aux gens du monde, qui ont passé l'âge de quarante-cinq ans (Paris, 1836).
71. Jean-Baptiste CI. Jeannet de Longrois, Conseils aux femmes de quarante ans (1779; Paris, 1787); C[onstant] S[aucerotte], Nouveaux conseils aux femmes surl'âge prétendu critique, ou conduite à tenir lors de la cessation des règles (Paris, 1828) (this work is signed "C. S.," but the 2d ed. [Paris, 1829] carries Saucerotte's full name); Sébastien Guyétant, L'âge de retour et la vieillesse: conseils aux gens du monde, qui ont passé l'âge de quarante-cinq ans (Paris, 1836).
72. Albert Assegond, De la femme considérée à l'âge critique (Paris, 1821), e.g., is in large parts almost a copy of P. Armand, Considérations sur l'âge critique des femmes, et sur les moyens de prévenir les maladies qui peuvent survenir à cette période de la vie (Paris, 1820).
73. Albert Assegond, De la femme considérée à l'âge critique (Paris, 1821), e.g., is in large parts almost a copy of P. Armand, Considérations sur l'âge critique des femmes, et sur les moyens de prévenir les maladies qui peuvent survenir à cette période de la vie (Paris, 1820).
74. Charles P. L. de Gardanne, Dissertation sur les avis à donner aux femmes qui entrent dans l'âge critique (Paris, 1812). The term "ménopause" first appears in Gardanne's De la ménopause, ou de l'âge critique des femmes (Paris, 1821), which is the 2d ed. of his Avis aux femmes qui entrent dans l'âge critique (Paris, 1816). See also Joel Wilbush, "La Ménèspausie - the Birth of a Syndrome," Maturitas, 1979, 1: 145-51.
75. Charles P. L. de Gardanne, Dissertation sur les avis à donner aux femmes qui entrent dans l'âge critique (Paris, 1812). The term "ménopause" first appears in Gardanne's De la ménopause, ou de l'âge critique des femmes (Paris, 1821), which is the 2d ed. of his Avis aux femmes qui entrent dans l'âge critique (Paris, 1816). See also Joel Wilbush, "La Ménèspausie - the Birth of a Syndrome," Maturitas, 1979, 1: 145-51.
76. Charles P. L. de Gardanne, Dissertation sur les avis à donner aux femmes qui entrent dans l'âge critique (Paris, 1812). The term "ménopause" first appears in Gardanne's De la ménopause, ou de l'âge critique des femmes (Paris, 1821), which is the 2d ed. of his Avis aux femmes qui entrent dans l'âge critique (Paris, 1816). See also Joel Wilbush, "La Ménèspausie - the Birth of a Syndrome," Maturitas, 1979, 1: 145-51.
77. Charles P. L. de Gardanne, Dissertation sur les avis à donner aux femmes qui entrent dans l'âge critique (Paris, 1812). The term "ménopause" first appears in Gardanne's De la ménopause, ou de l'âge critique des femmes (Paris, 1821), which is the 2d ed. of his Avis aux femmes qui entrent dans l'âge critique (Paris, 1816). See also Joel Wilbush, "La Ménèspausie - the Birth of a Syndrome," Maturitas, 1979, 1: 145-51.
78. Joel Wilbush, in "Menorrhagia and Menopause: A Historical Review," Maturitas, 1988, 10: 5-26, and "Menopause and Menorrhagia: A Historical Exploration," ibid., pp. 83-108, takes the mounting medical interest in menopausal disorders as indicating an objectively higher frequency - in particular, of excessive menstrual bleeding, which, he asserts, then "almost always" heralded menopause (p. 83). But, apart from the fact that medical interest in a specific condition is a poor measure of its prevalence - there was, for example, a vogue of medical writing on "lycanthropy" in the seventeenth century - the works he quotes hardly support his claim. I remain even more perplexed by Wilbush's attempt to locate the causes of the allegedly higher prevalence of menopausal disorders and excessive bleeding in the stresses of postrevolutionary female life, in the spread of venereal diseases caused by sexual promiscuity, and, taking the physicians' routine denunciation of folk remedies and specifics at face value, in the real iatrogenic effects of popular means of prophylaxis and treatment.
79. Joel Wilbush, in "Menorrhagia and Menopause: A Historical Review," Maturitas, 1988, 10: 5-26, and "Menopause and Menorrhagia: A Historical Exploration," ibid., pp. 83-108, takes the mounting medical interest in menopausal disorders as indicating an objectively higher frequency - in particular, of excessive menstrual bleeding, which, he asserts, then "almost always" heralded menopause (p. 83). But, apart from the fact that medical interest in a specific condition is a poor measure of its prevalence - there was, for example, a vogue of medical writing on "lycanthropy" in the seventeenth century - the works he quotes hardly support his claim. I remain even more perplexed by Wilbush's attempt to locate the causes of the allegedly higher prevalence of menopausal disorders and excessive bleeding in the stresses of postrevolutionary female life, in the spread of venereal diseases caused by sexual promiscuity, and, taking the physicians' routine denunciation of folk remedies and specifics at face value, in the real iatrogenic effects of popular means of prophylaxis and treatment.
