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• 1 2020-09-14T15:30:46-04:00 Illness: Insatiable and Inescapable 14 plain 2020-12-09T20:55:17-05:00 “‘To my right stood the Savior in white wavy clothes, his beautiful head crowned with thorns, the heavy cross on the shoulder, his gaze filled with gentle pain as he looked in my direction and beckoned to me.
              ‘To my left, however, a woman revealed herself. Her marble limbs seemed to stretch and glow in the moonlight. She was a woman of that kind of beauty, a beauty that has something devilish to it… Her white hand seemed to stretch towards my warm fluttering heart…’” (Sacher-Masoch, 15)
             
         Sacher-Masoch’s “The Dead are Insatiable” is a story of tuberculosis, a commentary on the social confusion of tuberculosis, and a general metaphor for illness. The dominant sociocultural beliefs surrounding tuberculosis in the mid to late 19^th century present as a “diathesis dichotomy.” Tuberculosis was a “disease of individuals, associated not with contagion but with personal characteristics, behavior, and lifestyle” (Byrne, 24).  In this model of acquiring the diathesis, we are presented with the statue of Jesus and the beautiful marble woman; the statue of Jesus represents the innocence and spirituality of acquiring tuberculosis and the marble woman represents the passion and desire associated with the disease.
  
         We first see the diathesis dichotomy in the more obvious comparison of holiness versus sin and temptation, in the fact that one of the statues is the Savior and the other a devilish, desirable woman. As Manwed enters the room, the statue of Jesus beckons to him, whereas the marble woman stretches and reaches for him. To go to the Savior, Manwed must direct himself and take initiative in going towards him. The marble woman can simply reach and grab for Manwed. Being a spiritual, holy person takes great strength, as one must turn away from desire as represented by the marble woman. Desire and temptation, however, can simply reach for and entrap a person. The idea of one being susceptible to tuberculosis through their innate uniqueness, creativity, and innocence claims tuberculosis as a metaphorically spiritual disease. It was believed that tuberculosis was a “spiritual blessing” for the afflicted’s own greatness of “moral strength” (Byrne, 28). Desire and temptation as the cause for tuberculosis exploits one’s own behaviors. The sufferer has “too much,” whether it is repressed desires, increased sexual desires, or social deviance. Manwed’s development of tuberculosis is due to his deviance from the norms in social behavior and desires. What then happens once an individual’s diathesis for tuberculosis is determined?
  
         The social confusion surrounding tuberculosis was evident in the numerous dichotomies present in explaining tuberculosis and evident by the lack of medical knowledge and treatment of tuberculosis. Many of the contradicting beliefs can be applied to both diatheses. The metaphor for Jesus as the innocent, child-like tuberculosis sufferer, and the metaphor of the marble woman as excess can be applied to getting tuberculosis as a test of God or as of deserving illness. In the case of the spiritual sufferer, God blesses one with tuberculosis as a way to prove devout; the sufferer gets tuberculosis as an affirmation of moral superiority. The sufferer of excess is punished with tuberculosis for excessive behaviors by God.
  
         When applied to illness as a whole, Sacher-Masoch’s use of statues that embody purity and evil affirm that one cannot evade illness. For this story, it does not matter whether one lives a life of virtue and welcomes illness as challenge from God, nor does it matter if one lives a life of vice—human nature cannot escape illness.
  
         Sacher-Masoch uses the statues as metaphorical representations of the sociocultural views of tuberculosis and people’s inability to evade illness. In this model, holiness and sin are used as vessels for illness in “The Dead are Insatiable.” The statue of Jesus simply “beckons” one to accept it, whereas desire uses forces, “reaching” to spread her infections. The reader is left confused by Manwed’s unknown condition, desiring a concrete ending, and with this interpretation that desire is satisfied. However great our desire to know Manwed’s fate is, the greatest desire evoked from this story is an escape from illness, which at first seems we have with the choice to embrace the statue of the Savior. In the end, it is simply not possible: illness plagues each and every person, no matter how we live or what we believe.

  For in the cities people were more involved in a variety of life pursuits, and with each other, and these circumstances provided a greater opportunity for disappointment, sadness, immoderate behavior, bad conduct, and bad morals, all of which could lead to bitter recrimination, regret, and consumption.
  
  Day, Carolyn A.. Consumptive Chic (p. 33). Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 
  
  The Christian sought to bear the burden of sickness well and in doing so, not only responded to the challenges of illnesses with dignity and strength but also gained a measure of control over the experience of sickness, if not over the outcome.
  
  Day, Carolyn A.. Consumptive Chic (p. 41). Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition.