Borderlines of Madness in 19th century fiction

23/07/22 - 30/07/22

10:30 - 12:30

Tutor: Sarah Wise

We will explore various themes related to insanity and altered states of consciousness by examining a number of 19th-century works of Fiction. Novelists and poets often had the greatest insights into the workings of the mind, and many Victorian psychiatrists cited works of fiction in their case studies. Among the authors we will cover are Charlotte Bronte, Edgar Allan Poe, Wilkie Collins, Gogol, Herman Melville and Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

What is the course about?

To explore representations of extreme mental states in 19th-century fiction. All diagnoses were hotly contested, and among the psychological phenomena we will examine are ‘hysteria’, paranoia, alcoholism, ‘moral insanity’ (ie psychopathy), learning difficulties and post-natal depression. We will also examine the phenomenon of the Victorian asylum. Each of the authors had a huge insight into such states, and constructed impressive and thoughtful works of art to explore these often distressing conditions and the impacts of those around those who suffered them.

What will we cover?

-The Fall of the House of Usher (1839). Poe’s short story contains a range of psychological phenomena. They include: morbidity, neurosis/hysteria, heredity, possibly also venereal disease.

-Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (1847). We will concentrate on: ‘moral insanity’, alcoholism, serious delusional disorder/‘schizophrenia’, the menstrual cycle, home-incarcerated ‘lunatics’.

-The phenomenon of the Victorian asylum

-The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (1860). Wrongful or malicious asylum certification.

-The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1892). Gilman’s short story/novella covers: post-natal psychosis, the medicalisation of femininity, the late 19th-century diagnosis ‘neurasthenia’.

-Bartleby The Scrivener by Herman Melville (1853): ‘monomania’, autism, work-related anxiety, the ‘crisis’ of masculinity.

-The Diary of A Madman by Nikolai Gogol (1834); paranoia, delusions of grandeur.

-Harriet by Elizabeth Jenkins (1934). The plight of the learning disabled, legal measures to protect those deemed incapable of caring for themselves, the passing of the 1913 Mental Deficiency Act.