A Comparative Reading of Medical Ethics in Late 19th Century German Literature Open Access
Chiruvella, Varsha (Spring 2019)
Abstract
As a prospective medical student, I am fully aware of the challenges the medical world faces in ethical end-of-life care. With my experience in German culture and language, I wished to combine my interests in medicine and German by examining public discourse on the topic of assisted death in late 19th century German literature. I analyze Ein Bekenntnis by Theodor Storm (1887), the first German novella that addressed this modern controversial topic in medicine, and Arthur Schnitzler’s play, Professor Bernhardi (1912), which also incorporates the theme of ethical end-of-life procedures, particularly the matter of patient non-disclosure.
Ein Bekenntnis presents the confrontation between childhood friends Hans, a present-day lawyer, and Franz Jebe, a physician. Jebe confesses to Hans that he had poisoned and killed his wife with the hopes of fulfilling her wishes to alleviate the pain caused by her stomach cancer. However, protagonist Hans perceives Jebe’s act as murder. Professor Bernhardi portrays the discourse between a Christian priest and Bernhardi, a Jewish Viennese physician, on the case of a young woman who lay on her deathbed after committing the crime of abortion. While the priest desires to absolve the sins of the patient, Bernhardi is determined to leave his patient undisturbed and ensure her a peaceful, “happy death.”
By analyzing the ethical situations in both texts, I discover the ambiguity of the Hippocratic oath in commonly-regarded dilemmas faced in medicine. A contemporary analysis of ethical principles outlined in the Hippocratic oath, in context of these literary works, opens the door to an array of intriguing ethical questions and shows how relevant such a centuries-old text is in the realms of literature and medicine. While certain aspects of medical ethics remain universal and unambiguous, other aspects that handle controversial issues are more arguable, such as physician-assisted death and the obligation to disclose medical information. I examine how ethical concepts illustrated in German literature are applicable to today’s medical practice, and explain what has changed regarding end-of-life care from that historical timepoint to now. In discussing both texts, I reveal a deeper complexity to ethical end-of-life care that incorporates elements of religious belief, German Nazi-time history, and medical decision-making.
Table of Contents
Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 1
Chapter 1: Theodor Storm ................................................................................................................. 15
Chapter 2: Arthur Schnitzler .............................................................................................................. 28
Chapter 3: Hippocratic oath & ethics discussion ................................................................................. 47
Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 62
Works Cited ..................................................................................................................................... 68
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