From Electricity to Ectoplasm:

Hysteria and American Spiritualism

Just six years after the Fox sisters mysterious rappings in Hydesville, e! "or#, a group of
spirits calling themselves the Association of Electrici$ers instructed the %niversalist minister
John &urray Spear to 'uild an engine that !as to function li#e the human 'ody( Spear, follo!ing
instructions from the Association, completed the e! &otive )o!er in High *oc#,
&assachusetts in +,-.( /he machine !as to 'e a gift to humanity from the spirit !orld for the
creation of a ne! 'ut unspecified po!er on earth( /he e! &otive )o!er sat dormant on its
perch until the appearance of an unnamed !oman !ho had previously 'een told 'y the spirit realm
that she !ould 'ecome the &ary of a ne! dispensation( 0n June 12, the 3oston e! Era
pu'lished a lengthy description of the events of that day:
4hen there 5High *oc#6, ho!ever((( she 'egan to experience the peculiar and agoni$ing
sensations of parturition, differing some!hat from the ordinary experience, inasmuch as
the throes !ere internal, and of the spirit, rather than the physical nature, 'ut nevertheless
7uite uncontrolla'le, and not less severe than those pertaining to the latter( 8ts purpose
and results !ere !holly incomprehensi'le to all 'ut herself9 'ut her o!n perceptions
!ere clear and distinct that in these agoni$ing throes the most interior and refined
elements of her spiritual 'eing !ere imparted to, and a'sor'ed 'y, the appropriate
portions of the mechanism: its minerals having 'een made particularly receptive 'y
previous chemical processes
+
(

/he ne!spaper proceeded to recount that the machine gave indications of life or pulsations,
!hich continued and gre! stronger as the !ee#s progressed through a series of ministrations 'y
the anonymous !oman, precisely analogous to that of nursing ( ( ( until at times a very mar#ed
and surprising motion resulted
1
( /he ne! :Electrical &otor,; as Spear coined it, !as
unfortunately destined for infanticide 'y a posse of intolerant Spiritualists !ho destroyed it !hen
it failed to do anything(
1
<ited in 3randon, /he Spiritualists, 2(
2
3randon, /he Spiritualists, 2(
+
8n psychoanalytic terms, this incident appears to 'e a text'oo# example of a hysterical
pregnancy, and it is 'y no means uni7ue in the context of the Spiritualist movement( /he history
of American Spiritualism is rife !ith anecdotes of !hat one may consider hysterical attac#s, and
certainly contemporaneous critics of the movement !ere 7uic# to la'el Spiritualists as
:hysterics;
=
( >espite the many stri#ing resem'lances 'et!een hysteria and Spiritualist trance
mediumship, contemporary scholarship on the latter has 'een loath to connect the t!o( Ho!ever,
an examination of the shared characteristics of hysteria and Spiritualist mediumship, rather than
serving to pathologi$e 'elievers, in fact reveals that Spiritualism sa! itself as a competing
discourse to the emerging one of psychoanalysis, self?consciously and adamantly offering an
alternative vie! of similar phenomena( /he hermetic impulse in Spiritualism provided a different
referent for the secrets of the cosmos than the young democracy and its medical teachings did(
/he ans!ers Spiritualists sought !ere external to the individual9 'elievers tried to uncover the
secrets of the past, rather than the secrets of their selves( 3y explicitly attac#ing psychoanalytic
constructions of the unconscious as a locus of mental illness, Spiritualism offered not only a
theological understanding of alternative psychic states, 'ut also a radically alternative
interpretation of the 'ody??especially the !omans 'ody@as an instrument of intangi'le forces(
/he 3irth of &ediumship
Spiritualism !as 'orn in the mid?nineteenth century, the last great religious movement to come
out of the Second Areat A!a#ening and argua'ly the clearest articulation of postmillennial
progressivism of the age( )ositing an unprecedented continuity 'et!een this !orld and the
afterlife, Spiritualism proposed that the dead could 'e contacted to offer advice and solace to the
living( /he inauguration of communicating !ith the dead caught the religious imagination of
ante'ellum )rotestants, and 'y Ann 3raudes estimation, Spiritualism may have claimed as
adherents half the population of the country(
=
For a detailed account of various diagnoses of mental illness among Spiritualists, see Fornell,
/he %nhappy &edium, BC?,=(
1
/he atmosphere of America !as ripe for this peculiar form of continuing revelation9 the myriad
religious movements 'egun in this epoch 'espea# the need for ne! religious ans!ers tailored to
the ethos of the moment( 8n content, Spiritualism assuaged grieving and provided ne! and
heavenly #no!ledge( 8n structure, it !as individualistic, populist, and antiesta'lishment in its
iconoclastic form of 'esto!ing credentials on those !ith a gift for tal#ing to the dead( Amid the
romantic mythos of the self?made man and the merit?'ased re!ards of industriali$ation,
Spiritualism provided the possi'ility that anyone, and particularly !omen, might have the
necessary talent to 'e invested !ith 7uasi?religious authority(
3egun in +,., !ith the Fox sisters :mysterious rappings,; Spiritualism offered !hat !as
understood to 'e concrete and empirical proof of the continued existence of the dead( 8n response
to an apparent poltergeist in their Hydesville home, the Fox sisters innovated a system of raps to
spell ans!ers to 7uestions@one for a, t!o for b, and so forth@there'y turning a fairly 'anal
haunting into an ideological revolution in )rotestant circles( /echni7ues for communicating !ith
the dead !ere soon honed, !ith the cum'ersome system of :alpha'et rapping; replaced 'y people
@most often !omen@!ho !ould enter trance states and serve as living conduits 'et!een this
!orld and the next(
As mediumship 'ecame an esta'lished and via'le profession 'y mid?century, a verita'le
cottage industry of speculation, apologia, and ho!?to manuals sprung up in its !a#e( /heories and
Dustifications generally focused on the advancing technologies of the time and serve as a testimony
to the middle classEs fascination !ith pseudo?science( 8n the era of the telegraph, the telephone,
and photography, invisi'le communication !as the cutting edge( 3y shifting the emphasis of
communication from reaching across space to that of reaching across time, Spiritualism !as for
many not only 'elieva'le 'ut the logical extension of progress itself(
/he appeal of Spiritualism !as multifaceted9 in *adical Spirits, Ann 3raude argues that the
patina of empirical truth attri'uted to communicating !ith the dead had a direct impact on the
overthro! of <alvinism and specifically its policies of infant damnation
.
