Bodies in Pain: Early Modern Suicide by Proxy

Abstract

This article examines early modern suicide by proxy in terms of the experience of pain. ‘Suicide by proxy’ refers to committing a capital crime in order to bring about one’s own death by execution. Exploring the history of prolonged pain typically associated with suicide by proxy, the article argues that suicide by proxy is primarily a story about pain. The analysis here follows the story of Sara Stähelin and her attempt to use suicide by proxy as a way to liberate herself from her hurting body and mind, to receive comfort and compassion from her estranged community and—most importantly—to save her soul from eternal damnation. Understanding suicide by proxy as a story of how early modern pain could materialize offers a new and fruitful approach to the study of early modern pain and its mediation between culture and body.