Wonderful Births and Begging in the Modern Age. Topics in the History of Culture and Ideas

Before the experimental embryology and, later, of genetics, how could one explain the similarity between parents and children or their too evident dissimilarity? It could be explained by the wonderful power attributed to women’s imagination to influence the foetus during pregnancy, up to change its shape and appearance. As a result of an intense fantasy or as a result of a sudden fright, the figure of the baby in the womb could be modified or radically altered. The power of imagination in the pregnant mother has been considered as an undisputed scientific knowledge until the eighteenth century. The plastic power of the imagination knew no bounds and also served to explain extraordinary or supernatural birth, but also to legitimize the tricks of the poor and the beggars in taking advantage of malformed newborns or in inventing fantastic births to move curiosity or commiseration. The essay – on the intersection between cultural history, history of medicine and social history – begins with one of these cases, which occurred in London in 1726, where it was said that a woman, troubled by an unfulfilled desire, gave birth to rabbits...On this topic: Massimo Angelini: Strane voglie - Le voglie materne, tra segni sulla pelle, nascite straordinarie e imposture. Pentàgora, Savona 2020