( 8n an epoch of a still?
high infant mortality rate, Spiritualism assured grieving mothers that their children !ere
.
3raude, *adical Spirits, <hapter t!o(
=
unassaila'ly in heaven, flourishing in the company of deceased relatives and !ise angels( /he
spi#e in Spiritualist activity immediately follo!ing the <ivil 4ar attests to its a'ility to relieve
grief(
0thers, ho!ever, had more pragmatic goals in mind !hen they attended large revival?type
trance sho!s or the smaller, domestically?centered sFances( /he 'enefits of 'eing a'le to
communicate !ith the legendary dead !ere not lost on the literate and striving middle class, and
certain telling favorites !ere called upon to ma#e sense of the current situation( Emanuel
S!eden'org, Francis 3acon, 4illiam Sha#espeare and 3enDamin Fran#lin all loomed large in the
ne! pantheon of the spirit !orld, doling out advice, relating the conditions of the afterlife, and
continuing their earthly mFtiers posthumously(
&ediumship shared phenomenological characteristics !ith several similar movements of its
day, foremost &esmerism( Ecstatic trance states and the presence of an alternative consciousness
call into 7uestion precisely !hat distinguishes Spiritualism proper from a host of similar
occurrences
-
( Spiritualism !as 'oth dependent on and an ela'oration of early experiments !ith
hypnotism, !hich in Europe first 'lossomed as a 'ranch of medical science( As the often
un!illing heirs to &esmerism, Europeans had the first opportunity to interpret hypnotic states and
assign 'oth value and meaning to them
G
( &esmerism clearly included a mystical as !ell as
medical component, and in certain cases mesmeri$ed patients reported a facility for the
paranormal and the a'ility to tal# to the dead( Ho!ever, European expressions of the phenomena
of Spiritualism lac#ed the systematic cosmology that Americans !ould assign it
B
(
-
See <ra'tree, From &esmer to Freud, <hapter Five, and Aod!in, /he /heosophical
Enlightenment, +-+?+G1(
G
/he terminology for these states is slippery and changes several times over the century( For the
sa#e of clarity, 8 !ill 'e using :hypnotism; as synonymous !ith :&esmerism,; and reserving
:hypnoid; to descri'e a state that one side sees as hysteria and another as mediumship(
B
Scholars have produced recent cross?cultural studies that call into 7uestion the authenticity of
many forms of trance states and claims of spirit possession( icholas Spanos has noted that spirit
possession fre7uently allo!s the socially disenfranchised to express discontent in such a manner
that the su'versive voice !ill not 'e censored( He argues that spirit possession is a vehicle for
protest, 'ut one in !hich the su'Dect is largely coached 'y religious expectations and social cues(
4hile 8 have tried to #eep my descriptions of these events in line !ith Spiritualists o!n claims of
authenticity, it should 'e noted that even if the trances !ere social performances, the nineteenth?
century comparison still holds, since the same social performance claims could 'e made a'out
hysterics as !ell( 8 !ould add that in the Spiritualists case, there !as certainly not a unanimous
encouragement of these states from the culture at large( /here !ere real social repercussions for
'eing a medium, including in &argaret Foxs case, a loss of marriagea'ility( For the social
.
