' Then she falls in love with an employee, and makes the crudest
advances to him, believing that she is thus executing the will of Jesus.
'Necessity makes laws,' she exclaims to him, 'the moments are pressing, I
have been waiting too long.' She still speaks of her religious vocation
which might be compromised by so long a delay. 'I do not want to get
married.' Gradually a transformation took place; the love of God was
effaced and earthly love became more intense than ever. 'Quitting the
heights in which I wished to soar, I am coming so near to earth that I
shall soon fix my desires there.' In a last letter Therese recognizes with
terror the insanity to which the exaltation of her imagination had led
her. 'Now I only believe in God and in suffering; I feel that it is
necessary for me to get married.'"
Mariani[402] has very fully described a case of erotico-religious insanity
(climacteric paranoia on an hysterical basis) in a married woman of 44.
During the early stages of her disorder she inflicted all sorts of
penances upon herself (fasting, constant prayer, drinking her own urine,
cleaning dirty plates with her tongue, etc.). Finally she felt that by her
penances she had obtained forgiveness of her sins, and then began a stage
of joy and satisfaction during which she believed that she had entered
into a state of the most intimate personal relationship with Jesus. She
finally recovered.
Pages:
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567