• JOHN BROWN: PORTRAIT OF A MARTYR AS AN OLD [MAD]MAN

    Editor(s):
    Kreg Abshire (see profile)
    Date:
    2017
    Subject(s):
    Slavery, Culture--Study and teaching, United States
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    John Brown, madness, Abolition, American cultural studies
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/M6M90229W
    Abstract:
    Yet, there is one final consideration to be made with regards to the supposed historical “truth” of Brown’s alleged “madness” or “martyrdom,” respectively. Even if a modern medical, neurobiological, or psychological analysis of Brown was possible, it is highly likely that his actions would be considered within the realms of what psychologists call a “clinical population.” That is, his class of behaviours stretched beyond the limits—psychological, mental, physical—of the normative, “healthy population.” But is it not this “madness” that always makes a martyr? In the specific case of Brown, the issue is complicated by competing layers of cultural memory. Brown’s purposeful actions against an indisputably cruel national institution should not be regarded as “insane.” Yet cultural carriers—books, paintings, interest groups, museum inscriptions—continue to suggest otherwise. Perhaps, this is why I was so enthralled by Balling’s painting in the first place. At once heroic and wild, dignified and violent, it remains a true, timeless, and aptly ambiguous portrait of a Martyr and Madman.
    Metadata:
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    Published as:
    Journal article     Show details
    Publisher:
    Rocky Mountain American Studies Association
    Pub. Date:
    December 2017
    Journal:
    Quarterly Horse: A Journal of [brief] American Studies
    Volume:
    2
    Issue:
    1
    ISSN:
    2470-6191
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    5 years ago
    License:
    Attribution-NonCommercial
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