4ith the 'elated entry of the Fox sisters, the material and cultural conditions coalesced to
produce the marriage of unconscious states and the religious imagination( Alternative states of
consciousness !ere certainly nothing ne!: nineteenth?century 'oo#s proclaimed the Hydesville
events to 'e in line !ith all variety of religious expression from primitive shamanistic trances to
the last gasp of the afflictions of Salem
,
( 8n the +,1Cs the Sha#ers had experienced a similar
phenomenon !hen a series of adolescents !ere :possessed; 'y the spirits of ative Americans
2
(
4ith antecedents as varied as the !itch trials and Sha#er revivalism, Spiritualism !as in one sense
merely a continuation of a tradition in !hich the marginali$ed@youth and !omen@expressed
religious discontent 'ehind the cultural shield of an alternate consciousness( Spiritualisms radical
departure from this legacy, ho!ever, !as a matter of personal agency( /he a'ility to invo#e and
control alternate states !as uni7ue to 'oth the historical era and the American articulation of
trances( &oreover, the first Spiritualists struc# upon something that other da''lers in &esmerism
failed to discover: one did not re7uire a mesmeri$er to produce a trance state( 0ne could induce
it for ones self(
/he populist leanings of the young democracy !ere thus carved into the practices of popular
religion
+C
( /he decline of <alvinist election in the early nineteenth century left a cultural vacuum
that individualism !ould fill( o longer achieved 'y grace alone, salvation itself !ould 'e
dependent on the individuals heartfelt efforts at religiosity( As the revivalism of the period
conclusively reassigned conversion and salvation as the individuals responsi'ility, Spiritualism
too# that ethos a step further( Echoing the religious individualism of its cultural parent, the
revivals of the Second Areat A!a#ening, Spiritualism shifted the 'oundaries of the
contemporaneous discussion of trance states( /ransformation for spiritual improvement !as
indeed the individuals responsi'ility, 'ut one could transform ones consciousness at !ill and !ith
no aid from Aod or man(
performance argument, see Spanos, &ultiple 8dentities, +.-?+--(
,
For one example of the former, see Hudson, /he Ha! of &ental &edicine, <hapter one( For
the latter, see )utnam, 4itchcraft of e! England(
2
See Foster, *eligion and Sexuality, G1?B+(
+C
For a discussion of the relation of repu'licanism to Spiritualism, see <arroll, Spiritualism in
Ante'ellum America, <hapter three(
-
/hese coincidences of history conspired to create a distinctly American phenomenon9 anyone
!ith am'ition, patience, and a hint of talent could prove to 'e the next mediumship rage( /his
democratic impulse cut across gender 'oundaries more easily than class or racial ones, 'ut those
too !ere possi'le
++
( 4omen, ho!ever, !ere the primary 'eneficiaries of the cultural largess,
!hich, 8 !ill argue, !as a contri'uting force to charges of mediumistic hysteria(
As Ann 3raude has argued so persuasively, Spiritualism prior to the <ivil 4ar !as largely an
affair of !omen( 8n *adical Spirits, 3raude demonstrates that !omen !ere understood to 'e
more effective as mediums 'ecause the genders !ere thought to have opposite electrical :poles,;
or positive and negative charges( 4omens negative charge made them attractive to the positively
charged spirits( 8n the contemporaneous social construction, !omens nervousness and fragility
!ere paradoxically the 'est characteristics to encourage spirit manifestation
+1
( <oncomitantly,
precisely the same 7ualities that !ere understood to ma#e !omen excellent mediums also opened
them to charges of mental insta'ility(
As mediumship flourished, so too did its critics( >etractors denounced the movement as folly,
!ith many of them laughing too hard to say anything other than that it !as preposterous9
predicta'ly, others dre! correlations 'et!een Spiritualism and demonic possession
+=
( &ore so'er
critics, ho!ever, sa! Spiritualism as a form of individual and mass hysteria( &ediums !ere
institutionali$ed@some !illingly and others not@and the :illness; !as de'ated in the leading
psychotherapy Dournals of the day(
Hysteria, ho!ever, 'oth in the nineteenth century and in this !or#, is an um'rella term for any
disease of the psyche predominantly affecting !omen( Follo!ing the &esmerists discovery of
:magnetic sleep,; Europe and America !ere a!ash in artificial trance states( /he use and value
of these states, ho!ever, !ere open to interpretation: animal magnetists claimed medical value,
Spiritualists theological value, and 'oth enDoyed economic 'oons( Ho!ever, the line 'et!een
++
As many have noticed 'ut fe! have explored, traditional African religions share some family
resem'lances !ith Spiritualism inasmuch as 'oth involve trance states and the consultation of
ancestors( For an account of one African?American practitioner of Spiritualism, see >eveney,
