A Respectful Challenge to the Nineteenth Century's View of Itself

Western Europe in the nineteenth century was undeniably undergoing significant changes in the worlds of medicine, law, and literature, as well as in its family life and demographic structure. ¹ The century was hallmarked by the industrializing process and man’s belief (and, yes, I do mean “Man”) in himself and his ability to control and dominate the world around him, be it in terms of imperial conquest or of the very health of his own person. That is how the nineteenth century saw itself, and indeed that is often how we see the nineteenth century. Yet, I suggest that when it comes to geriatric medicine and the medicalization of old age, we might have taken the nineteenth century’s understanding of itself too much at face value. I want to explore how the topography of old age and health care changes when we broaden our frame of reference to include those centuries prior to the nineteenth and when we allow for more inclusive definitions of the terms “medicine” and “medic,” rather than limiting ourselves to modern meanings generated in the nineteenth century. In short, I want to suggest that the “medicalization” of old age and beginnings of geriatric medicine were products of late-seventeenth- and early-eighteenth-century England, if not earlier, and to explore those developments in terms of an early expression of modern gerontology. ²