The Victorian Era saw a rapid increase in fad sciences and therapies, one of which being mesmerism. Mesmerism, or "animal magnetism," was created by eighteenth-century physician Franz Anton Mesmer, and claimed to give "one person the power to affect another's mind or body," (Winter, 1998). During the time of its popularity, mesmerism was used to treat many different illnesses and disabilities, its effectiveness widely criticized. Many physicians thought it to be a hoax and dismissed the practice as a whole; however, there were many who believed in it and thought it to be a very powerful tool. One woman, an author by the name of Harriet Martineau, even claimed that mesmerism was effective in treating her uterine tumors and improving her deafness.
Displays of mesmerism were extremely popular and would have been accessible to most Victorians by the mid 1800s. They typically took place in parlors with seating for a group of witnesses. The mesmerist would seat the subject before them and proceed to perform their experiments, beginning with sweeping motions over the skin of the subject. These sweeping motions were not close enough to touch the subject, but close enough for the energy to "transfer." Either with in a matter of minutes, or hours, the subject would fall into a mesmeric trance. Their eyes may be open or closed, but they appear to be sleeping. The subject is no longer aware of their surroundings, as well as any smells, sounds, or touches inflicted upon them; however, they are able to respond to stimuli given by the mesmerist. From here, the mesmerist would go on to show the audience their various experiments, ranging from simple mirrored movements to bewildering predictions of death. Displays like these did not become daily practice in Britain until mesmerism was popularized well respected physician, Dr. John Elliotson.
Dr. John Elliotson
Born in Southwark on October 29th, 1791, Elliotson was an accomplished physician who was held in high esteem by his community. He studied medicine at both the University of Edinburgh and Jesus College, Cambridge, before being elected professor of "the principles and practice of medicine" at University College London, and senior physician to University College Hospital. He was also co-editor of The Zoist, a journal dedicated to promoting alternative medicine practices of the time, ran alongside William Collins Engledue.
Image via https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/mesmerism.html
Being one of the first to use and promote the stethoscope, Elliotson was progressive throughout his career. He was constantly on the lookout for the latest and greatest "fringe sciences" to try out and integrate into his own practices (Winter, 1994). The stethoscope, acupuncture, and phrenology are just a few of the medical innovations that Elliotson dabbled with, never turning down a new perspective. When a "French disciple of mesmerism" by the name of Baron Jules Du Potet de Sennevoy arrived in London in 1837 to show off the practice, Elliotson was "first in line," (welcomecollection.org).
After witnessing Du Potet perform mesmerism on some of his patients at UCH, Elliotson became impressed with the results and eager to learn more. He began practicing mesmerism himself and invited a host of people to witness his experiments, including friends, colleagues, and journalists. Out of these witnesses, one notable guest was famous English author, Charles Dickens. Dickens became enthralled by mesmerism after viewing these displays, quickly learning the techniques for himself and practicing on his wife, Catherine. He was a friend and supporter of Dr. John Elliotson, exponentially increasing the popularity of both Elliotson and mesmerism itself to the Victorian public. The most famous and sought out performances of Elliotson's mesmerism were those conducted on the Okey sisters, Jane and Elizabeth.
The Okey Sisters
Elizabeth and Jane Okey, eighteen and sixteen years old respectively at the demonstrations' height of popularity, were sisters from Somers Town. Both had a history of epileptic fits and were admitted to Elliotson's hospital, UCH, in London in 1837 for treatment. Due to their demure and childlike personalities, Elliotson found their susceptibility to mesmeric treatments to be high, making them the perfect candidates.
Image via https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/mesmerism.html
Contrary to their ages, the Okey sisters appeared underdeveloped and displayed behavior almost infantile in nature. They could understand and follow commands, but they spoke in broken language and played together like children. The infantile nature of the sisters was said to be a result of their mesmeric treatment for epileptic fits, which allegedly left them cured. According to Elliotson, the Okey sisters had no memory of their past lives or personalities in their altered state of being, resulting in them having to relearn everything.
The Experiments
There were many experiments that Dr. John Elliotson would perform on the Okey sisters, often subjecting them to these routines day after day to meet the public's high demand. In a journal published in 1842, sensationally titled, "A full discovery of the strange practices of Dr. Elliotson on the bodies of his female patients!," an anonymous eye-witness details the displays he saw after visiting Elliotson's home in Hanover. After a chance meeting, the anonymous individual was introduced to Dr. Elliotson and surprised by his seemingly forthright manner. Believing the doctor to be an honest man, he decided to accept the invitation extended to him to witness these experiments first hand; however, he remained hesitant.
The first experiment the man witnessed was startling to him. He had requested a glass of water, which Dr. Elliotson had ordered Jane Okey to bring into the room. Just after setting down the glass, without knowledge of Dr. Elliotson behind her, Jane was sent into a trance by a simple wave of the hand. There she remained, frozen on the spot for a minute or two, before coming out of the trance with a shudder and returning to her seat.