80. The classic text is Georg Ernst Stahl, De morborum aetatum fundamentis pathologicotherapeuticis, exp. Johann Daniel Gohl (Halle, 1698); but see also a work by Stahl's major opponent: Friedrich Hoffmann, "De aetatis mutatione morborum causa et remedio," in idem, Opuscula pathologico-practica seu dissertationes selectiores (Halle, 1738), pp. 1-24.
81. The classic text is Georg Ernst Stahl, De morborum aetatum fundamentis pathologicotherapeuticis, exp. Johann Daniel Gohl (Halle, 1698); but see also a work by Stahl's major opponent: Friedrich Hoffmann, "De aetatis mutatione morborum causa et remedio," in idem, Opuscula pathologico-practica seu dissertationes selectiores (Halle, 1738), pp. 1-24.
82. Particularly extensive descriptions can be found in Claude A. Goubelly, Connaissances nécessaires sur la grossesse, sur les maladies laiteuses et sur la cessation du flux menstruel, vulgairement appelé temps critique, vol. 2 (Paris, 1785), pp. 262-74; Philippe Pinel, Nosographie philosophique, ou la méthode de l'analyse appliquée à la médecine, vol. 1 (Paris, an VII [1798]), pp. 285-90; Brierre de Boismont, De la menstruation (n. 7), pp. 221-39.
83. Particularly extensive descriptions can be found in Claude A. Goubelly, Connaissances nécessaires sur la grossesse, sur les maladies laiteuses et sur la cessation du flux menstruel, vulgairement appelé temps critique, vol. 2 (Paris, 1785), pp. 262-74; Philippe Pinel, Nosographie philosophique, ou la méthode de l'analyse appliquée à la médecine, vol. 1 (Paris, an VII [1798]), pp. 285-90; Brierre de Boismont, De la menstruation (n. 7), pp. 221-39.
84. Particularly extensive descriptions can be found in Claude A. Goubelly, Connaissances nécessaires sur la grossesse, sur les maladies laiteuses et sur la cessation du flux menstruel, vulgairement appelé temps critique, vol. 2 (Paris, 1785), pp. 262-74; Philippe Pinel, Nosographie philosophique, ou la méthode de l'analyse appliquée à la médecine, vol. 1 (Paris, an VII [1798]), pp. 285-90; Brierre de Boismont, De la menstruation (n. 7), pp. 221-39.
85. Goubelly, Connoissances (n. 47), pp. 362-63.
86. Some nineteenth-century alienists added mania and mental derangement (e.g., J. Étienne D. Esquirol, Des maladies mentales considérées sous les rapports médical, hygiénique et médico-légal, vol. 2 [Paris, 1838], p. 140), but this view was not generally accepted: see Henri Dagonet, Traité des maladies mentales (Paris, 1894), p. 116.
87. Some nineteenth-century alienists added mania and mental derangement (e.g., J. Étienne D. Esquirol, Des maladies mentales considérées sous les rapports médical, hygiénique et médico-légal, vol. 2 [Paris, 1838], p. 140), but this view was not generally accepted: see Henri Dagonet, Traité des maladies mentales (Paris, 1894), p. 116.
88. Goubelly, Connoissances (n. 47), p. 375; J. A. Transtour, Considérations générales sur quelques maladies qui affectent les femmes à l'âge critique (Paris, 1812), p. 13.
89. Goubelly, Connoissances (n. 47), p. 375; J. A. Transtour, Considérations générales sur quelques maladies qui affectent les femmes à l'âge critique (Paris, 1812), p. 13.
90. See, e.g., Gardanne, Dissertation (n. 44), p. ix; Jacques Devers, Essai sur la cessation des règles (thesis, Paris, 1822), p. 6. Both authors claim that this was one of a number of terms used in their time.
91. See, e.g., Gardanne, Dissertation (n. 44), p. ix; Jacques Devers, Essai sur la cessation des règles (thesis, Paris, 1822), p. 6. Both authors claim that this was one of a number of terms used in their time.
92. Leake, Medical Instructions (n. 27), p. 86.
93. Astruc, Traité (n. 38), p. 186.
94. Heumann, De cessante (n. 21), p. xxx; Joseph-Paul Lefèvre, Considérations générales sur la ménopause, ou cessation naturelle des menstrues (thesis, Paris, 1826), p. 8.
95. Heumann, De cessante (n. 21), p. xxx; Joseph-Paul Lefèvre, Considérations générales sur la ménopause, ou cessation naturelle des menstrues (thesis, Paris, 1826), p. 8.
96. Pinel, Nosographie (n. 47), p. 285.
97. Pierre A. Béclard, Essai sur les maladies auxquelles les femmes sont le plus fréquemment exposées à l'époque de la cessation des menstrues (Paris, 1802), p. 5.
