Satire in Eighteenth-Century Medical Discourse: Elizabeth Nihell, Tobias Smollett and the Advent of Man-Midwifery

Whitt, Richard J.

Abstract

This paper examines Tobias Smollett’s scathing assessment in the Critical Review of Elizabeth Nihell’s midwifery treatise, Treatise on the Art of Midwifery (1760), a polemic against the use of instruments in childbirth and the increasing popularity of man-midwifery. This continues with Nihell publishing a response to Smollett’s review, and then Smollett responding to Nihell’s response. The Nihell-Smollett exchange brings discourses surrounding two concomitant medical controversies–the use of instruments in childbirth and the presence of men in the birthing chamber–to the fore, and it is particularly remarkable due to the satirical tone adopted in this exchange, particularly by Smollett. Using Simpson’s model of satirical discourse, this paper explores the textual-linguistic practices adopted by both Smollett and Nihell and elucidates how satire both construes and is construed by rival medical ideologies in mid-eighteenth-century England.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 17, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Oct 14, 2023
• Publication Date: 2023
• Deposit Date: Sep 18, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 15, 2025
• Journal: English Studies
• Print ISSN: 0013-838X
• Electronic ISSN: 1744-4217
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 104
• Issue: 8
• Pages: 1-18
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0013838x.2023.2266232
• Keywords: Midwifery; eighteenth century; satire; Tobias Smollett; Elizabeth Nihell
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/25360687
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0013838X.2023.2266232
• Additional Information: Peer Review Statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope.; Aim & Scope: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=nest20; Received: 2023-07-13; Accepted: 2023-09-17; Published: 2023-10-14