Meaning of "healer" in this context?

Question

what Merchant does in The Death of Nature is to show us that far from liberating women, in reducing nature to a mechanism without soul or intrinsic meaning, the Scientific Revolution and its accompanying technologies also reduced women's status in Western society, even to the extent of aiding the persecution and massacre of women who were healers. (Source)

"Healer" means one who heals diseases. This is the general meaning of the word. It sometimes, in a more specific sense, mean one who heals through faith. What is its meaning in the above sentence. Does it refer to all women, or only some of them? What does it mean when says persecution and massacre of women who were healers?

Answer 1

This is not really about English, but rather more about how the role of women has been historically perceived in certain European societies. There is a kind of romantic notion of certain women who acted as as healers by collecting natural remedies and dispensing advice, in order to minister to the sick and injured who would otherwise have had no access to medical services.

The author is saying that one of the consequences of the Scientific Revolution is that these women were often persecuted, and in some cases killed (possibly for the crime of "witchcraft"). The end result is that women were driven from their traditional role as the primary "healer" in a community (presumably to be replaced by male physicians).

In modern usage the term "healer" can apply to anyone who cures illness or injury; however, it is often used to distinguish those who practice non-traditional methods of healing (such as "energy workers" or purveyors of "natural/herbal remedies") from more traditional professions (such as doctors or nurses). Non-traditional healers would also include "faith healers" who claim to cure by invoking divine intervention, and who exist in almost every religion.

To some extent, this modern use of "healer" refers to the historical definition of "folk medicine", to imply that sometimes those older, traditional methods are more effective than modern medical therapies.

Side note: I call this a "romantic notion" because people who speak positively of traditional healers often cherry-pick their medically valid advice (such as using willow bark as an analgesic), and ignore the kind of "folk wisdom" that was bizarre, ineffective, and occasionally harmful (of which many have been documented).

This isn't to imply that educated physicians were much better. Up to the end of the 19th century, for example, bloodletting was considered a medically valid way to "treat" almost any disease (despite the fact that it not-infrequently killed the patient).

Again, this is more about history than language, but it may help to give some context to the authors use of "healer" in this context.

Answer 2

I believe it means that so-called "wise-women" or "herb-women" who offered herbal mixtures for various diseases were thought less of than formally qualified doctors (more often male), and in some places were legally prohibited, with a requirement for a medical license to offer treatment to others. mid-wives who were not formally qualified had similar legal issues. So by "women who were healers" I think the author means women who engaged in traditional healing practices, such and compounding and brewing herbal potions and extracts.

Answer 3

What the author actually said was, "the persecution and massacre of women who were healers". If he had meant to characterize all women as "healers", he likely would have used the present tense, "women, who are healers."

I think he is referring to a specific subset of women who were engaged literally in healing diseases. When he mentions the "persecution and massacre" of such women, he may be referring to the treatment of women accused of witchcraft.