Four famous suicides in history and lessons learned: A narrative review

Abstract

History can complement the scientific disciplines in teaching us about the nature of suicide. The death of Socrates, especially as described by Xenophon, suggests fear of the frailties of old age as a motive for suicide. A Platonic view implies heroism and martyrdom. Cleopatra's death and Kurt Cobain's signify the importance of losing when the stakes are high, to the extent that the potential loss is simply too great to live with. Hemingway's death provides strong evidence for a genetic role at play, coupled with various risk factors, most notably mental illness (probably bipolar mood disorder) and setting unrealistic goals.