Doctors, Healers and Apothecaries in the Costa Rican Sketch of Manner “Sea Usted Medico” (1854)

Abstract

“Sea Usted Medico” is one of Costa Rica's most acknowledged literary works for its inclusion in El Costumbrismo en Costa Rica (1966) by Margarita Castro Rawson. Although this short text was originally published in two parts in the Costa Rican newspaper Eco de Irazú in 1854, Castro Rawson only included the first part in her famous anthology. In "Sea Usted Medico" the reader find representations of different types of practitioners of medicine (physicians, healers, charlatans and apothecaries), as well as the use of remedies in Costa Rica during the second half of the 19^th century. In this work I argue that although these representations seemingly support the liberal reforms deemed necessary to promote progress, modernization and the development of a nation in formation – essentially supporting modern medicine–, studying the second part of “Sea Usted Medico”, however, complicates this position and rather reveals a coexistence between traditional medical practices and modern medicine in Costa Rica. In this context, this article analyses the complex relationship between the distinct types of medicine during this period in Costa Rica as seen from a literary and cultural point of view.