98. P. N. Glinel, Sur l'âge critique des femmes (Paris, 1818), p. 15. Similarly, Joseph-François Garnier, Considérations sur l'âge critique, et sur l'hygiène des femmes àcette époque (Paris, 1820), pp. 8-9; Charles F. Ponsan de Menville, Histoire médicale et philosophique de la femme considérée dans toutes les époques principales de sa vie, vol. 1 (Paris, 1845), p. 434.
99. P. N. Glinel, Sur l'âge critique des femmes (Paris, 1818), p. 15. Similarly, Joseph-François Garnier, Considérations sur l'âge critique, et sur l'hygiène des femmes àcette époque (Paris, 1820), pp. 8-9; Charles F. Ponsan de Menville, Histoire médicale et philosophique de la femme considérée dans toutes les époques principales de sa vie, vol. 1 (Paris, 1845), p. 434.
100. P. N. Glinel, Sur l'âge critique des femmes (Paris, 1818), p. 15. Similarly, Joseph-François Garnier, Considérations sur l'âge critique, et sur l'hygiène des femmes àcette époque (Paris, 1820), pp. 8-9; Charles F. Ponsan de Menville, Histoire médicale et philosophique de la femme considérée dans toutes les époques principales de sa vie, vol. 1 (Paris, 1845), p. 434.
101. Fothergill, "Management" (n. 1), p. 161.
102. Ibid., p. 165.
103. Samuel A. Tissot, Advice to the People in General with Regard to Their Health, trans. J. Kirkpatrick (London, 1765), p. 365.
104. Hub.-Quirin-Franklin Poirson, Dissertation sur la ménespausie (thesis, Strasbourg, 1827), p. 23.
105. Saucerotte, Nouveaux conseils (n. 42), p. 10; Jean-Baptiste P. Chouffe, Des accidens et des maladies qui surviennent à la cessation de la menstruation (Paris, an I), p. 6; Adam Raciborski, De la puberté et de l'âge critique chez la femme, au point de vue physiologique, hygiénique et médical (Paris, 1844), pp. 347-48.
106. Saucerotte, Nouveaux conseils (n. 42), p. 10; Jean-Baptiste P. Chouffe, Des accidens et des maladies qui surviennent à la cessation de la menstruation (Paris, an I), p. 6; Adam Raciborski, De la puberté et de l'âge critique chez la femme, au point de vue physiologique, hygiénique et médical (Paris, 1844), pp. 347-48.
107. Saucerotte, Nouveaux conseils (n. 42), p. 10; Jean-Baptiste P. Chouffe, Des accidens et des maladies qui surviennent à la cessation de la menstruation (Paris, an I), p. 6; Adam Raciborski, De la puberté et de l'âge critique chez la femme, au point de vue physiologique, hygiénique et médical (Paris, 1844), pp. 347-48.
108. Hoffmann, Medicina rationalis (n. 21), pp. 224, 228; Freind, Emmenologia (n. 17), pp. 7-8.
109. Hoffmann, Medicina rationalis (n. 21), pp. 224, 228; Freind, Emmenologia (n. 17), pp. 7-8.
110. Théophile Bordeu, "Recherches anatomiques sur la position des glandes, et sur leur action," in idem, Oeuvres complètes, vol. 1 (1752; Paris, 1818), pp. 45-208, here p. 191; Jérémie-André Pingault, De la cessation des règles (Montpellier, an VII), p. 6; Béclard, Essai (n. 56), p. 6; Garnier, Considérations (n. 57), p. 9.
111. Théophile Bordeu, "Recherches anatomiques sur la position des glandes, et sur leur action," in idem, Oeuvres complètes, vol. 1 (1752; Paris, 1818), pp. 45-208, here p. 191; Jérémie-André Pingault, De la cessation des règles (Montpellier, an VII), p. 6; Béclard, Essai (n. 56), p. 6; Garnier, Considérations (n. 57), p. 9.
112. Théophile Bordeu, "Recherches anatomiques sur la position des glandes, et sur leur action," in idem, Oeuvres complètes, vol. 1 (1752; Paris, 1818), pp. 45-208, here p. 191; Jérémie-André Pingault, De la cessation des règles (Montpellier, an VII), p. 6; Béclard, Essai (n. 56), p. 6; Garnier, Considérations (n. 57), p. 9.
113. Théophile Bordeu, "Recherches anatomiques sur la position des glandes, et sur leur action," in idem, Oeuvres complètes, vol. 1 (1752; Paris, 1818), pp. 45-208, here p. 191; Jérémie-André Pingault, De la cessation des règles (Montpellier, an VII), p. 6; Béclard, Essai (n. 56), p. 6; Garnier, Considérations (n. 57), p. 9.
114. Armand, Considérations (n. 43), p. 7. For older notions of a semiautonomous and highly pathogenic role of the uterus, see Evelyne Berriot-Salvadore, Un corps, un destin: La femme dans la médecine de la Renaissance (Paris: Champion, 1993), pp. 38-49. Obviously, the concept is also of great importance for the history of hysteria.
