Abstract
In the course of the nineteenth century the increasing importance of science changed the role that ‘mystery’ played in the collective imagination. Even before Queen Victoria’s reign Thomas Carlyle had reassessed common religious and popular beliefs in a chapter of Sartor Resartus (1833–34) entitled ‘Natural Supernaturalism’. While acknowledging the value of science, Carlyle questioned its mechanical view of the universe, refusing to renounce either faith or ‘mystery’, and relocating the supernatural in the inner dimension of the human being: Witchcraft, and all manner of Spectre-work, and Demonology, we have now named Madness, and Diseases of the Nerves. Seldom reflecting that still the new question comes upon us: What is Madness, what are Nerves? Ever, as before, does Madness remain a mysteriousterrific, altogether infernal boiling up of the Nether Chaotic Deep …1 Victorians were attracted both to the aberrant side and to the ‘superhuman’ powers of the mind. While the ancient abyss of hell seemed to close its doors, previously unfathomed inner abysses opened up their depths in a world whose coordinates of time and space were being traced with increasing exactitude.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
