Abstract
In this paper I will explore the stereotype of the stage hypnotist in fiction literature through the analysis of the novellas Professor Fargo (1874) by Henry James (1843-1916) and Drink: A Love Story on a Great Question (1890) by Hall Caine (1853-1931). Both Professor Fargo and Drink form part of a literary subgenre referred to variously as “Hypnotic Fiction”, “Trance Gothic” or “mesmeric texts”. The objective of my research, which examines both the literary text itself and its historical and social context, is to offer new and interesting data that may contribute to the development of a poetics or theory of the literary subgenre of hypnotic fiction. In this sense, this article is an essential contribution to a broader analysis that I have been working on, focusing on highlighting the generic features of this type of literature by analysing the stereotypes of hypnotists in fiction.
Highlights
The promotion of animal magnetism and hypnosis has always been associated with public demonstrations, often in spaces suitable for such events in hospitals, where the techniques and possibilities of these fields of knowledge would be presented to a select group of people (Lehman, 2009: 31)
According to Bruce Mills (2006: 6-10), this difference can be explained by the fact that in the United States there were no conservative medical authorities that could have articulated a critical response to animal magnetism and hypnosis; America’s profoundly democratic values enabled movements like vegetarianism, free love, Spiritism, homeopathy and phrenology to spread around the country with minimal opposition (Gauld, 1992 p. 180)
Animal magnetism and hypnosis played an essential role in the transformations of medical and scientific authority in late Victorian society (Winter, 1998: 5)
Summary
The promotion of animal magnetism and hypnosis has always been associated with public demonstrations, often in spaces suitable for such events in hospitals, where the techniques and possibilities of these fields of knowledge would be presented to a select group of people (Lehman, 2009: 31). For this study I have chosen the novellas Professor Fargo (1874) by Henry James (1843-1916) and Drink: A Love Story on a Great Question (1890) by Hall Caine (1853-1931) Both texts feature a stage hypnotist or magnetiser who, together with other stereotypes of magnetisers and hypnotists, would shape one of the most representative literary tropes of the literary subgenre of hypnotic fiction. According to Bruce Mills (2006: 6-10), this difference can be explained by the fact that in the United States there were no conservative medical authorities (as there were in Europe) that could have articulated a critical response to animal magnetism and hypnosis; America’s profoundly democratic values enabled movements like vegetarianism, free love, Spiritism, homeopathy and phrenology to spread around the country with minimal opposition Lucy overcomes her illness and never drinks again (Caine, 1907 p. 44-51)
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