)aschal 3everly *andolph( For the adventures of a lo!er?class <atholic medium, see <arrington,
/he American SFances(
+1
3raude, *adical Spirits, 1=?1., 12, =2(
+=
See <ra'tree, From &esmer to Freud, 1C+?1C1(
G
illness and mysticism, hysteria and mediumship, !as 7uite 'lurry, and the eye of the 'eholder !as
of the utmost importance(
Spiritualists !ere 7uic# to launch a counter?attac#, and !rote 'oo#s and editorials
distinguishing true mediumship from madness( Since most mediums !ere !omen, !hose
:naturally nervous; constitutions made them 'etter receptors for the spirit !orld, the conversation
implicitly and explicitly addressed ideas of the !omans 'ody( As fiercely as psychoanalysis
attempted to claim Spiritualist phenomena for its o!n domain, Spiritualists !ere forced to
articulate their opposing interpretation of mediumship as 'eneficial to the health of 'oth 'ody and
mind( 8 !ill argue that the de'ate as to !hether trance states !ere pathology or theology too#
place on the 'attleground of the !omans 'ody and that the de'ate itself articulates a contested
interpretation of the use and value of the !omans 'ody( 3efore discussing the particularities of
this argument, 8 !ill turn to its ideological forerunner, &esmerism, in order to outline its
contri'utions to the ongoing de'ate a'out !hat mediumship meant(
&esmerism
8n the mid?eighteenth century, the colorful figure of Fran$ Anton &esmer 'egan his long and
finally fruitless attempt to gain legitimation for his claims a'out the effects of magnets for healing
the 'ody( &esmers initial theory posits that health is determined 'y a magnetic fluid in the 'ody
!hich can 'ecome 'loc#ed or unevenly distri'uted in the system( /he restoration of health !as
thus tantamount to the restoration of a congenial flo! of this fluid, !hich could 'e accomplished
through the use of magnets( >u''ed :animal magnetism,; &esmers approach relied on not only
the instrument of magnets 'ut the instrumentality of the magneti$er as !ell@the physician, 'eing
magnetic himself, could 'eneficially influence the flo! of the fluid in anothers 'ody(
&esmer !as convinced that the :discovery; of magnetic fluid !ould revolutioni$e the field of
health and the cause of progress( >espite repeated attempts to garner the official recognition he
strongly felt !as his due, &esmer !as marginali$ed 'y European authorities( Ho!ever, this did
not deter many from employing his methods and &esmer found himself in a flurry of competition
B
for patients( Em'attled and 'itter, &esmer !as denounced 'y t!o separate commissions
convened to examine animal magnetism after they concluded that his treatment 'oiled do!n to
touching, imagination, and imitation
+.
( 8n short, the French medical academy concluded that
animal magnetisms 'eneficial effects !ere merely the products of !hat !e !ould no! call
hypnotic suggestion(
Animal magnetism thus introduced t!o #ey components on !hich Spiritualism !ould
ela'orate: the instrumentality of the 'ody and the idea that results could 'e measured and counted
as :empirical; truth even if the causes remained invisi'le( Spiritualism never strayed far from its
roots in alternative medical practices, and animal magnetism !as roundly applauded in Spiritualist
pu'lications straight through the <ivil 4ar( Ho!ever, animal magnetism !as 'ut one theory in
Spiritualisms arsenal, and !hile it set the atmosphere that !ould eventually induce trance states,
the advent of mediumship relied on animal magnetisms outgro!th, &esmerism(
/he eponymous treatment of &esmerism !as in fact discovered 'y &esmers former student
and ne!?found competitor( 8n +B,., the mar7uis de )uysFgur, protege and later apostate of Anton
&esmer, happened upon a remar#a'le event in the course of treating a patient !ith magnetic
healing: his patient entered an alternative state of consciousness( 4hile remaining :conscious;
inasmuch as he could spea# and !as fully a!are of his surroundings, the su'Dect !as a
7ualitatively different su'Dect from his !a#ing self, and )uysFgur !as 7uic# to lin# the
phenomenon !ith somnam'ulism, or sleep?!al#ing(
8n his landmar# !or#, From &esmer to Freud, Adam <ra'tree delineates the mar7uiss
speculations !hich !ould 7uietly shape a century of thin#ing a'out the health of the mind: first,
)uysFgur noted that the alternative consciousness !as fully a!are of the normal consciousness 'ut
that this relation !as not reciprocal( Second, the magneti$er held an enormous s!ay over the
patient in this state, 'oth allo!ing for :hypnotic suggestion; and re7uiring of the doctor good !ill
and upstanding morals( Hastly, )uysFgur understood the alternate consciousness to 'e temporally
se7uential !ith !a#ing consciousness9 that is, the alternate state did not al!ays exist in some
mute, su'terranean space of the mind 'ut rather only existed under the conditions of :magnetic
+.
