People as Decorations

There are countless, heartbreaking examples of the awful ways humans can treat one another throughout human history. Our species has a penchant for treating one another horribly, from slavery to genocide to eugenics and more. But, not all instances of using and abusing other people resulted in such horrific carnage. Consider the way garden hermits live.

Most of us now would find it abhorrent to think of using another person as a decorative item. It represented wealth and culture in the 18th century. A real, live person who was being paid to live in a garden was the garden hermit. They would have a hermitage—a hut or other type of dwelling—and their only responsibility would be to occupy it. They might be asked to don a druid-style costume, for example. And it was assumed that they would go years without taking a bath. The landowner might brag about them to their friends as their hair and nails grew out.

The garden hermit's motivations are as odd as the habit itself. Back in the day, melancholy was seen as the highest condition of being, and a recluse was the epitome of it. They were able to exhibit a solemnity and devotion to solitude that was admirable. It didn't seem to matter that it was all somewhat of an act, at least insofar as the fact that they were dressed up and getting paid.