Such public 'monsters' serve a similar role to gothic monsters, images that embody the cultural or psychological characteristics that we as a society find difficult to acknowledge The proximity of life and death brings human vulnerability sharply into focus. By excising them, through fantasies of execution or simply professional exclusion, we rid ourselves of the undesirable attributes they are perceived to carry.
Natalie lawrence (department of history and philosophy of science) discusses the history of monsters, and what they say about the people who invent them. The answer is the unexpected creativity that blossomed in a time of coronavirus, says catherine arnold, master of st edmund’s college.