115. Armand, Considérations (n. 43), p. 7. For older notions of a semiautonomous and highly pathogenic role of the uterus, see Evelyne Berriot-Salvadore, Un corps, un destin: La femme dans la médecine de la Renaissance (Paris: Champion, 1993), pp. 38-49. Obviously, the concept is also of great importance for the history of hysteria.
116. Gamier, Considérations (n. 57), p. 9; Bordeu, "Recherches" (n. 64), p. 191.
117. Gamier, Considérations (n. 57), p. 9; Bordeu, "Recherches" (n. 64), p. 191.
118. Béclard, Essai (n. 56), p. 4.
119. Maurice Chaslon, Essai sur la menstruation (Paris, an XII [1804]), p. 30.
120. Fothergill, "Management" (n. 1), p. 165; quoted also by Pinel, Nosographie (n. 47), p. 288.
121. Fothergill, "Management" (n. 1), p. 165; quoted also by Pinel, Nosographie (n. 47), p. 288.
122. Tissot, Advice (n. 60), p. 365.
123. C. L. Junod, De l'époque critique chez les femmes et des précautions à prendre pour en prévenir et combattre quelques accidens ou maladies (thesis, Paris, 1822), p. 7; Joseph M. J. Vigarous, Cours élémentaire de maladies des femmes, ou essai sur une nouvelle méthode pour étudier et pour classer les maladies de ce sexe, vol. 1 (Paris, an X [1801]), p. 72; Béclard, Essai (n. 56), p. 4; Armand, Considérations (n. 43), p. 9.
124. C. L. Junod, De l'époque critique chez les femmes et des précautions à prendre pour en prévenir et combattre quelques accidens ou maladies (thesis, Paris, 1822), p. 7; Joseph M. J. Vigarous, Cours élémentaire de maladies des femmes, ou essai sur une nouvelle méthode pour étudier et pour classer les maladies de ce sexe, vol. 1 (Paris, an X [1801]), p. 72; Béclard, Essai (n. 56), p. 4; Armand, Considérations (n. 43), p. 9.
125. C. L. Junod, De l'époque critique chez les femmes et des précautions à prendre pour en prévenir et combattre quelques accidens ou maladies (thesis, Paris, 1822), p. 7; Joseph M. J. Vigarous, Cours élémentaire de maladies des femmes, ou essai sur une nouvelle méthode pour étudier et pour classer les maladies de ce sexe, vol. 1 (Paris, an X [1801]), p. 72; Béclard, Essai (n. 56), p. 4; Armand, Considérations (n. 43), p. 9.
126. C. L. Junod, De l'époque critique chez les femmes et des précautions à prendre pour en prévenir et combattre quelques accidens ou maladies (thesis, Paris, 1822), p. 7; Joseph M. J. Vigarous, Cours élémentaire de maladies des femmes, ou essai sur une nouvelle méthode pour étudier et pour classer les maladies de ce sexe, vol. 1 (Paris, an X [1801]), p. 72; Béclard, Essai (n. 56), p. 4; Armand, Considérations (n. 43), p. 9.
127. Alexander Hamilton, A Treatise on the Management of Female Complaints and of Children in Early Infancy (Edinburgh, 1792), p. 136; L.-J.-S. Jallon, Essai sur l'âge critique des femmes (thesis, Paris, an XIII [1805]), p. 7; Guyétant, L'âge de retour (n. 42). From the early 1830s and 1840s, a shift of focus toward the ovarial functions further relativized the importance of the monthly flow and, implicitly, also of its cessation; many saw menstruation as little more than a side effect of follicular maturation: see Augustin N. Gendrin, Traité philosophique de médecine pratique, vol. 2 (Paris, 1839), pp. 17-53.
128. Alexander Hamilton, A Treatise on the Management of Female Complaints and of Children in Early Infancy (Edinburgh, 1792), p. 136; L.-J.-S. Jallon, Essai sur l'âge critique des femmes (thesis, Paris, an XIII [1805]), p. 7; Guyétant, L'âge de retour (n. 42). From the early 1830s and 1840s, a shift of focus toward the ovarial functions further relativized the importance of the monthly flow and, implicitly, also of its cessation; many saw menstruation as little more than a side effect of follicular maturation: see Augustin N. Gendrin, Traité philosophique de médecine pratique, vol. 2 (Paris, 1839), pp. 17-53.
129. Alexander Hamilton, A Treatise on the Management of Female Complaints and of Children in Early Infancy (Edinburgh, 1792), p. 136; L.-J.-S. Jallon, Essai sur l'âge critique des femmes (thesis, Paris, an XIII [1805]), p. 7; Guyétant, L'âge de retour (n. 42). From the early 1830s and 1840s, a shift of focus toward the ovarial functions further relativized the importance of the monthly flow and, implicitly, also of its cessation; many saw menstruation as little more than a side effect of follicular maturation: see Augustin N. Gendrin, Traité philosophique de médecine pratique, vol. 2 (Paris, 1839), pp. 17-53.
