ABSTRACT
In the early modern period, the concept later known as maternal imagination started to gain prominence in medical science. The idea was that women were particularly sensitive to external and internal stimuli. This sensitivity was thought to be especially hazardous to women during pregnancy or even during conception. Should a woman experience or imagine something shocking, the shock might initiate a cognitive process that could affect her future child. The idea underlying this phenomenon is far older, dating as far back as the Old Testament. Regardless of the era, maternal imagination was a concept powerful enough to be used to enslave women on the grounds of their emotions, to turn their natural senses against them. As is shown in this chapter, not only was this a form of gaslighting—making women believe their thoughts were of physical consequences—but also a form of dehumanisation. Considering the Old Norse biblical compilation Stjórn, selected Icelandic sagas, and Icelandic folktales, this chapter explores the mentioned emotional blackmail, how weaponising women’s emotions against them is a product of masculine emotions, and how these emotions became an engine of historical abuse.
