Constructions of Cancer in Early Modern England Ravenous Natures Alanna Skuse ISBN: 9781137487537 DOI: 10.1057/9781137487537 Palgrave Macmillan Please respect intellectual property rights This material is available open access under the Creative Commons license specified. Constructions of Cancer in Early Modern England 6 0 1- 0 6- 1 0 2 ct - e n n o C e v a gr al P g - p n o d t e s n e c m - li o c ct. e n n o c e v a gr al p w. w w m o d fr e d a o nl w o D 10.1057/9781137487537 - Constructions of Cancer in Early Modern England, Alanna Skuse 9781137487520_01_pre.indd i 9/23/2015 2:57:03 PM Palgrave Studies in Literature, Science and Medicine Series editors: Professor Sharon Ruston (Lancaster University, UK), Professor Alice Jenkins (University of Glasgow, UK) and Professor Catherine Belling (Northwestern University, USA) Palgrave Studies in Literature, Science and Medicine is an exciting new series that focuses on one of the most vibrant and interdisciplinary areas in literary studies. Comprising academic monographs, essay collections, and Palgrave Pivot books, the series will emphasize a historical approach to its subjects. The series will cover all aspects of this rich and varied field and is open to new and emerging topics as well as established ones. Sharon Ruston is Chair in Romanticism and Research Director for the Department of English and Creative Writing at Lancaster University, UK. 6 0 Alice Jenkins is Professor of Victorian Literature and Culture at Glasgow 1- 0 University, UK. She is a co-founder and former Chair of the British Society for 6- 1 Literature and Science. 20 Catherine Belling is Associate Professor in Medical Humanities and Bioethics ct - e n at Northwestern University, USA. She is also the Executive Editor of the journal n o Literature and Medicine . eC v a Editorial Board: gr al P Steven Connor, Professor of English, University of Cambridge, UK; Lisa Diedrich, g - Associate Professor in Women’s and Gender Studies, Stony Brook University, USA; np N Katherine Hayles, Professor of English, Duke University, USA; Peter Middleton, d to Professor of English, University of Southampton, UK; Sally Shuttleworth, e s Professorial Fellow in English, St Anne’s College, University of Oxford, UK; Susan en c SUqSuAi;e r,M Parortfiens soWr oilfl iWs, oPmroenfe’sss Sotru doief s Sacniden Ecneg, liLshit,e Praetnunresy lavnadn iaC Sotamtem Uunniivceartsioitny,, om - li c University of Westminster, UK ct. e n n o Titles include: c e v a Markus Iseli algr p THOMAS DE QUINCEY AND THE COGNITIVE UNCONSCIOUS w. w Esther L. Jones m w MEDICINE AND ETHICS IN BLACK WOMEN’S SPECULATIVE FICTION o d fr Ewa Barbara Luczak de a BREEDING AND EUGENICS IN THE AMERICAN LITERARY IMAGINATION o nl Heredity Rules in the Twentieth Century w o D Alanna Skuse CONSTRUCTIONS OF CANCER IN EARLY MODERN ENGLAND (Open Access) Ravenous Natures Palgrave Studies in Literature, Science and Medicine Series Standing Order ISBN 978–1–1374–4538–4 hardback 978–1–1374–4543–8 paperback (outside North America only) You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order. Please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with your name and address, the title of the series and one of the ISBNs quoted above. Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, England 10.1057/9781137487537 - Constructions of Cancer in Early Modern England, Alanna Skuse 9781137487520_01_pre.indd ii 9/23/2015 2:57:03 PM Constructions of Cancer in Early Modern England Ravenous Natures Alanna Skuse Fellow at the Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington DC 6 0 1- 0 6- 1 0 2 ct - e n n o C e v a gr al P g - p n o d t e s n e c m - li o c ct. e n n o c e v a gr al p w. w w m o d fr e d a o nl w o D Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/version4 10.1057/9781137487537 - Constructions of Cancer in Early Modern England, Alanna Skuse 9781137487520_01_pre.indd iii 9/23/2015 2:57:03 PM © Alanna Skuse 2015 The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Open access: Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/version4 First published 2015 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, 6 Hampshire RG21 6XS. 1-0 0 Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of Nature American, Inc., 75 Varick Street, 6- 1 New York, NY 10010. 