<ra'tree, From &esmer to Freud, =+(
,
sleep;
+-
( 0ver time, a distinction !as made 'et!een :sleep!al#ing,; in !hich the su'Dect is not
conscious and remem'ers nothing of the event, and :sleep?!a#ing,; in !hich the su'Dect retains
consciousness and can recall the events and conversations that too# place in the mesmeri$ed state(
&esmerism, or magnetic sleep, and animal magnetism came to 'e used in conDunction, !ith the
mesmeri$ed patient aiding the doctor to guide the magnetic fluid( )uysFgur had already noted that
a patient in a state of magnetic sleep demonstrated certain a'ilities that smac#ed of the
paranormal: he as#ed the mesmeri$ed patient a'out his or her o!n illness and proceeded,
apparently !ith some success, in follo!ing the patients advice on ho! 'est to treat it( 8nstances
of precognition !ere also noticed, although )uysFgur appeared to have very little interest in this
vein of his discovery( <ertain other mesmerists, ho!ever, found this aspect more compelling, and
'y the nineteenth century the alternate consciousness !as explicitly associated !ith #no!ledge of
the divine( According to <ra'tree,
5/6he stri#ing similarity 'et!een the states attri'uted to religious ecstatics over the
centuries and those of magnetic somnam'ulists !as sufficient to place them in the same
psychological category( 3oth involve impressions of separation from the 'ody, and 'oth
entail some #ind of communication !ith a higher spiritual !orld( 4hile in the state of
magnetic ecstasy, somnam'ulists might find themselves communicating !ith angels,
demons, saints, or the souls of the departed( Experiences of magnetic ecstasy and
com'ination !ith the discarnate !orld initiated animal magnetism into a ne! phase,
!hich might 'e called magnetic spiritism(

/he legacy of easily induced trance states and their association !ith the remar#a'le and the
divine !ould lay the ground!or# for Spiritualisms claims for the legitimacy of mediums( /he
linchpin 'et!een &esmers 7uasi?medical exploits and the 'irth of Spiritualism !as the discovery
that trance states could 'e artificially induced( /he ground!or# !as laid for the earnest alliance
of &esmeric trances and the cultural interest in communicating !ith the dead( 8n the +,=Cs,
<harles )oyen, a student of )uysFgurs, 'rought the extraordinary ne! phenomenon to the %nited
States( 4ith all the $eal of a convert, )oyen 'arraged 3oston and the greater e! England area
!ith demonstrations of the ne! healing techni7ue( >uring numerous pu'lic sho!s in !hich
+-
<ra'tree, From &esmer to Freud, =,?+C-(
2
)oyen !ould as# audience mem'ers to participate, indications of the presence of the paranormal
and the spiritual realm continued
+G
(
early thirty years later, Spiritualism re7uired only the theological 'ac#'one of S!eden'orgian
mysticism to 'e added in order to achieve a fully articulated cosmology, replete !ith the means to
communicate !ith the dead and the theoretical 'ac#drop to the cause and function of their
continued existence( Andre! Jac#son >avis, primary theologian of the Spiritualist movement, had
'een !riting popular tracts that fused S!eden'orgs visions of heaven !ith an American
/ranscendentalist vie! of the divine order 'eing reflected in the natural one( Follo!ing the Fox
sisters instant fame, >avis irrevoca'ly 'rought S!eden'orgianism and communicating !ith the
dead together( 8n allying the t!o movements, >avis provided the philosophical underpinnings to
'oth trance states and their contents( S!eden'orgs many?tiered heavens !ere 7uic#ly saniti$ed
of any ominous components and peopled !ith not only S!eden'orgs angels 'ut also the common
run of human#ind( /he concatenation of &esmeric trances, the omnipresence of the dead, and the
!eighty legacy of a eoplatonic cosmos coalesced into the s!eeping religious movement of
Spiritualism(
/he Suggestion of &adness
From the outset, Spiritualists !ere destined to 'e plagued 'y charges of madness( &esmerism
!as already threatening the line 'et!een hypnotism and hysteria, and the Spiritualist declaration
that alternate states of consciousness in fact should 'e fostered made adherents a target for 'oth
the scientific community and amateurs !ho sa! a threat to <hristianity in the movement( 4hile
the definition of hysteria has changed radically over the last t!o hundred years, a common
consensus is that hysteria is essentially un!illing hypnotism: the hysteric is loc#ed in a state of an
+G
Fuller, &esmerism and the 3irth of )sychology, 1C2?1+C(
+C
alternate consciousness
+B
( <onversely, hypnotism has 'een seen as an artificially induced
hysteria
+,
(
&oreover, Spiritualist trance states !ere constituted 'y the appearance of several voices or
personalities that !ere distinct from that of the medium( /he change in personas, essential to
cultivating mediumship, 'ore an uncanny resem'lance to a nineteenth?century su'set of hysteria,
multiple personalities( :Schi$ophrenia,; as the phenomenon !as fre7uently called, emerged as a
