Fasting Girls: Their Physiology and Pathology — John Shaqi
Fasting Girls: Their Physiology and PathologyHammond, William A. (William Alexander)
History
Fasting Girls: Their Physiology and Pathology
Hammond, William A. (William Alexander)
Anorexia in children; Fasting; Medicine -- Case studies -- 1800-1900; Psychology, Pathological
"The 'third station' began at three o'clock. Louise inclined herself a
little forward, raised her body slowly, and then extended herself at
full length, face downward, on the floor. There was neither rigidity nor
extreme precipitation; nothing in fact, calculated to produce injuries.
The knees first supported her body, then it rested on these and the
elbows, and finally her face was brought in actual close contact with
the tiled floor. At first the head rested on the left arm, but very soon
the patient made a quick and sudden movement, and the arms were extended
from the body in the form of a cross. At the same time the feet were
brought together so that the dorsum of the right was in contact with
the sole of the left foot. This position did not vary for an hour and a
half. When the end of the crisis approached, the arms were brought close
to the sides of the body, then suddenly the poor girl rose to her knees,
her face turns to the wall, her cheeks become colored, her eyes have
regained their expression, her countenance expands, and the ecstasy is
at an end."
Further particulars are given, and an apparatus was constructed and
applied to Louise's hand and arm so as to prevent any external
excitation of the hæmorrhage. It was apparently shown that there was no
such interference, for the blood began to flow at the usual time on
Friday.
In addition to the stigmata and the paroxysms of ecstasy, Louise
declared that she did not sleep, had eaten or drank nothing for four
years, had had no fæcal evacuation for three years and a half, and that
the urine was entirely suppressed.
M. Warlomont examined the blood and products of respiration chemically,
and satisfied himself of their normal character, except that the former
contained an excessive amount of white corpuscles.
When being closely interrogated, Louise admitted that, though she did
not sleep, she had short periods of forgetfulness at night. On M.
Warlomont suddenly opening a cupboard in her room, he found it to
contain fruit and bread, and her chamber communicated directly with a
yard at the back of the house. It was therefore perfectly possible for
her to have slept, eaten, defecated, and urinated, without any one
knowing that she did so.
The conclusions arrived at by M. Warlomont were, that the
stigmatizations and ecstasies of Louise Lateau were real and to be
explained upon well-known physiological and pathological principles,
that she "worked, and dispensed heat, that she lost every Friday a
certain quantity of blood by the stigmata, that the air she expired
contained the vapor of water and carbonic acid, that her weight had not
materially altered since she had come under observation. She consumes
carbon and it is not from her own body that she gets it. Where does she
get it from? Physiology answers, 'She eats.'"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account