Bestie da domare: retoriche e moralizzazioni del vaccino nell’Inghilterra dell’Ottocento
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54103/2035-7680/27286Parole chiave:
vaccino; vaiolo; diversità sociale; medicina e letteratura; RomanticismoAbstract
Nel 1798, l'introduzione del vaccino contro il vaiolo genera un complesso intreccio di tensioni che sfocia in un feroce dibattito tanto in ambito medico quanto nel contesto letterario. Edward Jenner presenta l'inoculazione di vaiolo bovino non solo come mezzo per domare una malattia mostruosa, ma anche come strumento di riforma morale e sociale; al contempo, l’origine stessa della scoperta costringe a una riflessione sull’incerta frontiera che separa la scienza medica dalla cultura popolare delle classi subalterne, specie quella tramandata di donna in donna. La progressiva accettazione del vaccino dimostra il potenziale del testo letterario di influenzare e orientare il discorso medico-culturale: avvalendosi di una retorica in grado di imbrigliare l’eccesso, addomesticare l'irregolarità ed esorcizzare il disordine, scrittori quali Bloomfield, Anstey, Williams, Coleridge e Southey contribuiscono a normalizzare un fenomeno dalle implicazioni potenzialmente sovversive trasformandolo in strumento strategico di rafforzamento dell'ordine preesistente.
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