diagnosis in the second half of the nineteenth century( /he parallel 'et!een Spiritualist
mediumship and schi$ophrenic 'ehavior !as so clearly delineated that 8an Hac#ing has argued
that Spiritualism !as a primary cause for the continued diagnosis of schi$ophrenia in America
long after it had fallen out of use in France( He !rites, /he disorder al!ays needs a host, much in
the !ay that a parasite needs hosts( ( ( ( 8n e! England in particular, and in 'oth America and
3ritain more generally, an additional host 5to hysteria and hypnotism6 !as psychic research lin#ed
!ith spiritualism( 0ne idea !as that alters 5alternative personalities6 !ere departed spirits9
mediumship and multiple personality dre! close
+2
( Hac#ing notes as !ell that the American
diagnosis of schi$ophrenia declined concomitantly !ith the popularity of the Spiritualist
movement(
/he crux of the de'ate is relatively simple: &esmerism had sho!n that an alternate
consciousness may appear under certain conditions( /he interpretive 'attle raged over !hat that
consciousness referred to, ho!ever, and !hether it !as to 'e lauded or cured( For early
mesmerists, the alternative consciousness produced in magnetic sleep !as a#in to sleep?!a#ing(
As <ra'tree has sho!n, the apparent :second personality; of &esmeric sleep?!a#ing !as firmly
grounded in the su'Dect( 4hereas a similar phenomenon a hundred years earlier !ould have 'een
culturally read as demonic forces inha'iting a person against her !ill, in )uysFgurs hands the
+B
For an excellent treatment of the changing definitions of hysteria, see 3ronfen, /he Inotted
Su'Dect, +C-?++,( 3ronfen agrees !ith Ed!ard Shorters assessment that the unconscious, not
!ishing to ma#e itself ridiculous, 'rings itself medically up to date J++-K( /he implication here
is that hysteria itself is a floating signifier of interest predominantly for !hat cultural mores it is
reflecting at any historical moment(
+,
/he association of hysteria and !hat !e no! call hypnotism !as made as early as +B,B, nearly
a century 'efore its more famous articulations 'y Jean <harcot and later Sigmund Freud( See
<ra'tree, From &esmer to Freud, +1B(
+2
Hac#ing, *e!riting the Soul, +=-?+=G(
++
second consciousness !as an artifact 'elonging solely to the su'Dect( &oreover, the second
consciousness !as understood to 'e !iser and more morally apt than the !a#ing consciousness
1C
(
Spiritualism shifted the referent of the alternate consciousness outside of the self( /he
seemingly endless num'er of personalities that could temporarily inha'it a 'ody referred not 'ac#
to the su'Dect 'ut to external sources( Hi#e )uysFgur, Spiritualists sa! the alternate personalities
generally as !iser, more 'enevolent, and more ethically advanced than the mediums !a#ing state(
Ho!ever, the spirits of the dead !ere called upon predominantly to dole out advice or comfort the
grieving@the move from a medical model to a religious one largely depleted the hypnoti$ed state
of its relationship to curing( And the trance state itself most certainly did not re7uire curing in the
eyes of the Spiritualists, as many of its detractors argued(
)roponents of Spiritualism readily admitted that hysteria and mediumship had a single source(
For American Spiritualists, the cause and effect of hysteria and mediumship !ere reversed( 8f the
psychoanalytic community deemed mediums hysterical, the Spiritualist community often deemed
hysterics mediums under the influence of negative suggestion( 8n his +,B+ &ental >isorders
Andre! Jac#son >avis !rites:
/he truth !hich lies at the foundation of such insanity is the truth of psychology@the
po!er of one mentality to affect the other@'y !hich the positive will controls the
passive mind, causing it to reason erroneously from correct impressions, and compelling
the !ea#er !ill to assume another character, to the temporary exclusion and forgetfulness
of its o!n, and thus personify that !hich is pro tempore paramount in the imagination(
/o separate the chaff from the !heat, in the sphere of such mysterious mental
manifestations, is a part of the !or# of Spiritualism
1+
(

/he language of the !ill is rife in Spiritualist discussions of mediumship and insanity, and
fre7uently functions as an intermediary 'et!een the 'ody and the soul( 3oth insanity and trance
states occupy the ne'ulous ground of alternative consciousness, 'ut the !ill must al!ays govern
the intent and discretion of the entranced( >avis continues, 8n short, no mind must permit itself to
'e overrun and controlled 'y anothers !ill( )assivity or negativeness to the !ill and !ishes of
superior intelligence is permitted 'y the >ivine <ode only !hen the highest ends are 'elieved to
'e only thus attaina'le
11
( /hus, suggesti'ility distinguishes the mad from the medium, and since
1C
<ra'tree, From &esmer to Freud, ,=(
1+
>avis, &ental >isorders, 11.(
11
>avis, &ental >isorders, 1G1?1G=(
+1
