Author(s): Eluned Summers-Bremner

Cultural Studies

Throughout human history, the condition of habitual sleeplessness known as insomnia has been fraught with contradictory meanings. Deplored and admired, feared and idealized, insomnia persists today not only as an experience of human suffering, but as an indicator of the most charged of contradictions on which advanced societies run and depend. Taking a broad historical sweep, this new book investigates the many-layered versions of sleeplessness and insomnia in culture, from myth and folklore to the arts and popular medicine. "Insomnia" explores the ancient roots of sleeplessness in classics such as the Mesopotamian epic, "Gilgamesh", the "Iliad" and "Odyssey", the "Aeneid" and the Bible, as well as customs surrounding sleep and waking in Asian culture. It examines medieval and early modern wakefulness related to lovesickness, melancholy, and even demonic possession, and the practice of prayer and vigilance at night. "Insomnia" further considers the diagnosis of insomnia as a nervous disorder, psychoanalytical interpretations of the condition, and insomnia due to the trauma of war.