Self-immolation: cause and culture.
Accounts of self-inflicted death by fire are numerous and are found from antiquity to present times. We review selected examples of self-immolation from historical record, in mythology and as part of religious and cultural tradition. We discuss the use of self-immolation as a literary device in the arts including fiction, opera, movies, and song. We offer motives for this horrifying act and discuss how it has been used as a form of protest for political reasons or for individual maltreatment or as a means to end intense personal suffering. Finally, we explore what setting oneself alight may represent from a psychodynamic perspective.
Romm
Sharon
S
Department of Psychiatry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Combs
Heidi
H
Klein
Matthew B
MB
D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005390:Fires; D006801:Humans; D009040:Motion Pictures; D009146:Music; D009229:Mythology; D011057:Politics; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior; D013405:Suicide