Kanttekeningen

Het lijk als curiosum: een aantekening naar aanleiding van Ariès "L'homme devant la mort"

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Abstract

The corpse as a curiosity — In this article it is argued that the „profanation” of a dead body into a curiosity will only occur when a living being is not able to remember the deceased as a living creature. In this case the corpse is considered as a human being without a history. Reduced to this condition there is a real chance that contact with a dead body is sought after because of its „awfulness”, its „peculiarity”, its „aesthetics” or its „obscurity”. In what follows we try to illustrate this idea with historical examples. With the transi the curiosity of the dead body lies in its aesthetic appreciation. In the case of dissection the accent lies in what the physical human being has concealed and is still concealing and in the example of the morgue the curiosity of the corpse lies in the thrill it causes.

How to Cite:

Kruithof, C., (1982) “Het lijk als curiosum: een aantekening naar aanleiding van Ariès "L'homme devant la mort"”, Tijdschrift voor Sociale Wetenschappen 27(3), 282–290. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/tvsw.94826