During The Victorian Era, The Fasting Girls Were Young Women Who Became Minor Celebrities After Claiming They Could Survive Long Stretches Of Time Without Any Food
During the 19th century, primarily in Europe and North America, some women and girls claimed they could survive for long periods of time without food. They were known as “the fasting girls.” Their cases were often associated with religious and spiritual beliefs.
The young women were usually poor and from humble backgrounds. They lived in rural areas, such as in Scotland or Wales. They would say they had stopped eating for a few months. In more extreme cases, they might have stopped eating several years ago.
Many of the girls gained attention and even became minor celebrities for their prolonged fasting. Sometimes, large crowds gathered to see the miracle for themselves.
Members of the medical community were skeptical, though. The fasting girls were described as miraculous, and it was suggested that divine intervention was what allowed them to survive on so little.
However, their hunger strikes were actually the result of traumatic accidents or medical issues. Later, the fasting was found to be from a mental illness called anorexia nervosa, which was not yet fully understood at the time.
One of the most famous examples was that of Sarah Jacob. She was a Welsh girl who supposedly began her fast in 1867, a few months after suffering a series of seizures.
She fell into a coma for a month, and when she awoke, she was bedridden and refused to eat or drink. In 1869, news of her condition spread, as the girl had somehow lived without sustenance for sixteen months.
For two weeks, seven doctors and four nurses were asked to observe Sarah. Her parents reportedly instructed them not to give her any food.
Sadly, she died while under medical supervision on December 17, 1869. Sarah’s parents were later charged and convicted of manslaughter.
Elena – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
Another case involved teenager Mollie Fancher from Brooklyn, New York. She spent half a century in her bed. It all began in 1865 when she became the victim of a freak accident.
She had fallen out of a horse-drawn trolley and was dragged along behind it by her scarf. The trolley incident occurred two years after a horseback-riding accident that nearly became fatal.
Mollie survived, but she declared that she had lost her vision. Apparently, she also gained a connection with the spiritual realm and other supernatural abilities, such as predicting the future and reading without the use of her eyes.
She no longer needed to eat or drink, and for the next 48 years, she stayed bedridden without any nourishment. She died in 1916.
Ann Moore was a third example of a fasting girl, although she was actually a middle-aged woman. She lived in the village of Tutbury, Staffordshire, England.
Ann claimed she hadn’t eaten for five years. But the reasons behind her fast were never consistent, and one of them included being repulsed by caring for a sick patient with rotting sores.
She became so popular that a wax figure of her was erected in Boston. When doctors began to challenge her story, she admitted that it was all a hoax. Soon after, she died.
Overall, the phenomenon of fasting girls reflects a combination of faith, medical misunderstanding, and psychological factors.
It also shows what society expects from women, such as the idea of going through suffering to achieve purity.
This historical incident highlighted the need for a better understanding of eating disorders and the mental health issues involved.
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