Portland Center Stage

The Plague Doctor: An Imaginary MD?

Posted by Kinsley Suer | 14 December 2010 | Comments (2)

In Molière’s The Imaginary Invalid, Argan, a hypochondriac, is constantly certain that his demise is imminent. His doctor, who attends to him dressed in garb typical of a “plague doctor,” is only-too-happy to feed into his patient’s hysteria. Even in the 17^th-century, little was understood about the plague and how it was transmitted. All that was known for certain was that it was deadly - and thus something to be feared. The last big outbreak of the bubonic plague was in London in 1666, only seven years before The Imaginary Invalid was first performed. However, various versions of the plague had been popping up all over Europe for hundreds of years, so one mention of the word was enough to strike up a bout of terror-induced goosebumps in all who heard it.

To combat outbreaks of the plague, community plague doctors were hired by an infected town and were then responsible for the treatment of plague patients only. To keep from spreading the disease, they had to refrain from interaction with the rest of the population.  The job was a dangerous and disgusting one (and chances of survival were slim), so it was never easy to find doctors willing to treat plague patients. Most legitimate doctors were smart enough to flee as soon as a new outbreak was discovered. Thus, most plague doctors were often not professionally-trained, experienced physicians, but instead either second-rate doctors not able to otherwise run a successful medical business or young physicians, just out of school, trying to get a medical business going.

So what exactly did these plague doctors look like? Try Googling images of “plague doctor” – it’s enough to give any child (or adult, for that matter) a good case of the heebie-jeebies!

 Essentially, each piece of the plague doctor’s costume was specifically designed to protect the wearer from the plague. Although we now know that the plague was spread by rat to flea to human contact, at that time it was believed that the plague was an airborne disease, spread by “bad air” – so every effort was made to completely cover every inch of the doctors’ exposed skin.

When fully dressed and ready for work, plague doctors wore:

1. A wide-brimmed black leather hat worn close to the head. At the time, a wide-brimmed black hat would have identified the wearer as a doctor. The hat may have also been used as partial shielding from infection.
2. A primitive gas mask in the shape of a bird's beak. The mask of the plague doctor was supposed to make the doctor look like an Egyptian divinity to scare off the disease. The beak, however, was actually a protective device to save the doctor from the unbearable infected stench of bodily fluids and unburied corpses. The beak was filled with strongly aromatic medical herbs and spices to overpower the stench of the “bad air” and ease the breathing process. The mask also had two vent holes and red glass eyepieces to protect the eyes.
3. A long, black overcoat. The overcoat worn by the plague doctor was tucked in at the neckline to minimize skin exposure. It extended to the feet, and was coated head to toe in wax.  It was likely that the wax was used to prevent phlegm or other bodily fluids from clinging to it.
4. A wooden cane. The cane was used to examine patients without directly touching them, and to keep others away from the infected patient during examination.
5. Leather gloves, full-length boots and breeches. Leather breeches were worn beneath the cloak to protect the legs and groin from infection. Gloves and boots covered the remainder of the doctor’s exposed skin to provide additional protection against flea bites and physical contact with infected patients.

It's likely that, while the plague doctor's clothing offered some protection to the wearer, the plague doctors themselves may have actually contributed more to the spreading of the disease than its treatment, in that the plague doctor unknowingly served as a vector for infected fleas to move from host to host.

Of course, it’s not known how effective plague doctors actually were in their treatment of the disease. But considering that the bubonic plague killed off at least a third of the entire population of Europe, we can make our own assumptions.

Comments (2)

Thanks Stan! So glad you were able to stop in.

• cynpdx
• 10 Jan 11 02:48

My wife and I were fortunate to have caught a portion of tech rehearsal with theater going friends visiting from NY. Wow! This is one funny play that had us all hysterical. Can’t wait to see the final version. Way to go Chris!

• Stanley Penkin
• Portland
• 08 Jan 11 03:20

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