Childbirth And The Display Of Authority In Early Modern France (women And Gender In The Early Modern World)

How could men appear to be trustworthy birth assistants at a time when women were associated with a bodily comprehension of childbirth? To answer this question, Lianne McTavish examines a range of sources, focusing on obstetrical treatises and pamphlets published in early modern France, looking in particular at the visual culture of childbirth. In this study, Lianne McTavish explores how the surgeon men/midwives of the early modern period in France strove to change the public perception of their trade, from being seen as threatening intruders to being looked on as trusted experts who embodied obstetrical authority. Throughout the early modern period in France, surgeon men-midwives were predominantly associated with sexual impropriety and physical danger; yet over time they managed to change their image, and by the eighteenth century were summoned to attend even the uncomplicated deliveries of wealthy, urban clients. In this study, Lianne McTavish explores how surgeons strove to transform the perception of their midwifery practices, claiming to be experts who embodied obstetrical authority instead of intruders in a traditionally feminine domain. McTavish argues that early modern French obstetrical treatises were sites of display participating in both the production and contestation of authoritative knowledge of childbirth. Though primarily written by surgeon men-midwives, the texts were also produced by female midwives and male physicians. McTavish's careful examination of these and other sources reveals representations of male and female midwives as unstable and divergent, undermining characterizations of the practice of childbirth in early modern Europe as a gender war which men ultimately won. She discovers that male practitioners did not always disdain maternal values. In fact, the men regularly identified themselves with qualities traditionally respected in female midwives, including a bodily experience of childbirth. Her findings suggest that men's entry into the lying-in chamber was a complex negotiation involving their adaptation to the demands of women. One of the great strengths of this study is its investigation of the visual culture of childbirth. McTavish emphasizes how authority in the birthing room was made visible to others in facial expressions, gestures, and bodily display. For the first time here, the vivid images in the treatises are analysed, including author portraits and engravings of unborn figures. McTavish reveals how these images contributed to arguments about obstetrical authority instead of merely illustrating the written content of the books. At the same time, her arguments move far beyond the lying-in chamber, shedding light on the exchange of visual information in early modern France, a period when identity was largely determined by the precarious act of putting oneself on display MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Contents 6 List of Illustrations 8 Preface 18 Acknowledgments 20 INTRODUCTION 22 1 DISJECTA MEMBRA 24 Cosimo’s Black Widow 24 ‘How to Paint a Dead Man’ 27 Corpse to Corpus: Bodies (of Scholarship) that Matter 31 Recuperative Narratives and Other Crutches 38 PART I: THE ANATOMY OF MOURNING 52 2 MNEMONIC V(O)ICES 54 Talking Trauma from Day One 54 Drama Queens 56 Tongue-Tied 58 Rhetorical Mutations 62 Augustine’s Concessions 65 The Mother Tongue 68 3 THE WIDOW’S CLEAVAGE 80 Merry Widows 80 A Flash in the Pants 83 Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down 87 Eyes Wide Shut 89 ‘QUID TUM’ 91 The Black Market 94 Taking the Veil, and Taking it Like a Man 97 PATR II: THE MELANCHOLY OF ANATOMY 114 4 THE DEATH OF THE FATHERS 116 Mourning Face to (Ef)faced 116 Humoring Ficino 118 Freudian Slept 120 A Re-Interpretation of Dreams 124 Rolling Over in Dürer’s Grave 125 Michelangelo’s Legacy 127 Grave Matters 130 5 PHANTOM LIMBS 140 Deadbeat Dads 140 Portrait Parings 143 Prosthetic Fittings 145 Addenda 147 Bodies in Limbo 149 Black Holes 151 AFTERWORD 162 6 THE BIG STIFF 164 B(l)ackstory 164 Re-dressing ‘Renaissance Man’ 165 Playing Dead 168 Bibliography 174 Index 206 Throughout The Early Modern Period In France, Surgeon Men-midwives Were Predominantly Associated With Sexual Impropriety And Physical Danger, Yet Over Time They Managed To Change Their Image, And By The Eighteenth Century Were Summoned To Attend Even The Uncomplicated Deliveries Of Wealthy Urban Clients. In This Study, Lianne Mctavish Explores How Surgeons Strove To Transform The Perception Of Their Midwifery Practices, Claiming To Be Experts Who Embodied Obstetrical Authority Instead Of Intruders In A Traditionally Feminine Domain. List Of Figures -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction: Interpreting Obstetrical Treatises -- 1 French Treatises 1550-1730: A Survey -- 2 Risking Exposure: The Visual Politics Of Childbirth -- 3 Reading The Midwife's Body: Louise Bourgeois -- 4 Looking The Part: Men-midwives On Display -- 5 Bodies In Labour: Rhetoric, Rivalry, And Male Maternity -- 6 Handling The Unborn: Men-midwives Between Vision -- And Blindness -- Conclusions -- Selected Bibliography -- Index. Lianne Mctavish. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [221]-241) And Index. Throughout the early modern period in France, chirurgiens accoucheurs [surgeon men-midwives] were predominantly associated with both sexual impropriety and physical danger.