Forces in the Mind

In this chapter, I examine the fate of Mesmer’s ideas with a particular focus on the Victorian physician John Elliotson. I consider Elliotson’s refinement of Mesmer’s approach and the consequent arguments about the nature and legitimacy of Mesmerism. I then go on to look at the interpretation of Elliotson’s research by James Braid, who concluded mesmerism was, largely, a mental process. I proceed to consider Victorian anxieties about the manipulation of mental forces, as evidenced in the stage play The Bells.