Horses, Humans, and Domestic Bodily Knowledge in <i>All’s Well That Ends Well</i>
Without visual cues, modern viewers may not discern the ways that <i>All’s Well That Ends Well</i> brings together the bodies of horses and humans, asking viewers to consider the physical dependence and sometimes overlapping medical conditions the two species share. Helena’s success in c...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Humanities |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/11/5/121 |
| _version_ | 1797472934260899840 |
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| author | Hillary M. Nunn |
| author_facet | Hillary M. Nunn |
| author_sort | Hillary M. Nunn |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Without visual cues, modern viewers may not discern the ways that <i>All’s Well That Ends Well</i> brings together the bodies of horses and humans, asking viewers to consider the physical dependence and sometimes overlapping medical conditions the two species share. Helena’s success in curing the King’s fistula and conceiving Bertram’s child have not been linked to the skills involved in working with horses, let alone the blurring of boundaries between the human and the equine. This is particularly striking given that the play associates both the King and Bertram—the two men she must win over to gain happiness—with images of veterinary care and riding as represented in the era’s household medical and horsemanship manuals. Early modern recipe books provide a valuable glimpse of how seventeenth century viewers might have pictured the interconnectedness of human and animal bodies, in health and in sickness. These books make clear that some cures for fistulas could be used on humans or on horses. Such medicines take as a given the human body’s embeddedness on its surroundings, revealing an essential dependence between humans and horses, often blurring the boundaries assumed to exist between them. The play positions Helena not only as a practitioner of household medicine skilled in caring for humans and animals alike, but also as a subtle and resourceful horsewoman able to coerce others to do her bidding. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:09:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c3c1bb7879a34ac780dfe8949458b6d0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0787 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:09:02Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humanities |
| spelling | doaj.art-c3c1bb7879a34ac780dfe8949458b6d02023-11-24T00:24:47ZengMDPI AGHumanities2076-07872022-09-0111512110.3390/h11050121Horses, Humans, and Domestic Bodily Knowledge in <i>All’s Well That Ends Well</i>Hillary M. Nunn0Department of English, Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USAWithout visual cues, modern viewers may not discern the ways that <i>All’s Well That Ends Well</i> brings together the bodies of horses and humans, asking viewers to consider the physical dependence and sometimes overlapping medical conditions the two species share. Helena’s success in curing the King’s fistula and conceiving Bertram’s child have not been linked to the skills involved in working with horses, let alone the blurring of boundaries between the human and the equine. This is particularly striking given that the play associates both the King and Bertram—the two men she must win over to gain happiness—with images of veterinary care and riding as represented in the era’s household medical and horsemanship manuals. Early modern recipe books provide a valuable glimpse of how seventeenth century viewers might have pictured the interconnectedness of human and animal bodies, in health and in sickness. These books make clear that some cures for fistulas could be used on humans or on horses. Such medicines take as a given the human body’s embeddedness on its surroundings, revealing an essential dependence between humans and horses, often blurring the boundaries assumed to exist between them. The play positions Helena not only as a practitioner of household medicine skilled in caring for humans and animals alike, but also as a subtle and resourceful horsewoman able to coerce others to do her bidding.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/11/5/121<i>All’s Well That Ends Well</i>horsesmanuscriptrecipe booksdomestic medicineveterinary care |
| spellingShingle | Hillary M. Nunn Horses, Humans, and Domestic Bodily Knowledge in <i>All’s Well That Ends Well</i> Humanities <i>All’s Well That Ends Well</i> horses manuscript recipe books domestic medicine veterinary care |
| title | Horses, Humans, and Domestic Bodily Knowledge in <i>All’s Well That Ends Well</i> |
| title_full | Horses, Humans, and Domestic Bodily Knowledge in <i>All’s Well That Ends Well</i> |
| title_fullStr | Horses, Humans, and Domestic Bodily Knowledge in <i>All’s Well That Ends Well</i> |
| title_full_unstemmed | Horses, Humans, and Domestic Bodily Knowledge in <i>All’s Well That Ends Well</i> |
| title_short | Horses, Humans, and Domestic Bodily Knowledge in <i>All’s Well That Ends Well</i> |
| title_sort | horses humans and domestic bodily knowledge in i all s well that ends well i |
| topic | <i>All’s Well That Ends Well</i> horses manuscript recipe books domestic medicine veterinary care |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/11/5/121 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hillarymnunn horseshumansanddomesticbodilyknowledgeiniallswellthatendswelli |