ABSTRACT

This article scrutinises shame in early modern Britain through the lens of Protestantism, and explores when, where, and why Protestants felt shame, and how they expressed, interpreted, and utilised this emotion for devotional and moral purposes. It argues that shame was a spiritually-productive and often individual emotion, which was wholeheartedly embraced by Protestants, and constituted an important part of their identity. This article offers a picture which differs from the modern stereotypical assumption that shame is intrinsically a harmful and social emotion, and challenges the view that Christianity had led to the dissolution of a shame culture in Western society.

摘要

本文通过新教徒的眼光审视了现代英国早期的耻辱，并探讨了新教徒何时，何地，为什么感到羞耻，以及他们如何表达，解释和利用这种情感来达到虔诚和道德的目的。它辩称，羞耻是一种精神上产生的情感，通常是个人情感，被新教徒全心全意地接受，并构成了他们身份的重要组成部分。本文提供的图片与现代刻板印象中认为羞耻本质上是一种有害的社会情感的假设不同，并挑战了基督教导致西方社会羞辱文化消散的观点。