the American medium has no need of a mesmeri$er, only the hysteric !as left to the negative
influences of control(
0ne sees this form of direct confrontation 'et!een psychology and Spiritualism immediately
after a series of young !omen !ere institutionali$ed for lapsing into trance states !hich 'lurred
the line 'et!een madness and mediumship( )roponents 7uic#ly developed a voca'ulary for
distinguishing Spiritualism from psychology, and admitted that some people !ho understood
themselves to 'e mediums !ere merely mad( 0thers !ho received antisocial or violent
instructions from the spirit !orld might not yet have reached the proper degree of mediumistic
proficiency(
/he Spiritualist cosmos allo!ed for such distinctions 'y its inherent flexi'ility( e! mediums
!ere prone to receiving messages from spirits on the lo!est of the JusuallyK seven?tiered heavens(
Since death did not instantly result in heavenly perfection 'ut rather inaugurated a long process of
improvement, spirits themselves fre7uently made errors in Dudgment( ot only, then, !ere
contradictory messages from the spirit !orld resolved@the spirits !ere mista#en@'ut also ethical
issues !ere solved: one might have come into contact !ith an unprogressed and evilly inclined
spirit
1=
( /he ra$ors edge 'et!een madness and mediumship centered on control, particularly a
!omans control, of her voice and 'ody to !hich 8 !ill no! turn respectively(
/he >isease of Hanguage
8n +,GC, an anonymous American doctor pu'lished a case study of <(, a t!enty?five year old
seamstress, in the Journal of 8nsanity( <( had 'een admitted to the asylum !ith her o!n consent,
proclaiming, ho!ever, that she !as not insane 'ut that she !as una'le to control the spirits !ho
too# hold of her( Furthermore, many of the controlling spirits !ere themselves mad( 4e are not
given many details of <(s treatment and recovery, other than the 'eneficial use of physical
1=
A student of mine has !ritten compellingly on this issue, arguing that the sorts of spirits one
encountered !ere predicated on the moral fortitude of the medium( See <hrista Shus#o, Active
&ediums in American Spiritualism, unpu'lished paper(
+=
restraints and the recommendation against the use of padded rooms in such cases9 the thesis of the
article is a refutation of the ne! term monomania, and the young medium is the exemplar(
<( had 'egun to cultivate mediumship and to experiment !ith trance states( She !as overly
successful, and 7uic#ly fell to the 'ec# and call of numerous spirits !hose demands !ere many
and fre7uently violent:
8n an effort to o'ey those commands, many of !hich !ere trivial, contradictory, and
impossi'le, she !ould 'e greatly perplexed and at times seem in utter despair(
Aenerally, ho!ever, her state !as one of exaltation( Her voice !as loud, her manner
imperious, and she resisted !ith much strength, though not passionately, !hen
interrupted in carrying into effect the directions of the spirits, and !ould appear to her
friends perfectly natural in manner and speech( Her fello! Spiritualists assured her that
nothing !as !rong !ith her, and that she !as only passing through a special and
extraordinary experience, in her development as a medium
1.
(

%na'le to resist the stronger !ill of the spirits, <( eventually allo!ed her mother to admit her to
the asylum(
/he resem'lance to multiple personalities is here overt( <( is controlled, against her !ill, 'y
the voices that spea# through her( /he author states, She is no! almost constantly the mouth?
piece of numerous spirits good and evil, !ho rapidly interrupt and succeed each other( At one
moment the spirit is through her tal#ing loudly to her, commanding, and then re'u#ing her for the
non?performance of its 'ehests
1-
( <( is occasionally instructed 'y the spirits to do violence to
herself and others, and her dementia lasts nearly a year(
/hrough the regulation of diet, rest, and undou'tedly !hat Elaine Sho!alter has termed :moral
management,; <( is eventually cured enough to 'e released( Ho!ever, she still insisted on the
reality of the spirits and her sanity( /he doctor himself, !hile never succum'ing to the
Spiritualist interpretation, admits that this type of mental illness is a hermeneutic pro'lem:
8f a do$en years ago, and previously to the first development of the Spiritual phenomena,
an hypothesis of the relations of disem'odied spirits to men, li#e that !hich has since
come to distinguish a numerous sect, had 'elonged to a single individual, that man !ould
have 'een, !ithout dou't, mad( ( ( ( /he simple 'elief, then, in spiritual phenomena, as
actual or possi'le facts in her experience, !as not previously to her attac# of mania, and
is not since her convalescence, an insane delusion( 8t 'ecame an insane delusion only
!hen it !as associated !ith a condition of insanity9 !hich is, therefore, something still
'eyond
1G
(
1.
Anonymous, <ase of &ania, =1.(
1-
Anonymous, <ase of &ania, =1G(
1G
Anonymous, <ase of &ania, ==B(
+.
