YouTube link here. Occasional Ezzie, I think, but nothing especially cute.
The emails have run dry! We’re even out of the secret emergency emails that we keep in the false bottom of the cupboard under the stairs! Ahhhh!!!!! So we mostly talk about movies, and then about the tenuous grasp of our own sanity, and whether Tony is (still) a jerk, and… mostly just kill time, cuz as mentioned, no emails. Still, it’s a good talk, I think. Enjoy!
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Gaslighting — older examples?
What Claudius does to conceal his own guilt in the murder of Hamlet’s father is not, strictly speaking, gaslighting, except to the extent that concealing any crime is gaslighting in that people are manipulated not to believe the evidence of their senses, or reinterpret the evidence in a way that hides the guilt of the criminal. That kind of doubt might not go as far as doubting sanity, but it’s sort of on that same doubt-spectrum.
In Hamlet, that initial murder and lie to conceal the murder has the knock-on effect of Hamlet trying to convince Ophelia that he never loved her, and that he has gone mad. Those lies, plus the murder of her father then drive her mad. Again, not strictly speaking gaslighting, but it’s kind of in that ballpark.
I would say that before the Modern period (by which I mean roughly 18th century and onwards) there really aren’t examples in literature of gaslighting that I can think of. Attacks on victims to rob them of a voice in their own defense are physical rather than mental (Philomel, Lavinia). I would link this up to the change from a top down hierarchy (rule by the sovereign) to the ideal of individual rights (which I referenced in some comment a couple weeks ago?). In the top-down model, the sovereign has absolute rights over the bodies of all those beneath him so punishment is very public and physical. That same right over bodies is held by anyone who is in an analogous position (so the father or husband in marriage — thus the idea that there is no such thing as rape in marriage). But if we move to the idea that each individual has rights, then one of the most important ways of asserting that an individual’s rights are forfeit is if they no longer have the capacity of reason (which of course is the Modern period’s highest value).
I’m actually having trouble though thinking of an example from before the 20th century.
The fear that Tony was talking about reminded me of the plot of The Woman in White which Wilkie Collins based on a real-life case. There was also the real life case of the novelist, Rosina Bulwer Lytton who publicly denounced her husband, the politician, Edward Bulwer Lytton. He had her declared insane on that basis and imprisoned, but there was a public outcry and she was released after only weeks.
The Woman in White is a story that illustrates a number of the legal problems women faced (inheritance issues as well as imprisonment), and has a great female hero who rescues her imprisoned sister. There is a male hero too, but he actually doesn’t do that much.
I hadn’t thought of it like this, but I think you’re on to something. The concept of individual rights and agency is a, strictly speaking, fairly modern concept.
And the idea of WOMEN having individual rights and agency is from about three weeks ago, if I’m remembering correctly? 🙂
It was in among a couple of the comments from Scary Neck Bolts – talking about the development of the two sex model vs. the one sex model (prevalent in the Middle Ages and earlier).
That was during my COVID recovery period… which I basically don’t remember. I’ll have to go back and read them.
Sensitivity:
My therapist refers to psychic boils as a way to talk about these things we are sensitive to and that one of the goals of therapy is building up calluses so that one doesn’t react as strongly to them.
I think one of my psychic boils (which might help explain my dislike for Station 11) is anything which I think perpetuates harmful & false narratives. The thought process I go through is something like — this story is generally harmful to people; it’s one of the causal factors in making life worse, dangerous, potentially life-threatening, not just to me, but to everyone I know. So with Station 11 this was exacerbated by the fact that it was advertised to me as a beneficial story. Several reviews talked about it as an incredibly hopeful story. I thought it was a very pessimistic story. I can say something more specific about the message, but I’m slightly worried about spoilers.
Yeah, probably better to stop there. I have, for some reason, decided I’m going to finish it, even though I’ve also decided I probably won’t like it by the end?
I think I have a similar psychic boil… though I try and temper it with considering prevalence, I think? I don’t necessarily get frustrated at media that has a “harmful” story or message… except that it’ll be the 400th time I’ve seen that message, and so I’m angry that that’s the norm.
Prime example… virtually every romantic comedy ever made. And easily *most* of the romances of any time in movies.
Reminding me that that Amazon ad really made me angry!
I think one of the primary ones for me is the White Savior.