Victorian Suicide

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When Viscount Castlereagh, leader of the House of Commons, committed suicide in 1822, the coroner's inquest could only consider legal insanity or self-murder. His burial in Westminster Abbey sparked public outrage, as tradition dictated that suicides be buried at crossroads with a stake through the heart to prevent their souls from wandering. Barbara Gates examines how attitudes toward suicide evolved from Castlereagh's death to the end of the century. By 1900, the Victorians' moral condemnation and denial of suicide as a widespread issue had shifted to a more compassionate approach, alongside an unfounded belief in a "suicide epidemic," which Thomas Hardy described as a "coming universal wish not to live." Gates explores the intersection of history and literature, employing new historicism to discuss various topics, including the plot of Wuthering Heights and Victorian shilling shockers. Notably, she reveals that Victorian middle-class men often distanced themselves from suicide, attributing it to others—be it men from different times or places, "monsters," or women. Originally published in 1988, this work is now available again through the Princeton Legacy Library, which aims to enhance access to the scholarly heritage of Princeton University Press's extensive catalog.