When A Grave Ceases To Be The Final Resting Place

Anatomy, Power, and Politics of the Dead

    In the early 18-19th century, the human corpse became a primary, but complicated source of fascination in social, medical, and political spheres. This isn't anything specific to this era, but the way the dead were debated upon was. When medical schools all over Europe began popping up with medical advancements on the rise, fascination in anatomical practices that used to just be the realm of science now became a foray into class and pushing the boundaries of morality. Naturally, with the rise of new medical schools and more students, there came a need for bodies—cadavers to be more specific—for the students to practice and study on. However, there weren’t enough bodies to be supplied and executions weren’t an every day happenstance. So what needed to be done to supply these bodies? Grave robbing—and so a new “profession” was born. It became a necessity and a necessity that rose into the public sphere of consciousness. 

 An anatomy study from students at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec

    Morality, as always, took center stage as it soon became public debate about who could be deemed "suitable" for medical dissection. As such, "the bodies of the poor, criminals, and other marginalized people"(Les corps vils 633), were chosen. Why? They were deemed to hold no social value after death, labeled "corps vils" or 'vile corpses". This deliberate classification allowed for experiments to be done with little to no repercussions because these bodies were deemed as such. It was a social classification as much as it was a medical one. Additionally, it was used to place further shame on criminals, intensifying the execution with the knowledge they could be used for medical dissection. On the other hand, while this was deemed ethical and legal, there was another side to it. The previously mentioned grave robbing. 

The Black Market That Sustained Anatomical Science

Grave robbing rose in infamy as the executed were not in abundance for medical facilities/anatomy schools to choose from. As such, men known as "resurrection men" arose and were tasked with this gruesome profession. They "formed organized groups that targeted freshly buried bodies" (VPMA) as they were the easiest to pick off. This did not go unnoticed however as public consciousness soon became aware of this practice. As a result,  public fear grew and medical schools began to be looked at with major suspicion, intensifying conflicts between them and grieving families. Not only that, but "families installed iron cages called mort safes to protect graves from body snatchers" (VPMA). These fears were not unfounded or baseless, however, as medical schools did certainly benefit from this illegal trade as anatomists would bought these bodies knowing they had come from less than legal means. They may not have acknowledged it, but that doesn't mean they were innocent. It was a systemic dependence born of the fact that "the legal supply of cadavers was grossly inadequate for the needs of medical schools." (Mitchell et al. 92).

Closing the Loop: Historical Anatomy and Shelley's Narrative

    Considering the time period this was going on, it is likely Shelley herself wrote Frankenstein with this in mind. When Victor Frankenstein gathers body parts under cover of night he mimics the actions of the resurrection men, however, his actions are done to suit his own needs in his venture to create the creature instead of for money like the men. As such, his actions were more for his own advancement and need to create something the world has never seen. In tune with that, his actions were also part of a larger narrative into the ethical and moral implications of using human experimentation for scientific advancement. Understanding the history and the role it played in the novel allows us to see it not only as a Gothic narrative but a reflection of the ethical and social questions that shaped its time period. 

Works Cited

Les corps vils. ISIS: Journal of the History of Science in Society, vol. 100, no. 3, 2009, pp. 633–634.

Mitchell, P. D., et al. “The Study of Anatomy in England from 1700 to the Early 20th Century.” Journal     of Anatomy, vol. 219, no. 2, 2011, pp. 91–99. Wiley Online Library, doi:10.1111/j.1469-   7580.2011.01381.x.

Vpma. “Cadavers, Corpses, and Bodysnatchers: A Brief History of Medical Dissection.” Vancouver     Police Museum, 31 Aug. 2021, www.vancouverpolicemuseum.ca/post/cadavers-corpses-and-bodysnatchers-a-brief-history-of-medical-dissection (vancouverpolicemuseum.ca in Bing).