The Sentimental Physician: J. Marion Sims's Story of My Life.

The career of Dr. J. Marion Sims, considered the "father of modern gynecology," culminated with his autobiography. Story of My Life signals the interdependency of American medicine and nineteenth-century print culture, which furthered the demand for physicians' life narratives. Published posthumousl...

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Publicado en:Canadian Review of American Studies Vol. 53; no. 1; pp. 1 - 20
Autor principal: Chan, Maddi
Formato: Literary Criticism
Publicado: University of Toronto Press Apr2023
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: The Sentimental Physician: J. Marion Sims's Story of My Life.
      aug:
        au: Chan, Maddi
        affil: University of Bergen, Norway
      su:
        Story of My Life, The (Book)
        Sims, J. Marion (James Marion), 1813-1883
        Sentimentalism
        Sentimentalism in literature
        Medicine
        Slavery
        Gynecology
        Gynecologists
      sug:
        subj:
          Story of My Life, The (Book)
          Sims, J. Marion (James Marion), 1813-1883
          Sentimentalism
          Sentimentalism in literature
          Medicine
          Slavery
          Gynecology
          Gynecologists
      keyword:
        gynecology
        life-writing
        medical discourse
        sentimentality
        slavery
        écriture de vie
        discours médical
        esclavage
        gynécologie
        sentimentalité
      ab:
        The career of Dr. J. Marion Sims, considered the "father of modern gynecology," culminated with his autobiography. Story of My Life signals the interdependency of American medicine and nineteenth-century print culture, which furthered the demand for physicians' life narratives. Published posthumously in 1884, Sims's autobiography is informed by abolitionist sensationalism and sentimentality. Though his work depended on the exploitation and labour of enslaved women, Sims represents himself and his patients sentimentally, in ways that dismiss his culpability in the violence of slavery while legitimizing his authorial voice. By examining how medicine and sentiment intersect within Sims's autobiography, this paper demonstrates how Sims's performative affect, together with nineteenth-century sexual and racial politics, granted him unmitigated access to enslaved women's bodies. The rhetoric of sentimentality deployed in Story of My Life functions to secure Sims's authority and innocence as a benevolent physician, erasing the labour and embodied experience of the enslaved women he experimented on.
        La carrière du Dr J. Marion Sims, considéré comme le « père de la gynécologie moderne », a culminé avec son autobiographie. Story of My Life témoigne de l'interdépendance entre la médecine américaine et la culture de la presse écrite du XIX siècle, qui a renforcé la demande de récits de vie des médecins. Publiée à titre posthume en 1884, l'autobiographie du gynécologue s'inspire du sensationnalisme et du sentimentalisme abolitionnistes. Bien que son travail ait été tributaire de l'exploitation et du travail de femmes asservies, le Dr Sims se représente et représente ses patients de manière sentimentale et de façon à rejeter sa culpabilité dans la violence de l'esclavage tout en légitimant sa voix d'auteur. En examinant la façon dont la médecine et le sentiment s'entrecroisent dans l'autobiographie du Dr Sims, le présent article démontre la manière dont l'affect performatif de ce médecin et les politiques sexuelles et raciales du XIX siècle lui ont permis d'accéder sans restriction aux corps de femmes asservies. La rhétorique du sentimentalisme déployée dans Story of My Life sert à garantir l'autorité et l'innocence du Dr Sims en tant que médecin bienveillant, tout en effaçant le travail et l'expérience corporelle des femmes asservies sur lesquelles il a mené des expériences.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Literary Criticism
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    language: English
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