Hidden Minds by Frank Tallis Read Free Book Online Page B

vicarious respectability.
    John Elliotson was appointed professor of medicine at the University of London in 1831. He founded University College Hospital, established a link between pollen and hay fever, and pioneered iodine treatment for goitre. In addition, he was the first doctor in England to make extensive use of the stethoscope, an instrument that many of his colleagues were happy to dismiss as a European fad.
    Elliotson became interested in animal magnetism after attending various staged demonstrations conducted by visiting continental mesmerists. He was particularly impressed by the induction of anaesthesia. When in a trance state, subjects could be pinched or have their nostrils packed with snuff without showing any signs of discomfort. Such phenomena suggested that mesmerism could be used to moderate pain during surgery (the very first recorded use of ether was not until 1842 and that of nitrous oxide, 1844). In 1843, Elliotson published a pamphlet titled ‘Numerous Cases of Surgical Operations without Pain in the Mesmeric State’. This represented the first attempt to collect together existing documented cases of mesmeric surgical anaesthesia, the first of which was a mastectomy performed by Jules Cloquet in 1829.
    Unfortunately, Elliotson’s reputation was diminished after his involvement with the Okey sisters – two adolescent patients who proved to be remarkably compliant experimental subjects. Elliotson used them to demonstrate the power of ‘animal magnetism’, first on the wards and then in the public theatre of the hospital. The girls could be made to go rigid, swoon, and perform astonishing feats of strength. Unfortunately, Elliotson’s demonstrations degenerated into an undignified stage show, attracting large audiences which included not only doctors, but also aristocrats, members of parliament, writers, and anybody of sufficient social rank to gain entry. The behaviour of the Okey sisters became increasingly idiosyncratic and unpredictable. They entertained Elliotson’s audiences by adopting a peculiar, childish mode of speech, by using bad language, and showing little or no respect to even the most distinguished members of the gathering. Elliotson’s demonstrations became a combination of slapstick comedy and mild sexual titillation. A subsequent investigation concluded that Elliotson was being duped by two crafty imposters – an allegation that Elliotson simply refused to accept. Eventually the hospital authorities informed Elliotson that he should refrain from practising mesmerism in the hospital and that he should discharge the elder Okey sister immediately. Elliotson responded by resigning his post.
    Among the great and the good attending Elliotson’s demonstrations had been Charles Dickens. The two men became firm friends, and Elliotson taught Dickens how to mesmerise. The author subsequently experimented with his own family, and later successfully healed some of his associates. It has been suggested that Dickens’ extraordinary power to captivate large audiences at public readings of his work was in part due to the exercise of his mesmeric gift. Dickens insisted that his audience should always be able to see his face, and if the audience wasn’t responsive he was quick to complain that they were not ‘magnetic’.
    Although Elliotson was spurned by his university colleagues, he was warmly accepted in Dickens’ elevated social circle and his medical practice prospered. In spite of his unwise association with the Okey sisters, Professor Elliotson’s endorsement of mesmerism was a turning point. Mesmerism had embarked on the road to respectability.
    After the publication of Elliotson’s pamphlet on the use of mesmerism as a surgical anaesthetic, news began to reach London of a lone enthusiast practising in Bengal. This was James Esdaile, a Scottish surgeon with the East India Company, who ran the so called Native Hospital. Using a mesmeric trance state to induce anaesthesia, Esdaile