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A fasting girl was one of a number of young Victorian era girls, usually pre-adolescent, who claimed to be able to survive over indefinitely long periods of time without consuming any food or other nourishment. In addition to refusing food, fasting girls claimed to have special religious or magical powers.
The ability to survive without nourishment was attributed to some saints during the Middle Ages, including Catherine of Siena and Lidwina of Schiedam, and regarded as a miracle and a sign of sanctity. Numerous cases of fasting girls were reported in the late 19th century. Believers regarded such cases as miraculous.[1]
In some cases, the fasting girls also exhibited the appearance of stigmata. Doctors, however, such as William A. Hammond ascribed the phenomenon to fraud and hysteria on the part of the girl.[2] Historian Joan Jacobs Brumberg believes the phenomenon to be an early example of anorexia nervosa.[3][4]
- ^ "Fasting For Autophagy". Saturday, September 26, 2020
- ^ Blustein, Bonnie Ellen. (1991). Preserve Your Love for Science: Life of William A Hammond, American Neurologist. Cambridge University Press. p. 197. ISBN 0-521-39262-4
- ^ Lawson, Carol (December 8, 1985). "Anorexia: It's Not A New Disease". The New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
- ^ Brody, Jane E. (May 19, 1988). "HEALTH; Personal Health". The New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2010.