130. Alexander Hamilton, A Treatise on the Management of Female Complaints and of Children in Early Infancy (Edinburgh, 1792), p. 136; L.-J.-S. Jallon, Essai sur l'âge critique des femmes (thesis, Paris, an XIII [1805]), p. 7; Guyétant, L'âge de retour (n. 42). From the early 1830s and 1840s, a shift of focus toward the ovarial functions further relativized the importance of the monthly flow and, implicitly, also of its cessation; many saw menstruation as little more than a side effect of follicular maturation: see Augustin N. Gendrin, Traité philosophique de médecine pratique, vol. 2 (Paris, 1839), pp. 17-53.
131. This view was developed, in particular, by Stahl (Observationes [n. 38], p. 50; De morborum [n. 46]); he was still frequently quoted in this context in the early nineteenth century.
132. This view was developed, in particular, by Stahl (Observationes [n. 38], p. 50; De morborum [n. 46]); he was still frequently quoted in this context in the early nineteenth century.
133. Pingault, De la cessation (n. 64), p. 3; Tilt, Change of Life (n. 7), pp. 9-12.
134. Pingault, De la cessation (n. 64), p. 3; Tilt, Change of Life (n. 7), pp. 9-12.
135. See, e.g., Joseph Capuron, Traité des maladies des femmes, depuis la puberté jusqu'à l'âge critique inclusivement (Paris, 1812), p. 2; Chaslon, Essai (n. 68), p. 7; Transtour, Considérations (n. 50), p. 5; Menville, Histoire (n. 57), p. 405; Jean-Nicolas Lestrade, Considérations générales sur l'époque critique des femmes, et sur les maladies qui sont attachées àcet âge (thesis, Paris, 1815), p. 5.
136. See, e.g., Joseph Capuron, Traité des maladies des femmes, depuis la puberté jusqu'à l'âge critique inclusivement (Paris, 1812), p. 2; Chaslon, Essai (n. 68), p. 7; Transtour, Considérations (n. 50), p. 5; Menville, Histoire (n. 57), p. 405; Jean-Nicolas Lestrade, Considérations générales sur l'époque critique des femmes, et sur les maladies qui sont attachées àcet âge (thesis, Paris, 1815), p. 5.
137. See, e.g., Joseph Capuron, Traité des maladies des femmes, depuis la puberté jusqu'à l'âge critique inclusivement (Paris, 1812), p. 2; Chaslon, Essai (n. 68), p. 7; Transtour, Considérations (n. 50), p. 5; Menville, Histoire (n. 57), p. 405; Jean-Nicolas Lestrade, Considérations générales sur l'époque critique des femmes, et sur les maladies qui sont attachées àcet âge (thesis, Paris, 1815), p. 5.
138. See, e.g., Joseph Capuron, Traité des maladies des femmes, depuis la puberté jusqu'à l'âge critique inclusivement (Paris, 1812), p. 2; Chaslon, Essai (n. 68), p. 7; Transtour, Considérations (n. 50), p. 5; Menville, Histoire (n. 57), p. 405; Jean-Nicolas Lestrade, Considérations générales sur l'époque critique des femmes, et sur les maladies qui sont attachées àcet âge (thesis, Paris, 1815), p. 5.
139. See, e.g., Joseph Capuron, Traité des maladies des femmes, depuis la puberté jusqu'à l'âge critique inclusivement (Paris, 1812), p. 2; Chaslon, Essai (n. 68), p. 7; Transtour, Considérations (n. 50), p. 5; Menville, Histoire (n. 57), p. 405; Jean-Nicolas Lestrade, Considérations générales sur l'époque critique des femmes, et sur les maladies qui sont attachées àcet âge (thesis, Paris, 1815), p. 5.
140. Lestrade, Considérations (n. 75), p. 6.
141. Guyétant, L'âge de retour (n. 42).
142. Mai, Fata (n. 26), p. 2; Claude-Martial Bardout, Considérations générales sur la cessation du flux menstruel, et sur les précautions à prendre pour en prévenir les accidens ou les maladies (thesis, Paris, 1816), p. 13; Goubelly, Connaissances (n. 47), p. 370; Béclard, Essai (n. 56), p. 10; Garnier, Considérations (n. 57), p. 9.
143. Mai, Fata (n. 26), p. 2; Claude-Martial Bardout, Considérations générales sur la cessation du flux menstruel, et sur les précautions à prendre pour en prévenir les accidens ou les maladies (thesis, Paris, 1816), p. 13; Goubelly, Connaissances (n. 47), p. 370; Béclard, Essai (n. 56), p. 10; Garnier, Considérations (n. 57), p. 9.
144. Mai, Fata (n. 26), p. 2; Claude-Martial Bardout, Considérations générales sur la cessation du flux menstruel, et sur les précautions à prendre pour en prévenir les accidens ou les maladies (thesis, Paris, 1816), p. 13; Goubelly, Connaissances (n. 47), p. 370; Béclard, Essai (n. 56), p. 10; Garnier, Considérations (n. 57), p. 9.
