100 Stories of the Human Body

Author: Rudolf Schenda
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: Are there significant differences between the bodies of women and men? The games of the eyes and the sparks of love, the dangerous tongue and the tongue in the midst of five dangers, the sentimental spleen, the heart and the pious soul, the satirical caricature of the head and the errors of physiognomy, the skin used as a writing tablet, the miracles of the ears, from bloodletting to blood donation. This book helps readers better understand themselves, encourages them to deeply reflect on their bodies and their various functions, and recognize the vulnerabilities, wonders, and taboos of the body. The author is the chief professor of European folklore at the University of Zurich. He compiles leisure stories about the human body, medical reports, literary allusions, and proverbs from all over Europe, which can be said to be the legends and history of the human body. It fully demonstrates how people in the past recognized and treated the body, the origins of images and myths related to our bodies, and the complex changes they have undergone in modern times. The book tells about the obsessive aspects of the human body in the past (the superstitions and psychological states related to the human body) and the new human body practices of the modern era. This book is both a cultural history of the human body and a treasure trove of fascinating anecdotes and sensational events.