The following experiments were done while Jane Okey was facing Dr. Elliotson. The witness noticed that each specific movement of the hand - one finger, two fingers, a whole hand - had a different effect on setting the girl to sleep. The whole hand being waved in front of her caused her to go completely ridged, only being recovered by the doctor placing his palms on top of hers. This would cause the muscles to relax as if there was some sort of energy transferring through his hands to hers. Additionally, Dr. Elliotson would experiment with the girls reactions to different substances, such as gold, silver, nickel, air, and water. The touch of any metal such as gold, silver, and nickel produced a similar effect in setting them to sleep, whereas the touch of iron awakened the patient.
The eyewitness's uncertainty toward the science of mesmerism began to sway when a specific experiment took place. An assistant covered Jane Okey's face with a thick board so she was unable to see anything taking place in front of her. The doctor proceeded to rub Jane's palm with lead several times, producing no result. He then touched the lead to his own palm and touched it to hers again, resulting in immediate rigidity of the patient. The doctor then took the witness aside and asked him how many times he should touch the lead alone before touching the lead to a piece of gold (gold was said to produce the most intense reaction). The witness suggested touching the lead to the gold on the fifth time, and sure enough, when the lead was touched to the gold on the fifth time, the intense rigidity returned. With no way to see or hear the process of the experiment, the witness began to believe that Jane was not pretending.
The older Okey sister, Elizabeth, was included in the demonstration later on. Different to previous experiments, Dr. Elliotson began this one with a routine of pressing both his hands over Elizabeth Okey's face while his assistant pressed their hands to the back of her head. She was set to sleep, and when she awoke she was no longer childlike in nature. She appeared to have returned to a mature and intelligent state of mind, speaking eloquently and questioning her loss of memory. After a few short minutes, he reversed the experiment by applying pressure to her palms with his thumbs, and she returned to her childlike state. The eye-witness reports finding this experiment disagreeable, positing the question, "If the patient can thus be restored to reason at the will of the operator, why not allow her to remain in that condition, and restore her to society!" (welcomecollection.org).
Below you will see a short example of a mesmerism demonstration.
Dr. Elliotson's Downfall
"Ultimately, however, Elliotson’s love of novelty was his downfall. Not content with showing that mesmerism could improve certain conditions and banish pain, he was bent on witnessing bizarre phenomena reported from the Continent, where doctors claimed patients could forecast the future, diagnose other patients’ ailments and distinguish ‘mesmerized’ water and metal." (welcomecollection.org)
Although Dr. John Elliotson's interest in mesmerism began as an innocent desire to explore new scientific advances, it quickly progressed into a theatrical display of bizarre and impossible feats. His love of novelty was what launched mesmerism to the height of its popularity and made it such a sensation. People who came to his demonstrations felt that they were witnessing the impossible, eager to tell anyone that they knew and urge others to go see for themselves. However, as the experiments got more and more remarkable, both the public and Elliotson's colleagues and friends began to grow suspicious of their validity. An investigation led by surgeon and social reformer Thomas Wakely determined that the Okey Sisters were frauds and that Dr. Elliotson was being duped. The hospital that Elliotson was employed at, UCH, requested that he cease his demonstrations with the Okey Sisters and discharge them from the hospital. Following this, Elliotson promptly resigned from his position as senior physician.
Even with his once well-respected reputation now completely tarnished, Dr. Elliotson remained dedicated to the craft of mesmerism. He continued to perform demonstrations in his own home, and even worked to make mesmerism more accessible to patients of lower income. To do this, he founded the London Mesmeric Infirmary in 1850, offering treatments to poor patients and pioneering the use of hypnotism in medical operations.
Dr. Elliotson also launched his journal The Zoist with co-editor William Collins Engledue. In this journal he promoted the success that he found in utilizing mesmerism as a method of anesthetic to perform surgical operations on patients painlessly, years before chemical anesthetic was first developed. He also wrote on topics such as phrenology, education, criminal justice, and treatment of insanity. There were 13 volumes published.
Dr. Elliotson's friendship with Charles Dickens was also a source of comfort for him after the tarnishing of his reputation, as Dickens still showed his loyal support. He was introduced to a circle of Dickens' wealthy acquaintances, all influenced by Dickens' promotion of Elliotson's work, and was in high demand as a personal physician. Overtime, his clientele began to dwindle in number as his reputation as a hoax became more and more widespread, and as newer and more effective treatments and therapies came along. Elliotson passed away in London in 1868 at the age 76, poor and largely irrelevant compared to his popularity at the height of his career.
Regardless of the regretful ending to his career, as well as the dubious validity of many of his beliefs and claims, Dr. John Elliotson was a passionate physician who was always eager to try something new. His demonstrations of mesmerism with the famed Okey Sisters were at the center of mesmerism as a sensation; the novelty of his performances are what grew his popularity so ferociously and made a name for mesmerism in Victorian society.