From Sin to Insanity. Suicide in Early Modern Europe

Early Modern European From Sin to Insanity. Suicide in Early Modern Europe. Edited by Jeffrey R. Watt. (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press. 2004. Pp. xii, 240. $39.95.)

Practices and attitudes related to suicide provide historians with rich sources of information on past mentalities. From Sin to Insanity, a collection of essays edited by Jeffrey Watt, builds on the thesis that the period between 1500 and 1800 saw a "dramatic change" in the "attitudes toward and experiences surrounding voluntary death." During the eighteenth century, the perception of suicide shifted. From a sinful and criminal act attributed to diabolical temptation, it became medicalized, caused by melancholy, mental illness, or personal problems. Verdicts of insanity became more prevalent. Harsh punishments such as confiscation of property,...