Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Crying in the womb (vagitus uterinus) was an extraordinary phenomenon or prodigy by which a foetus in the later stages of gestation could be heard to cry before its birth. This article traces the way that crying in the womb in early modern England was consistently interpreted, across religious, medical, and popular texts, as an emotional expression. Hearing crying in the womb affirmed the unseen presence of a body and soul, already miserable with sin and able to convey this humanness, and affect the emotions of others, with the sound of its voice. This article reveals that hearing non-verbal emotional expressions was central to the early configuration of English Protestant personhood.
Source: Cultural and Social History
Author: Olivia Formby
Institution: University of Cambridge
Language: English
Topic: History of Emotions Research
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Funder: Stockholms Universitet
OpenAlex ID: W4404120293