This study contrasts the notions of insanity and healing of two key Quakers in two different eras, whilst positing that their faith was instrumental to their approach; in fact, they both recognised that mental distress was a part of reaching God, which meant that the ability to discern between spiritual experiences and religious excess was imperative. This section forms the backdrop to the work outlining: the central themes and rationale, relation with wider scholarship, the sources and methodology, and the structure of the work.
The Two Quakers
George Fox (1624-1691) was a religious leader and healer and is regarded by many as the founder of Quakerism at a time of great tumult and suspicion. William Tuke (1732-1822) was a wealthy merchant and the philanthropic founder of the York Retreat, an asylum for insane Quakers, at a time when Quietism (an approach of separateness from the World) and Evangelicalism (actively working in the World) met.
Quakerism and Mental Affliction
Using Fox’s Book of Miracles, in which he recounted instances of his spiritual healing of mental illness, as well as primary sources from or about the Retreat, the author argues that Quakerism was central to Fox’s and Tuke’s conception of insanity and its treatment. At the heart of this was the belief that the light of Christ touched everyone, no matter how removed from reality was their mental state. For both men, careful assessment of an individual and their behaviour was the only way ‘to distinguish the true voice of God from deluded hallucination’ in an atmosphere where Quakers and other Nonconformists were considered more susceptible to madness. A supportive milieu alongside ‘the practice of looking inward in silence’ were considered of profound help.