145. Mai, Fata (n. 26), p. 2; Claude-Martial Bardout, Considérations générales sur la cessation du flux menstruel, et sur les précautions à prendre pour en prévenir les accidens ou les maladies (thesis, Paris, 1816), p. 13; Goubelly, Connaissances (n. 47), p. 370; Béclard, Essai (n. 56), p. 10; Garnier, Considérations (n. 57), p. 9.
146. Mai, Fata (n. 26), p. 2; Claude-Martial Bardout, Considérations générales sur la cessation du flux menstruel, et sur les précautions à prendre pour en prévenir les accidens ou les maladies (thesis, Paris, 1816), p. 13; Goubelly, Connaissances (n. 47), p. 370; Béclard, Essai (n. 56), p. 10; Garnier, Considérations (n. 57), p. 9.
147. Jeannet de Longrois, Conseils (n. 42), pp. 6-7; Mai, Fala (n. 26), pp. 14-15; Hamilton, Treatise (n. 72), pp. 136-37; Armand, Considérations (n. 43), pp. 11-14; Béclard, Essai (n. 56), pp. 8-11; Garnier, Considérations (n. 57), pp. 19-25; Gardanne, Dissertation (n. 44), pp. 22-39; Lestrade, Considérations (n. 75), p. 6.
148. Jeannet de Longrois, Conseils (n. 42), pp. 6-7; Mai, Fala (n. 26), pp. 14-15; Hamilton, Treatise (n. 72), pp. 136-37; Armand, Considérations (n. 43), pp. 11-14; Béclard, Essai (n. 56), pp. 8-11; Garnier, Considérations (n. 57), pp. 19-25; Gardanne, Dissertation (n. 44), pp. 22-39; Lestrade, Considérations (n. 75), p. 6.
149. Jeannet de Longrois, Conseils (n. 42), pp. 6-7; Mai, Fala (n. 26), pp. 14-15; Hamilton, Treatise (n. 72), pp. 136-37; Armand, Considérations (n. 43), pp. 11-14; Béclard, Essai (n. 56), pp. 8-11; Garnier, Considérations (n. 57), pp. 19-25; Gardanne, Dissertation (n. 44), pp. 22-39; Lestrade, Considérations (n. 75), p. 6.
150. Jeannet de Longrois, Conseils (n. 42), pp. 6-7; Mai, Fala (n. 26), pp. 14-15; Hamilton, Treatise (n. 72), pp. 136-37; Armand, Considérations (n. 43), pp. 11-14; Béclard, Essai (n. 56), pp. 8-11; Garnier, Considérations (n. 57), pp. 19-25; Gardanne, Dissertation (n. 44), pp. 22-39; Lestrade, Considérations (n. 75), p. 6.
151. Jeannet de Longrois, Conseils (n. 42), pp. 6-7; Mai, Fala (n. 26), pp. 14-15; Hamilton, Treatise (n. 72), pp. 136-37; Armand, Considérations (n. 43), pp. 11-14; Béclard, Essai (n. 56), pp. 8-11; Garnier, Considérations (n. 57), pp. 19-25; Gardanne, Dissertation (n. 44), pp. 22-39; Lestrade, Considérations (n. 75), p. 6.
152. Jeannet de Longrois, Conseils (n. 42), pp. 6-7; Mai, Fala (n. 26), pp. 14-15; Hamilton, Treatise (n. 72), pp. 136-37; Armand, Considérations (n. 43), pp. 11-14; Béclard, Essai (n. 56), pp. 8-11; Garnier, Considérations (n. 57), pp. 19-25; Gardanne, Dissertation (n. 44), pp. 22-39; Lestrade, Considérations (n. 75), p. 6.
153. Jeannet de Longrois, Conseils (n. 42), pp. 6-7; Mai, Fala (n. 26), pp. 14-15; Hamilton, Treatise (n. 72), pp. 136-37; Armand, Considérations (n. 43), pp. 11-14; Béclard, Essai (n. 56), pp. 8-11; Garnier, Considérations (n. 57), pp. 19-25; Gardanne, Dissertation (n. 44), pp. 22-39; Lestrade, Considérations (n. 75), p. 6.
154. Jeannet de Longrois, Conseils (n. 42), pp. 6-7; Mai, Fala (n. 26), pp. 14-15; Hamilton, Treatise (n. 72), pp. 136-37; Armand, Considérations (n. 43), pp. 11-14; Béclard, Essai (n. 56), pp. 8-11; Garnier, Considérations (n. 57), pp. 19-25; Gardanne, Dissertation (n. 44), pp. 22-39; Lestrade, Considérations (n. 75), p. 6.
155. Fothergill, "Management" (n. 1), pp. 173-74; Garnier, Considérations (n. 57), pp. 26-27.
156. Fothergill, "Management" (n. 1), pp. 173-74; Garnier, Considérations (n. 57), pp. 26-27.
157. E.g., Chambon de Montaux, Maladies des femmes, 2d ed. (n. 38), pp. 9-14; Armand, Considérations (n. 43), pp. 17-18. See also Tissot, Advice (n. 60), pp. 364-65, with medical advice for those who could not consult a physician.
