Victorian Demons: Medicine, Masculinity & the Gothic at the fin-de-siecle

by Andrew Smith

Victorian demons provides the first extensive exploration of largely middle-class masculinities in crisis at the fin de siècle. It analyses how ostensibly controlling models of masculinity became demonised in a variety of literary and medical contexts, revealing the period to be much more ideologically complex than has hitherto been understood, and makes a significant contribution to Gothic scholarship.

Andrew Smith demonstrates how a Gothic language of monstrosity, drawn from narratives such as 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' and 'Dracula', increasingly influenced a range of medical and cultural contexts, destabilising these apparently dominant masculine scripts. He provides a coherent analysis of a range of examples relating to masculinity drawn from literary, medical, legal and sociological contexts, including Joseph Merrick ('The Elephant Man'), the Whitechapel murders of 1888, Sherlock Holmes's London, the writings and trials of Oscar Wilde, theories of degeneration and medical textbooks on syphilis.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Gothic, Research, Literary Criticism, Gender

200 pages, Paperback

First published September 4, 2004

About the author

Professor of English Studies, Head of English and Modern Languages and Co-Director of the Research Centre for Literature, Arts, and Science at the University of Glamorgan.

"My research interests are in Gothic literature, literature and science, nineteenth century literature, and critical theory. I have published widely in these areas and have given conference papers on related topics in the UK and in North America, Canada, Spain, France, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands. In 2007 I delivered a keynote address at the International Gothic Association conference held in Aix-en-Provence. I was elected Joint President of the International Gothic Association in 2009 and re-elected in 2011. I was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2007 and elected a Fellow of the English Association in 2008."

Reviews

[Jim Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

This important book explores 19th Century degeneration theory, decadent literature, Gothic Horror works, and medical textbooks as they relate to a cultural crisis concerning masculinity. Much of this already has been explored by feminist and queer critics, but Smith’s focus on masculinity certainly adds to this body of research. I found particularly fascinating his discussion of John Merrick (The Elephant Man) and the Syphilis textbooks of the time, which blamed the spread of the disease on woman and downplayed middle-class men’s responsibilities, as well as his discussion of Jack the Ripper and the Sherlock Holmes stories as articulations of male crisis. Fascinating stuff. I only wish the book had been written for a more general readership—it is a slog at times to get through the academic prose and the constant repetition.

[Matthew Gurteen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-written and informative study on all of the titled subjects, although Andrew Smith discusses medicine more than anything else. I found the argument that in the late-Victorian era, the middle-class male was becoming demonised in multiple areas and how this led to discussions of Joseph Merrick and Jack the Ripper very convincing. Overall, this book helped my understanding of masculinities and the Gothic in the era a great deal, and I would recommend it to anyone researching a similar topic.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Smith argues that one of the worries of the late Victorian era was that the middle-class Englishman, supposedly a superior being (compared to women, foreigners and lower-class types) was actually degenerating into something inferior. Sure, Edward Hyde was a degenerate monster, but was the real problem that Henry Jekyll and his friends were hollow men, without the character to resist temptation or confront evil? Was masculinity just performative rather than substantial?
Interesting, though specialized.

[Cypress Butane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book, especially in its discussion of Jack the Ripper, Oscar Wilde, and the Elephant Man and how they each relate to fin de siecle culture.