It is NOT our fault
Eleanor was twenty-four when she stopped menstruating. It happened after her first “almost” pregnancy — a stillbirth followed by fever and bleeding. The midwife said she needed a “cleansing,” done at home, roughly, using a metal instrument and hot water. It was supposed to restore balance, to “reset” her womb. Instead, the bleeding stopped completely. Months passed, and her menses did not come again. With fear, she mentioned it to her husband. He went to the bar to talk with his friends about it. Soon the rumors spread: that she had sinned. The husband, under pressure, went to the magistrate. He said his wife had changed after the birth — that her body was cold, that she had refused him. There was no trial, just a statement and a verdict. They called it infidelity . She was hanged three days later in front of the church. The official record said “moral corruption.” No one protested. Two days after the execution, a traveling physician arrived in town. He asked to examine her body. They ...