Between Spiritualism and Hysteria: Science and Victorian Mediumship in Michèle Roberts¿ In the Red Kitchen

The aim of this article is to propose a reading of Michèle Roberts’ neo-Victorian novel, In the Red Kitchen (1990), in the light of recent work on the relationship between mainstream science —for example, the study of nerve illnesses— and the occult sciences in the second half of the Victorian perio...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autor: Arias Doblas, Rosario
Tipo de documento: Artigo
Estado:Published version
Data de publicação:2005
País:España
Recursos:Universidad de La Laguna (ULL)
Repositório:RIULL. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de La Laguna
OAI Identifier:oai:riull.ull.es:915/18884
Acesso em linha:http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/18884
Nível de acesso:Acesso aberto
Palavra-chave:narrativa histórica contemporánea
ciencia y literatura
espiritismo victoriano
Michèle Roberts
histeria
Descrição
Resumo:The aim of this article is to propose a reading of Michèle Roberts’ neo-Victorian novel, In the Red Kitchen (1990), in the light of recent work on the relationship between mainstream science —for example, the study of nerve illnesses— and the occult sciences in the second half of the Victorian period. This novel examines the connections between hysteria and spiritualism, as well as challenges and demystifies the scientific discourse of early psychol- ogy, thus proposing a “hysterical” narrative. Lastly, it will be argued that Roberts’ novel is part of a recent trend that can be found in neo-Victorian fiction in which nineteenth- century science and the occult interrelate.