The Deepest Sense: A Cultural History of Touch

3. Painful Times

A Cultural Histor y of Touch C O N S TA N C E C L A S S E N the deepest sense Classen_Text.indd 1 3/15/12 2:48 PM studies in sensory history Series Editor Mark M. Smith, University of South Carolina Series Editorial Board MartinA. Berger, University of California at Santa Cruz Constance Classen, Concordia University WilliamA. Cohen, University of Maryland Gabriella M. Petrick, NewYork University Richard Cullen Rath, University of Hawai‘i at Ma ˉnoa Classen_Text.indd 2 3/15/12 2:48 PM the deepest sense A Cultural History ofTouch Constance Classen university of illinois press Urbana, Chicago, and Springfield Classen_Text.indd 3 3/15/12 2:48 PM © 2012 by the Board ofTrustees of the University of Illinois All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States ofAmerica 1 2 3 4 5 c p 5 4 3 2 1 ∞ This book is printed on acid-free paper. library of congress cataloging-in-publication data Classen, Constance The deepest sense : a cultural history of touch / Constance Classen. p. cm. — (Studies in sensory history) Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-252-03493-0 (hardcover : alk. paper) — isbn 978-0-252-07859-0 (pbk : alk. paper) — isbn 978-0-252-09440-8 (e-book) 1.Touch—History. 2. Senses and sensation—History. 3. Social history. I.Title. gn279.t68c56   2012 612.8'8—dc23   2011034118 Classen_Text.indd 4 3/15/12 2:48 PM for emma victoria Classen_Text.indd 5 3/15/12 2:48 PM Classen_Text.indd 6 3/15/12 2:48 PM Contents Acknowledgments................... ix The Inside Story...................... xi 1. a place by the fire...............1 The CommonTouch..................1 A Place by the Fire....................7 TheWalled City..................... 12 Hard atWork......................... 16 The Rites of Pleasure............... 20 2. a touchable god................ 27 ATactile Cosmology................ 27 MysticalTouch....................... 29 Gestures of Piety.................... 31 The Cult of Relics................... 35 Corpus Christi....................... 41 Ordeals by Fire...................... 43 3. painful times...................... 47 Suffering Bodies and   Healing Hands...................... 47 BlindTouch........................... 51 Leprosy, the Black Death,   and Dancing Mania................ 56 The Uses of Pain..................... 60 TheTorments of Hell............... 64 Sorrow and Compassion........... 68 Classen_Text.indd 7 3/15/12 2:48 PM 4. a woman’s touch............... 71 Male and Female Bodies............ 71 AWoman’sTouch.................... 75 Women’sWork...................... 77 Texts andTextiles.................... 81 Mystical Raptures   and Pain Craft...................... 85 TheWitch’sTouch................... 90 5. animal skins....................... 93 Animal Bodies. ....................... 93 Animal Companions................ 98 Beasts,Wild Men, and Slaves.....103 Animal Souls........................109 Experimentation and the   Campaign Against Cruelty......117 6. tactile arts. .......................123 TheAesthetics ofTouch...........123 The Feel ofArt......................126 Crafty Ladies........................133 Touch in the Museum. .............136 7. the modern touch............147 Petrarch’sVision....................147 The Decline of SacredTouch.....148 New SensoryWorlds...............153 The Persistence ofTouch..........158 The FinishingTouch................165 8. sensations of a new age...167 The Drill.............................167 The School, the Prison,   and the Museum..................171 The Feel of the City................178 The Electric Creed.................183 Touch at Home.....................186 The Stuff of Dreams...............191 Bibliography.........................199 Index.................................221 Illustrations follow page 122 Classen_Text.indd 8 3/15/12 2:48 PM Acknowledgments I am very grateful to everyone who assisted me during the years of preparation for this book.Among my colleagues in the field of the history of the senses I owe thanks to Mark Smith, who proposed I embark on the present study and Richard Newhauser,whorespondedwithsuchenthusiasmtoit.DavidHowesofferedinvaluable guidance and encouragement during the writing process and George Classen served as an insightful reviewer.Jonathan and Emma were always supportive of my work and the two of them, along with Mishi, provided wonderful company during the long months of writing. Gracias también a mi querida mamá por todo su apoyo. I wish to thank everyone who read the manuscript before publication for their positive responses and helpful suggestions. I appreciate, as well, the support and interest of my editors at the University of Illinois Press,Kendra Boileau andWillis Regier.The technical assistance given by Pierre-Louis Houle is much appreciated . I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many individuals from institutions around the world who have invited me to speak on the subject of the cultural life of the senses. I am grateful to the Canadian Centre forArchitecture, and to Phyllis Lambert and Mirko Zardini in particular, for inviting me to be a visiting scholar at the Centre and thereby enabling me to deepen my knowledge of the histories...