This chapter, stemming from the archival discovery of two needles in a health file, examines the pain practices of Katharina Aigentler, an illiterate, unmarried woman who experienced the social and economic transformations of a Tyrolean village of peasants, tradesmen, craftsmen, and weavers around 1800. Suspected of self-harm and aspiring to be a living saint, her case highlights complex dynamics. The chapter addresses two questions: how Katharina’s self-inflicted pain was framed and who controlled the narrative of her actions. It then weaves biographical fragments into a microhistory, aiming to illuminate broader macro-historical contexts. Subaltern Studies offers a key methodological framework for this exploration of her lived experience.
University of Innsbruck, Austria - ORCID: 0000-0001-8671-6349
Chapter Title
A suspected would-be saint. Framings and fragments of the pain practices of Katharina Aigentler (1750–1823)
Authors
Maria Heidegger
Language
English
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-1072-0.04
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2026
Copyright Information
© 2026 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
Pain fragments
Book Subtitle
Practising Catholicism in the 19th and 20th centuries
Editors
Tine Van Osselaer, Leonardo Rossi, Kristof Smeyers, Maria Heidegger
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
184
Publication Year
2026
Copyright Information
© 2026 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-1072-0
ISBN Print
979-12-215-1071-3
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-1072-0
eISBN (epub)
979-12-215-1073-7
Series Title
Fragmentaria. Studi di storia culturale e antropologia religiosa
Series ISSN
2975-1217
Series E-ISSN
2975-1225