158. E.g., Chambon de Montaux, Maladies des femmes, 2d ed. (n. 38), pp. 9-14; Armand, Considérations (n. 43), pp. 17-18. See also Tissot, Advice (n. 60), pp. 364-65, with medical advice for those who could not consult a physician.
159. E.g., Chambon de Montaux, Maladies des femmes, 2d ed. (n. 38), pp. 9-14; Armand, Considérations (n. 43), pp. 17-18. See also Tissot, Advice (n. 60), pp. 364-65, with medical advice for those who could not consult a physician.
160. Menville, Histoire (n. 57), p. 407.
161. Armand, Considérations (n. 43), p. 16.
162. Raciborski, De la puberté (n. 62), p. 356.
163. Assegond, De la femme (n. 43), pp. 25-26. According to some, even the thought of sex was to be avoided: Guyétant, L'âge de retour (n. 42), p. 83. Sex, it was argued, irritated the uterus even further, drawing the blood flow toward it: Mai, Fata (n. 26), p. 5.
164. Assegond, De la femme (n. 43), pp. 25-26. According to some, even the thought of sex was to be avoided: Guyétant, L'âge de retour (n. 42), p. 83. Sex, it was argued, irritated the uterus even further, drawing the blood flow toward it: Mai, Fata (n. 26), p. 5.
165. Assegond, De la femme (n. 43), pp. 25-26. According to some, even the thought of sex was to be avoided: Guyétant, L'âge de retour (n. 42), p. 83. Sex, it was argued, irritated the uterus even further, drawing the blood flow toward it: Mai, Fata (n. 26), p. 5.
166. Puzos, Traité (n. 26), p. 49.
167. Chaslon, Essai (n. 68), p. 30.
168. Capuron, Traité, (n. 75), p. 22.
169. Menville, Histoire (n. 57), p. 407.
170. Claude-Martin Gardien, Traité complet d'accouchemens, et des maladies des filles, des femmes et des enfants, 3d ed., vol. 4 (Paris, 1824), p. 368.
171. Fothergill, "Management" (n. 1), pp. 163-64. Similarly, Gardanne, Dissertation (n. 44), p. 19; Armand, Considérations (n. 43), p. 14; Garnier, Considérations (n. 57), p. 8.
172. Fothergill, "Management" (n. 1), pp. 163-64. Similarly, Gardanne, Dissertation (n. 44), p. 19; Armand, Considérations (n. 43), p. 14; Garnier, Considérations (n. 57), p. 8.
173. Fothergill, "Management" (n. 1), pp. 163-64. Similarly, Gardanne, Dissertation (n. 44), p. 19; Armand, Considérations (n. 43), p. 14; Garnier, Considérations (n. 57), p. 8.
174. Fothergill, "Management" (n. 1), pp. 163-64. Similarly, Gardanne, Dissertation (n. 44), p. 19; Armand, Considérations (n. 43), p. 14; Garnier, Considérations (n. 57), p. 8.
175. Edouard de Massia, Âge critique chez Ia femme (Montpellier, 1851), p. 19.
176. Glinel, Sur l'âge critique (n. 57), p. 13.
177. Aristotle's Book of Problems, 13th ed. (1776; repr., New York: Garland, 1986), p. 67.
178. r.
179. Françoise de Graffigny, Conespondance, vol. 3 (Oxford: Voltaire Foundation, 1992), pp. 380-81.
180. Ibid., p. 381.
181. Ibid., p. 463.
182. Ibid.
183. Ibid., vol. 4 (Oxford: Voltaire Foundation, 1996), p. 169, 3 March 1743.
184. Letter from Mme. Leschicault [?], 1773, Manuscripts, Fonds Tissot IS3748, Bibliothèque Cantonale et Universitaire de Lausanne.
185. Mme. Viard d'Arnay, 1778, Fonds Tissot (n. 101).
186. Fothergill, "Management" (n. 1), p. 173.
187. Glinel, Sur l'âge critique (n. 57), p. 31.
188. The Ladies Physical Directory, 8th ed. (London, 1742), p. 22; this is the first edition that also reveals most of the ingredients, such as castor, salt of tartar, and aloe.
189. Fothergill, "Management" (n. 1), p. 173.
190. Guyétant, L'âge de retour (n. 42), p. 99; Mai, Fata (n. 26), p. 25. According to Gardanne, Dissertation (n. 44), pp. 30-31, the women sought to expel the morbid matter, "which, attaches itself to the intestinal walls and which, according to them, is nothing but an offshoot of a venom that was originally in their menstrual blood" [qui s'attache aux parois intestinales, et qui, selon elles, n'est qu'un rejeton d'un venin existant originellement dans le sang des règles].
