Post Mortem
Phenomenon of Post Mortem Photography
Abigail Altman
WRT 202-108
Introduction:
Victorian post mortem photography was a custom prevalent in Europe and, to some lesser extent, the United States. It was a culture where people used to pose for photographs with their deceased loved ones for memory purposes. This was a way through which families could mourn and accept the loss of their loved ones. Remembrance encouraged the practice of post mortem photography since most people, especially infants and young adults, were photographed together with their family members to keep their memories alive. This paper will argue that many individuals from the Victorian era who participated in post mortem photography were heavily influenced by religious beliefs that in time developed into religious fixations.
Post mortem photography is defined by modern psychiatry as an aspect of acute grief, which occurs in the early aftermath of a death. Acute grief can be intensely painful and is often characterized by behaviors and emotions that would be considered unusual in normal everyday life. Some individuals from the Victorian era (1837-1902), who believed in post mortem photography, saw their life here as an entrance to eternal life in heaven. However, these individuals from the Victorian era further believed in freeing the soul so that it was not enslaved in the body after death and further believed that post mortem photography would so free the soul of the deceased.
Background:
Even though post mortem photography and the dead have a long history, most associate post-mortem photography to the Victorian period in Europe and, to some lesser extent, the United States. Post-mortem photography was very popular in this 19th century period because the invention of the first photographic process, daguerreotype (a photographic process, which a picture on a silver surface sensitized with iodine was developed by exposure to mercury vapor,
Abigail Altman
WRT 202-108
Introduction:
Victorian post mortem photography was a custom prevalent in Europe and, to some lesser extent, the United States. It was a culture where people used to pose for photographs with their deceased loved ones for memory purposes. This was a way through which families could mourn and accept the loss of their loved ones. Remembrance encouraged the practice of post mortem photography since most people, especially infants and young adults, were photographed together with their family members to keep their memories alive. This paper will argue that many individuals from the Victorian era who participated in post mortem photography were heavily influenced by religious beliefs that in time developed into religious fixations.
Post mortem photography is defined by modern psychiatry as an aspect of acute grief, which occurs in the early aftermath of a death. Acute grief can be intensely painful and is often characterized by behaviors and emotions that would be considered unusual in normal everyday life. Some individuals from the Victorian era (1837-1902), who believed in post mortem photography, saw their life here as an entrance to eternal life in heaven. However, these individuals from the Victorian era further believed in freeing the soul so that it was not enslaved in the body after death and further believed that post mortem photography would so free the soul of the deceased.
Background:
Even though post mortem photography and the dead have a long history, most associate post-mortem photography to the Victorian period in Europe and, to some lesser extent, the United States. Post-mortem photography was very popular in this 19th century period because the invention of the first photographic process, daguerreotype (a photographic process, which a picture on a silver surface sensitized with iodine was developed by exposure to mercury vapor,
Cited: Hadley, L. Neo-Victorian Fiction and Historical Narrative: The Victorians and Us. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. Millian, C. A History of Post-Mortem Photography and Contemporary Post-Mortem Photographers. London: BiblioBazaar , 2011. Cadwallader, J. Spirit Photography Victorian Culture of Mourning. Modern Language Studies, 2008.