ABSTRACT
IncontemporaryWesternsocietiesthediscourseofmedicineabout disease,involvingsuchtangiblebutlow-affectculpritsasmicrobes,aberrant physiologyanddodgygenes,issoloudthatittendstodroneoutalltheothers (thoughnotcompletely).Asthefairlyrecentappearanceoftwoanxietyproducing,transmittable,andlife-threateningphenomena-AIDSand Creutzfeldt-JakobDisease-inourownmidsthasservedtoamplifY,diseaseis neversimplyanobjectivebiologicalissue:theunderstandingofbodily dysfunction,andtheinterpretationoftheexteriorsignsofmorbidity,are shapedbypowerfulbehavioural,social,politicalandeconomicforces(Mack, 1991,1-3).Diseasesare,therefore,mostappropriatelyunderstoodasunstable constructs(thisisnottodiminishtheimportanceofthebiologicalcomponent), whicharehistorically-andculturally-determined.Medicaldiscourses(like thoseofscience),farfrombeingrarefied,discreteformsofcommunication aboutthehumanbody,canbeshowntoconstitutethemselvesthroughtheir intersectionwithotherdiscourses(WrightandTreacher,1982,8-15).Itisnow increasinglyunderstoodthatanalogiesmediatedthroughtropologicallanguage functioncentrallyinconnectingapparentlydisparatecategoriesofknowledge, helpingtorenderthemysteriousmoreintelligible,moreordered,lessfearful. AsthecognitivephilosopherMarkJohnsondescribes:'metaphorisoneofthe chiefcognitivestructuresbywhichweareabletohavecoherent,ordered experiencesthatwecanreasonabout'(1987,xv).Whenanewdisease syndromeoccursthatfailstofitreadilyintocurrentmedicalparadigmsandto respondsatisfactorilytoavailabletreatments(therebyevokingconsiderable
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fear)itisliabletobeparticularlyheavilyfreightedwithmetaphors,mythsand withsocio-culturalvalueswhichinevitablyinfluencestrategiesforits managementandcontrol.SusanSontag'spowerfuldiatribesagainstthe metaphorizationofdisease,particularlyinrelationtocancerandAIDS(1977, 1989),servedtodrawtimelyattentiontotheveryrealandpotentiallypainful consequencesofthisubiquitousphenomenonforthesufferersofsuchillnesses: metaphorsandmythsareimplicatedinthestereotypingandblamestructures thatsurroundpoorlyunderstooddiseasesandinfluencebothinterventionand outcomes.YetSontag'spositivistcallfortheabolitionoftheuseof metaphoricallanguageinrelationtodiseaseisunrealistic(1977,3):integralto theinterpretativesystemthathumancultureshaveformakingsenseofand managingfrighteningbiologicalevents-especiallythosewhicharenot amenabletoscience-tropes,mythsandevenblamestructurescanserveuseful functionsandareundoubtedlyheretostay(Brandt,1991,94-5;Slack,1991, 128).Perhapsthebestwecandotominimalizethemorenegativeoffshootsof thisprocessinourowntimeistotrytoreachamoredetailedunderstandingof thecomplexprocesseswherebybiologicaleventshaveinteractedwithsocioculturalonesinthepast.Thisessaywillseektoexploresomeofthewaysof 'seeing'thetwomostdenselysymbolicbodilyandsocialafflictionsofthe period1480-1620-syphilisandbubonicplague.
