Suicide and Alienation: Martyrdom in Tudor England

Throughout history, alienation has emanated from a complex interweaving of individual psychosis and societal demands. Whereas at one time it was assumed that society imposed alienation upon men through economic or political determinism, it is now felt that men choose disaffection as a reflection of their personal reaction to that society.12, 17, 20 Thus economically comfortable as well as oppressed individuals suffer from alienation. This extreme estrangement from the community is reflected in the martyrdoms of the upper class Protestant reformers in Tudor England.* Although the reasons for martyrdom are manifold, spanning the political and sociological spectrum, personal frustrations and individual problems fostered such intense pain in the troubled souls of a few psychologically sick reformers that death was the only solution.

In a religiously oriented culture, martyrdom is the logical culmination of this extreme despair; it is the final desire to crush the troublesome inner self. The sick religious soul is so filled with unhappiness that he seeks to destroy his troublesome ego in the hope of tranquility, peace, and happiness in a better life to come. In modern parlance these individual suffered from the pathological state of extreme melancholia. The victim of this malaise experiences deep dejection, ceases to be interested in the outside world, taunts himself with reproach, and loses all self-respect.16 Depression, guilt, and pessimism pervade his life; he experiences no joy from the pleasures of earthly existence and the harmony of nature. When spring bursts