“The Diseases of Astonishment”: Cotton Mather and Narrative Possession
Abstract
It is generally accepted that Cotton Mather’s (1689/1914) account of the possession of the Goodwin children, published in Memorable Providences, helped to kindle the Salem witchcraft panic three years later (Hill, 2000; Reynolds, 2008). This article draws on historical scholarship, narrative theory, and cognitive science in order to throw light on the social conditions and cognitive processes whereby narrative content, genre, and practices can converge to destabilize identity, enabling in extreme cases a kind of narrative possession.Published
2016-06-20
How to Cite
Harshbarger, S. B. (2016). “The Diseases of Astonishment”: Cotton Mather and Narrative Possession. Narrative Works, 6(2). Retrieved from https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/NW/article/view/25800
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Copyright for articles published in Narrative Works is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to Narrative Works. By virtue of their appearance in this open access journal, articles are free to use, with proper attribution, in educational and other non-commercial settings.
