Pocky Wenches Versus La Pauvre Femme: Medical Perceptions of Venereal Disease in Seventeenth-century England and France Page: 42
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second half of the seventeenth century in France continued a non-female gendered assessment of
syphilis.
Francois Mauriceau: Extending Venereal Treatment to all Women
In 1668, Francois Mauriceau published a treatise that specifically concerned the maladies
suffered by pregnant women. Works directed at diseases of pregnant women, especially venereal
disease, lacked a presence in the treatises of early modern England. The extensive volume of
over 432 pages described the various diseases pregnant women potentially encountered, which
included gonorrhea and syphilis. The author remained equal in evaluating the disease, and
identified both fathers and mothers as potential victims of the disease.18 Throughout the treatises
of early modern England, a common depiction consisted of mothers infecting their children
malevolently. Although the author commented that the venereal infection spread from the mother
to the child (via the blood and nourishment of the womb), Mauriceau refrained from blaming the
evil of the mother for the cause of the infection.
Unlike English practitioners, such as L. S., Mauriceau contended that it was possible to
treat and cure women with venereal infections. He believed practitioners could treat women just
as effectively as they could treat men. The author commented on the extreme danger that syphilis
posed to pregnant women, especially due to the plausibility of infecting the child. 19 For
Mauriceau, the treatment methods implemented for the cure created particularly dangerous
situations for the mother. He recognized that women should avoid purging, as it could prove fatal
for the child.20 The author extensively addressed safer measures for pregnant women to obtain
treatment. Mauriceau had no doubt about the success of these treatments and claimed that a cure
18 Francois Mauriceau, Traite des Maladies des Femmes Grosses (Paris, 1668), 150.
'9Ibid., 151.
20 Ibid.42
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Findlater, Michelle J. Pocky Wenches Versus La Pauvre Femme: Medical Perceptions of Venereal Disease in Seventeenth-century England and France, thesis, December 2013; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc407748/m1/48/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .