About medicine and the arts. Charcot and French literature at the fin-de-siècle.
The relationship between medicine and the arts, literature in particular, has many aspects. One of the most obvious relations is the use of literature as a source for historical studies. Jean-Martin Charcot and his school often appear in French literature at the end of the 19th century. Several aspects will be highlighted in this study, including (1) the ideas about degenerative diseases in the work of Emile Zola, the main author of the naturalistic movement; (2) decadence and spiritism in two "transitional" novels by Joris Karl Huysmans, who, once supporter of the naturalistic movement, changed his ideas following observations of disease and cure that could not be explained in a scientific way. Charcot's work on hysteria and hypnosis, as well as Brown-Séquard's rejuvenation experiments with testicular extracts played an important role with this respect; (3) Charcot's relationship with the Daudets, in particular his treatment of Alphonse's tabes dorsalis and the ambivalent attitude of his son Léon Daudet towards Charcot; (4) the influence of the lectures at the Salpêtrière on the work of Guy de Maupassant, who attended the lessons in the mid-1880s. The reading of novels and biographies of these authors provides a part of the social context and the cultural atmosphere in Paris at the "fin-de-siècle" when Charcot and his school played an important role in medicine. Moreover, it shows the influence of medicine and science on society as recorded by writers.
Koehler
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Dept. of Neurology, Atrium Medical Centre, PO Box 4446, 6401 CX Heerlen, The Netherlands. pkoehler@knmg.nl
D005602:France; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D008093:Literature, Modern / Q000266:history*; D008513:Medicine in Literature; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000266:history*; D009462:Neurology / Q000266:history