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CHAPTER1.PERFORMANCEOFTHEBODY
AsGodinheaven,
Willreturnyoutoyourhealth!
OhMaryfromtheHighness,
Givesomefleshontothesebones,
Godwepleadforametamorphosis,
Towardsdeath,ortowardshealth.]
27
AnyanalysisoftuberculosisfromtheperspectiveoftheconsciousnessofChopin’s
contemporaries,orfromahistoricalperspectiveingeneral,needstotakeintoac-
countitsetiology.Itisachronicdisease,whichdevelopsinuleaps”andtheacute
stagescanbeseparatedbylongperiodsofremission,alsoknownaslatentTB.Ifthe
underlyingcauseisnottreated,tuberculosiscanbepronetoexternalfactors(like
fluviruses,stressorpoorlivingconditions),whichinduceitandatthesametime
supplyacamouflageintheformofumaskedtuberculosis”,wherebythedestructive
relapsesbecomemoreandmoreregularwhilebeingmistakenforatypicalcold(or
otherrespiratorytractinfections,likebronchitisandpneumonia).16
ItisinterestingthatTBbecameadiseasesooftenlinkedwiththeartsandthe
theatreofsocialimaginationonlyintheRomanticperiod,eventhoughitwaspre-
sentintheveryoriginsofthehistoryofhumanity.Perhapsoneofthereasonsisits
ubiquityatthattime.Inthefirsthalfofthenineteenthcentury,everyfourthorfifth
persondiedofit.17Afteraneffectivecurewasdiscovered,theartisticandcultural
interestinthediseasedeclined.
InancientChinese,HinduandoldEgyptianpapyriaswellasintheworksof
Hippocrates,therearedescriptionswhichseemtomatchthesymptomsoftubercu-
losis,asnotedbyBirutaFąfrowicz.InthebonesofpreservedEgyptianandPeruvian
mummiesmorphologicalchangeshavebeentracedwhichpointtoTB.Gallen(second
centuryAD)recognizedTBasaseparateailmentandtreateditwithaspecificdiet.
FranciscoFrascatoreclaimeditwasacontagiousdiseaseandthereforeinsixteenth
centuryItalytherewasadecreeorderingeveryobjectthatwastouchedbyasick
persontobeburned.RobertBoyleandafterwards,inthenineteenthcentury,René
LaennecandRudolfVirchowwroteaboutTBcasesbasedonpostmortemexami-
nations.In1865Jean-AntoineVilleminprovedthatTBisacontagiousdiseaseby
injectinginfectedsalivaorinfectedtissuetorabbitsthuscreatinginflammatory
tuberculosiscenters.WilhelmRoentgen’sdiscoveryofX-raywasaturningpoint,
leadingtoRobertKoch’s1882discoveryofbacteriaasthecauseforTBinboth
humansandanimals.18
Acrucialaspectoftuberculosiswastheabhorrencetowardsthedisease,which
wasassociatedwithlackofmoralsophisticationandthepollutionofsocialmargins.
16CzesławSielużycki,Chopin.Geniuszcierpiący,Aula,PodkowaLeśna,1999,p.35.
17Ibidem,p.23.
18
BirutaFąfrowicz,uHistoriawalkizgruźlicą”,in:Międzyliteraturąamedycyną,vol.I:Literackie
ipozaliterackiedziałaniaśrodowiskmedycznychaproblemyegzystencjiczłowiekaXIXiXXwieku,ed.
EugeniuszŁoch,GrzegorzWallner,WydawnictwoUMCS,Lublin,2005,p.444.
