Literature, Technology and Magical Thinking, 1880–1920

Abstract

In this 2001 book Pamela Thurschwell examines the intersection of literary culture, the occult and new technology at the fin-de-siècle. Thurschwell argues that technologies began suffusing the public imagination from the mid-nineteenth century on: they seemed to support the claims of spiritualist mediums. Talking to the dead and talking on the phone both held out the promise of previously unimaginable contact between people: both seemed to involve 'magical thinking'. Thurschwell looks at the ways in which psychical research, the scientific study of the occult, is reflected in the writings of such authors as Henry James, George du Maurier and Oscar Wilde, and in the foundations of psychoanalysis. This study offers provocative interpretations of fin-de-siècle literary and scientific culture in relation to psychoanalysis, queer theory and cultural history.

The Cinema of Exposure: Spiritualist Exposés, Technology, and the Dispositif of Early Cinema

“…Explanations of illusions that pointed to the perception of movement in human vision were likewise common in a less reputable field, which was nonetheless very influential at the turn of the century : parapsychology, which at that time was more often named psychical research (Lachapelle 2011;Monroe 2008;Plas 2012;Thurschwell 2001). While researchers in parapsychology were usually willing to believe in the existence of phenomena such as telepathy and telekinesis, they were often skeptical towards claims of spiritualism (Luckhurst 2002).…”

From Tomorrow’s Eve to High Fidelity: novel responses to the gramophone in twentieth century literature

“…In a context where there was widespread interest in communicating with the dead, machines such as the phonograph, which could apparently cheat the extinguishing effects of death, excited fictional interest (Thurschwell 2001). Typical was Comte de Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam's novel Tomorrow's Eve.…”

The Postmodern Evolution of Telepathy: fromDraculato theTwilight Saga

“…12 By blurring 'the assumptions of boundaries between self and other, inside and outside, orthodox and rejected knowledge, margin and centre, science and culture', telepathy brought about the emergence of fears, anxiety and desires linked to questions of intimacy and separation, distance and relation. 13 This is especially true if we consider that, as Eric Silverman has pointed out, 'knowing someone's thoughts gives access to the most useful and privileged kinds of information.…”