Abstract

Although the Historical concept of melancholia has undergone numerous metamorphoses, it has maintained a place in psychiatric classification and currently refers to a specific melancholic subtype of major depression (American Psychiatric Association 2000, 419). Although melancholia—as a description of pathological states—constitutes the focus of this paper, it must be pointed out that the range of states encompassed by melancholia cover a far wider spectrum than that covered by the term ‘disease.’ As Jennifer Radden notes, melancholia (and melancholy) referred to “both a normal disposition and a sign of mental disturbance” (Radden 2000, ix), thus covering a wide range of emotional variations that cannot be reduced ..