Tag: Spring 2016
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Reason vs. emotion in Charlotte Brontë’s Shirley
Mila WhiteleyFairfax, Virginia, United States Charlotte Brontë’s 1849 Shirley is often considered a “Condition of England” novel, due to its exploration of various social, political, and religious issues of the time. One of the most prevalent themes throughout the book is the role of women (and by extension the role of men) in society. During…
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Tobias Smollett, MD: His medical life and experiences
Martin DukeMystic, Connecticut, United States Every generation seems to produce its share of physicians and surgeons who are remembered for their literary accomplishments—Avicenna and Maimonides in the middle ages, Rabelais during the French Renaissance, Thomas Browne in the 17th century and Keats and Goldsmith in the 18th century. Anton Chekhov, Arthur Conan Doyle, Axel Munthe,…
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Tolstoy: Insights for doctors and other humans
Maarten WensinkSouthern Denmark It is a testimony to the genius of Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy that a fine selection of concepts later arduously acquired over the course of decades can be found in the first of Tolstoy’s great novels, War and Peace.1 Although Tolstoy was not primarily interested in the origin of disease, in a way…
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Synesthesia in medicine and the humanities
Eleni I. (Lena) ArampatzidouGreece Dr. Arampatzidou would like to dedicate this essay to Professor Alexander Nehamas, Director Dimitri Gondicas and the Stanley Seeger Center at Princeton University for their support and generosity in offering her a research fellowship in medical humanities which made this publication possible. Synesthesia (syn=plus + aesthesis=sensation in Greek) is a term used…
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The medical journey of Charles Dickens
Lea MendesLisboa, Portugal At the time of the London Great Exhibition of 1851, the United Kingdom was the wealthiest and most industrialized country in the world.1 The most popular and quintessential Victorian writer was Charles Dickens (1812–1870), who had written Oliver Twist (1838) and A Christmas Carol (1843). As for the medical aspects of his…
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Of pine and man: Reflecting on Henry David Thoreau’s sentiment in “Chesuncook”
James MathewRobert PavlikMilwaukee, Wisconsin, United States It is the living spirit of the tree, not its spirit of turpentine, with which I sympathize, and which heals my cuts. It is as immortal as I am, and perchance will go to as high a heaven, there to tower above me still.1 Henry David Thoreau’s article “Chesuncook”…
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Visualizing the paradise within
Ashleigh FrayneAlberta, Canada Milton had been blind for seven years when he began to compose Paradise Lost; however, there is much evidence to suggest that Milton had struggled with his vision from an early age. This struggle had great influence on his writing. In Paradise Lost, Milton draws from his experiences with failing vision, blindness,…
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Seven reasons why nurses want to leave their job
Victorina T. MalonesIloilo City, Philippines Some years ago I wanted to work as the best hospital nurse I could possibly be. I worked hard to become a staff nurse. I passed the board exam, had a successful interview, and after months of gaining experience by volunteering, I was hired. After I got the job and…
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Stella
Mathew KinsellaBrowns Mills, New Jersey, United States One flew east, one flew westAnd one flew over the cuckoo’s nest– Ken Kesey The cacophony of egregious expletives coming from the crisis reception room astounds even the seasoned psychiatric staff working the hospital swing-shift. All spit and vinegar, the diminutive woman at the center of the staff’s…
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A coffee many years later
Drita Puharić, MSN Makarska, Croatia I’m sitting in a small cafe bar waiting for my friend Marija whom I haven’t seen since high school. She left with her husband for Canada after the war. How long had it been since we’d seen each other? It seems like an eternity… I can’t wait to see…