191. Guyétant, L'âge de retour (n. 42), p. 99; Mai, Fata (n. 26), p. 25. According to Gardanne, Dissertation (n. 44), pp. 30-31, the women sought to expel the morbid matter, "which, attaches itself to the intestinal walls and which, according to them, is nothing but an offshoot of a venom that was originally in their menstrual blood" [qui s'attache aux parois intestinales, et qui, selon elles, n'est qu'un rejeton d'un venin existant originellement dans le sang des règles].
192. Guyétant, L'âge de retour (n. 42), p. 99; Mai, Fata (n. 26), p. 25. According to Gardanne, Dissertation (n. 44), pp. 30-31, the women sought to expel the morbid matter, "which, attaches itself to the intestinal walls and which, according to them, is nothing but an offshoot of a venom that was originally in their menstrual blood" [qui s'attache aux parois intestinales, et qui, selon elles, n'est qu'un rejeton d'un venin existant
193. Glinel, Sur l'âge critique (n. 57), p. 31.
194. See Gabriel Sénac de Meilhan, Considérations sur l'esprit et les moeurs (London, 1787), pp. 254-60; Chambon de Montaux, Maladies des femmes, 2d ed. (n. 38), p. 16.
195. See Gabriel Sénac de Meilhan, Considérations sur l'esprit et les moeurs (London, 1787), pp. 254-60; Chambon de Montaux, Maladies des femmes, 2d ed. (n. 38), p. 16.
196. Jeannet de Longrois, Conseils (n. 42), p. 4.
197. Armand, Considérations (n. 43), p. 8.
198. Glinel, Sur l'âge critique (n. 57), p. 12.
199. Mai, Fata (n. 26), p. 29.
200. Goulin and Jourdain, Le médecin (n. 20), p. 109.
201. See Carroll Smith-Rosenberg, "Puberty to Menopause: The Cycle of Femininity in Nineteenth-Century America," in eadem, Disorderly Conduct: Visions of Gender in Victorian America (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986), pp. 182-96, here p. 194.
202. René Pillorget, La lige et le rameau: familles anglaise et française, XVIe-XVIIIe siècle (Paris: Calmann-Lévy, 1979), p. 254.
203. Menville, Histoire (n. 57), p. 424.
204. v.
205. To some degree, the plethora model had similar implications, since plethora, if unrelieved, ultimately also caused stagnation and, as a consequence, corruption.
206. Hamilton, Treatise (n. 72), p. 137.
207. Lyndal Roper, "Witchcraft and Fantasy in Early Modern Germany," in eadem, Oedipus and the Devil: Witchcraft, Sexuality and Religion in Early Modern Europe (London: Routledge, 1994), pp. 199-225.
208. Jeannet de Longrois, Conseils (n. 42), p. 23; the expression recurs in Gardanne, Dissertation (n. 44), p. 19, and in Glinel, Sur l'âge critique (n. 57), p. 13.
209. Jeannet de Longrois, Conseils (n. 42), p. 23; the expression recurs in Gardanne, Dissertation (n. 44), p. 19, and in Glinel, Sur l'âge critique (n. 57), p. 13.
210. Jeannet de Longrois, Conseils (n. 42), p. 23; the expression recurs in Gardanne, Dissertation (n. 44), p. 19, and in Glinel, Sur l'âge critique (n. 57), p. 13.
211. Menville, Histoire (n. 57), p. 408.
212. Jean-Pierre Gutton, Naissance du vieillard: Essai sur l'histoire des rapports entre les vieillards et la société en France ( [Paris]: Aubier, 1988); Jean-Pierre Bois, Les vieux de Montaigne aux premières retraites (Paris: Fayard, 1989).
213. Jean-Pierre Gutton, Naissance du vieillard: Essai sur l'histoire des rapports entre les vieillards et la société en France ( [Paris]: Aubier, 1988); Jean-Pierre Bois, Les vieux de Montaigne aux premières retraites (Paris: Fayard, 1989).
214. Remarking similarly on the positive notions of the postmenopausal woman in the nineteenth century, Sybylla Roe has recently suggested that it was only the woman in her reproductive years who had to be constructed as the fragile, hysterical, domestic counterpart to the male ideal of the forceful, independent, controlling capitalist engineer, and that insistence on this kind of difference was no longer essential in the case of the elderly, postmenopausal woman: Sybylla Roe, "Situating Menopause within the Strategies of Power: A Genealogy," in Reinterpreting Menopause: Cultural and Philosophical Issues, ed. Paul A. Komesaroff et al. (New York; Routledge, 1997), pp. 200-221. It is far from clear, however, whether this male ideal had any particular importance in late-eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century Europe - outside, perhaps, of England, which seems to have played little part in the development of this new paradigm. The paramount role attributed to the female uterus and the unease with female sexuality that it often seems to have reflected, combined with a more positive view of aging in general, offer, I believe, a more plausible explanation of why a woman appeared in a much more positive light once the uterus no longer dominated her.
215. Cf. Mary Douglas, Natural Symbols: Explorations in Cosmology (London: Barrie and Rockliff, 1970).