20 Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies ect - n and has companies and representatives throughout the world. n o C Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, ve a the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. gr al ISBN: 978–1–137–48752–0 g - P A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. np o A catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. d t e s n e c m - li o c ct. e n n o c e v a gr al p w. w w m o d fr e d a o nl w o D 10.1057/9781137487537 - Constructions of Cancer in Early Modern England, Alanna Skuse 9781137487520_01_pre.indd iv 9/23/2015 2:57:04 PM Contents List of Illustrations vi Acknowledgements v ii Referencing Conventions viii 6 0 Introduction 1 1- 0 6- 1 W hat Was Cancer? Definition, Diagnosis and Cause 2 0 01 2 2 C ancer and the Gendered Body 4 0 ct - e n n 3 ‘ It Is, Say Some, of a Ravenous Nature’: Zoomorphic o C e Images of Cancer 6 1 av gr 4 C ancerous Growth and Malignancy 7 4 Pal g - 5 W olves’ Tongues and Mercury: Pharmaceutical Cures for p n o Cancer 9 4 d t e s 6 ‘ Cannot You Use a Loving Violence?’: Cancer Surgery 121 n e c Conclusion: ‘Death Is Only Their Desire’ 154 m - li o c ct. Notes 1 59 ne n o c Bibliography 1 93 ve a gr Index 2 17 pal w. w w m o d fr e d a o nl w o D v 10.1057/9781137487537 - Constructions of Cancer in Early Modern England, Alanna Skuse 9781137487520_01_pre.indd v 9/23/2015 2:57:04 PM List of Illustrations 6.1 Lorenzo Lippi, Saint Agatha , 1638–44, oil on canvas, 75.7 × 64.1 cm (29 13/16 × 25 1/4 in.). Courtesy of Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, The Suida-Manning Collection, 1999 (369.1999). Photo credit: Rick Hall 1 22 6 0 6.2 Sebastiano del Piombo, The Martyrdom of Saint Agatha 1- 0 (1520). Courtesy of Polo Museale, Firenze, the Vittoria 16- 0 2 della Rovere collection 1 23 ct - 6.3 Pierre Dionis, A Course of Chirurgical Operations, ne n Demonstrated in the Royal Garden at Paris (p. 247), 1710. Co e v Copyright of the University of Manchester 1 35 a gr 6.4 Johannes Scultetus, ‘Breast cancer operation’, from Het Pal vermeerderde wapenhuis der heel-musters , 1748. Courtesy of pg - n Wellcome Library, London 136 o d t 6.5 The Agnew Clinic . Artist/maker unknown, After Thomas se n Eakins. Photogravure, c. 1889. Image: 7 7/8 × 11 in. ce (20.0 × 27.9 cm). Courtesy of Philadelphia Museum of Art: m - li o Gift of Samuel B. Sturgis, 1973 1 49 ct.c e n n o c e v a gr al p w. w w m o d fr e d a o nl w o D vi 10.1057/9781137487537 - Constructions of Cancer in Early Modern England, Alanna Skuse 9781137487520_01_pre.indd vi 9/23/2015 2:57:04 PM Acknowledgements The unstinting support and wisdom of Sarah Toulalan and Andrew McRae has seen me through the PhD thesis and the wilds of early career research in which this book was constructed, and I am immeasurably grateful. Others who have offered invaluable advice and encourage- ment include Philip Schwyzer, Sujata Iyengar, Jennifer Evans, Sally 6 0 Templeman, Margaret Healy, Karen Edwards and Lesel Dawson. 1- 0 This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust [093090] and would 16- 0 2 not have been possible without their generosity. Material related to this ct - book has been printed in S ocial History of Medicine and D isability, Health ne n and Happiness in the Shakespearean Body, and I would like to thank the Co e v reviewers and editors of those texts for their helpful comments and a gr suggestions. I am also grateful to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Pal Blanton Museum of Art, the Museo polo Firenze, the Wellcome Library pg - n and Manchester University John Rylands Library for permission to o d t reproduce images from their collections. se n Finally, I would like to thank my family and friends for their support ce through good and stressful times. Emma, Matthew and Sam provided, m - li o in no particular order, late-night proofreading, an ancient historian’s ct.c e perspective, tea, sympathy and motivational songs. Thank you. n n o c e v a gr al p w. w w m o d fr e d a o nl w o D vii 10.1057/9781137487537 - Constructions of Cancer in Early Modern England, Alanna Skuse 9781137487520_01_pre.indd vii 9/23/2015 2:57:05 PM Referencing Conventions ‘ū’ characters have been resolved to ‘un’ and ye and y t contrac- tions expanded to ‘the’ and ‘that’. ‘V’ and ‘u’ characters have been modernised. Original spellings and punctuation are maintained, with the exception of ‘hee’, ‘shee’ and ‘itt’ (now ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘it’) and unnecessary spaces (for 6 0 instance, before ‘;’ and ‘:’), which have been removed. Long titles have 1- 0 been curtailed. Where a primary text does not contain page numbers, 16- 0 2 signature marks are given. ct - All references to Shakespeare are taken from William Shakespeare, T he ne n Complete Works (Second Edition), ed. Stanley Wells, Gary Taylor, John Co e v Jowett and William Montgomery (Oxford: Oxford University Press, a gr 2005). Unless otherwise stated, all references to the Bible refer to the Pal Authorized King James Version (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997). pg - n For plays, act and scene numbers are given in-text; line numbers are o d t given for longer poems, but not for sonnets and short verse. se n e c m - li o c ct. e n n o c e v a gr al p w. w w m o d fr e d a o nl w o D viii 10.1057/9781137487537 - Constructions of Cancer in Early Modern England, Alanna Skuse 9781137487520_01_pre.indd viii 9/23/2015 2:57:05 PM