In the fall of 1811, Frances Burney went through a surgery to remove a growth that was identified by the doctors as a cancerous tumor. Prior to the operation, the woman had experienced pain in her right breast and was advised to perform it earlier. Unfortunately, she was rather reluctant until her husband and friends convinced her to consent to the surgery. Burney would look for other alternatives to cure her condition, but to no avail, which is why the surgery was performed.
At the beginning of the letter, Frances was rather fearful and reluctant, while struggling with severe pain. It is clear that she had hope for a less aggressive method for treating her condition, so she would consult other doctors and specialists. And during a short period of time, Burney’s struggles with pain were more brief and rare. Alas, her condition then deteriorated, and she had to consent to the surgery.
Upon realizing the inevitability of this procedure, Frances mentally prepares herself for the upcoming ordeal. Even the preparation was rather dreadful for her, as she stated in this line: “I now began to tremble more violently, more with the distaste and horror of the preparations than of the pain” (Still, 2017). During the preparation, Burney was conflicted between wanting to somehow escape this situation and coming to terms with it.
The peak of the woman’s self control and mental strength is shown throughout her lying on the surgical bed, in spite of the horrific pain caused by the process. The rest of the letter depicts her experiences in graphic detail: the dreaded incisions, the discussion of the process, her having to witness the surgery from start to finish. The process took only twenty minutes, but it was a rather severe ordeal. Nonetheless, Frances did not ask to stop the process, tried her best not to speak, she remained still throughout the operation. The end of the surgery exhausted her to the point of having to be carried.
In conclusion, Frances Burney’s experience, despite the short period of time, was rather graphic and horrifying. The woman dealt with a lot of pain and had to witness every single action being taken during the surgery. Nonetheless, she did not move or ask to stop, thus courageously enduring what she saw as torture. Cases like Frances’ show how strong can a person’s mind be when presented with a horrifying and inevitable ordeal.
Reference
Still G. (Ed.) (2017). The court journals and letters of Frances Burney: Volume V: 1789. Oxford University Press.