Obraz śmierci i umierania według nowożytnych poradników dobrej śmierci i Rozmów o śmierci i umieraniu Elizabeth Kubler-Ross.

Obraz śmierci i umierania według nowożytnych poradników dobrej śmierci i Rozmów o śmierci i umieraniu Elizabeth Kubler-Ross.

Images of death according to early modern ars bene moriendi and Elizabeth Kubler –Ross „On death and dying”.

Halina Bogusz

Death and dying in the XVIth and XVIIth century Poland and XXth century America seems to have nothing in common. Amazigly it is not exactly the case. We have examined the main features of Kubler-Ross descriptions of death and dying from her 1969 best selling book „On death and dying” and compared them to two most popular artis bene moriendi treaties from XVIIth century Poland. The latter – being very popular throughout two centuries must have influenced the society’s views on the last stages of man’s life. It is shown in the study that Dr.Ross’s attitude towards disease and death, rules of communication with patient as well as famous staging of emotional reactions of patient approaching death may be traced in early modern books of ars bene moriendi written by theologians and jesuit priests. After decades of death being tabooed in the XIXth and XXth centuries, a new discourse on death gradually restarted in the fifties and Kubler – Ross’s voice in this discourse was well heard, also in Poland where first translation of her book was edited in 1979. The universality of the descriptions as well as the same christian root of the two are the key reasons of numerous similarities found.

Prace analityczne

pl