<(s pro'lem, then, is not the existence of alternate consciousnesses or even their temporary
inha'iting of her 'ody9 her pro'lem is the ina'ility to control them and to Dudge ade7uately !hich
spirits are to 'e trusted(
8 !ould argue that the association 'et!een multiple personalities and hysteria is a temporally
'ound pro'lem of language( )rior to the mid?nineteenth century, states of alternate consciousness
!ere understood to 'e se7uential !ith the !a#ing state
1B
( An unconscious state, as !e no! thin#
of it as omnipresent 'ut out of reach in all 'ut cases of hypnotism or insanity, simply did not exist
'efore the second half of the century( Hater designations of hysteria as a repressed trauma assume
an almost spatial relation of the conscious state to the unconscious one@traumas re7uire a place in
!hich to 'e repressed and proceed to th!art the !ell?'eing of the conscious state from its locus of
inaccessi'ility(
As !ith the case of <(, insanity is determined not 'y unconscious !or#ings 'ut 'y the display
of the lac# of control, specifically the lac# of control in language( As the century progressed, the
catch?all term :hysteria; !ould 'e sliced into finer and finer symptomological distinctions ranging
from schi$ophrenia to neurasthenia( /he overriding theme that hysteria !ould maintain, ho!ever,
!as the loss of language( /he distinction 'et!een psychological and Spiritualist interpretations
of the lac# of linguistic control turned upon !hether the resulting speech !as productive( /he
diagnosis of hysteria presupposes that productive paths of language have 'een 'loc#ed off for the
victim and replaced 'y more cryptic and unproductive forms of communication( Elisa'eth
3ronfen neatly summari$es this in her discussion of hysteria as a malady of representation: 8n
other !ords, to produce hysterical symptoms@'e this the loss of consciousness, control over 'ody
functions, or control over the vagaries of the mind@is for those afflicted the only possi'le !ay to
articulate a psychic distur'ance, 'ut the improper recourse to language of the 'ody signals that the
patient cannot effectively use sym'olic language
1,
(
8n certain cases, as !ith <(, the lac# of control determines the presence or a'sence of a
psychological pro'lem( /he referent of alternative language 'ecame paramount( Spiritualist
1B
See <ra'tree, From &esmer to Freud, =2?.+ and -B(
1,
3ronfen, /he Inotted Su'Dect, ++B(
+-
trance speech repeatedly refers to su'Dects outside of the self9 indeed, the farther from the !a#ing
self and its perceived a'ilities, the more li#ely trance speech !as to 'e regarded as authentic( 0ne
of the hallmar#s of true mediumship !as the a'ility to pass certain tests !herein the testers did not
'elieve that the medium could discuss such topics due to a lac# of education or intelligence( /his
!as seen particularly in the case of !omen !ho !ere generally thought to 'e incapa'le of !axing
elo7uent a'out philosophy or politics
12
( /he referent of trance speech thus pointed as far a!ay
from the su'Dect as possi'le(
/he a'ility to spea# in other languages !as a sure sign of mediumship( e! "or# State
Supreme <ourt Judge John Edmonds, the most influential Spiritualist in the years preceding the
<ivil 4ar, recounts the development of a young medium !hom he had shepherded through her
career( According to Edmondss developmental model, spea#ing in tongues is a distinct stage on
the path of spiritual ac7uisition, coming after the a'ility to see events from a distance and 'efore
the a'ility to see spirits and heavenly dramas( He !rites, She next 'ecame developed to spea# in
different languages( She #no!s no language 'ut her o!n, and a little smattering of 'oarding?
school French( "et she has spo#en in nine or ten different tongues, sometimes for an hour at a
time, !ith the ease and fluency of a native( 8t is not infre7uent that foreigners converse !ith their
spirit?friends through her in their o!n language
=C
( /he young lady proceeded to move from
recogni$a'le foreign languages to the development of a strictly spiritual language,
incomprehensi'le to all 'ut herself and the dead
=+
( Heteroglossia is not perceived as an
impediment to her development9 rather, it is the sign of the refinement of her s#ills(
Ann 3raude has argued that Spiritualisms appeal to !omen !as that trance states gave
legitimacy to !omens speech in a sort of paradox of protofeminism@'y acting as the passive
vehicles for famous dead males, !omen could expound upon philosophy and politics and 'e
listened to
=1
( 4omen comprised the vast maDority of the movement and did indeed attract
12
For the account of a famous example of this, see Fornell, /he %nhappy &edium, ,+( <ora
Hatch, the most exalted medium of her generation, !as given a series of 7uestions in her trance
state that she !as specifically not expected to 'e a'le to ans!er in her !a#ing one( /he Dudging
committee included professors of science and government officials, and &rs( Hatch !as expected
to respond to 7ueries such as ho! gyroscopes !or#ed(
=C
Edmonds and >exter, Spiritualism, .-(
=+
Edmonds and >exter, Spiritualism, .-(
=1
3raude, *adical Spirits, <hapter four(
+G
audiences in the thousands to their trance?induced lectures, giving !omens speech pride of place
in Spiritualism( Ho!ever, !omen !ere lauded not only for dis7uisitions on venera'le topics 'ut
also !hen their speech !as technically nonsense( /he disease of language 'ecomes the gift of
language, and the !omans voice is productive of ne! #no!ledge even at its most
incomprehensi'le( /he line 'et!een madness and mediumship !ould also 'e decided 'y the
instrumentality of the 'ody and !hat it did or did not produce(
/he Hysterically )regnant 3ody
/he e! "or# /imes made a several decades?long career of mercilessly lampooning
Spiritualism, pausing in its moc#ing tone only !hen famous men !ere converted
==
( 8n +,G,, the
paper Doyously and smugly recounts an astonishing event in e!ar#, e! Jersey, !here a group
of Spiritualists !ith unusually strong millennialist tendencies decided that the millennium had
indeed arrived, and ergo the conditions of Edenic perfection could 'e reinstated( &uch to the
paperEs delight, this included pu'lic nudity(
8t appears from the account that a small group of Spiritualists !ere led 'y a team !ho had
appointed themselves to inaugurate the millennium 'y assuming the roles of Adam and Eve( /he
paper reports, A'out 2 ocloc# on e!?"ears evening, the street pedestrians !ho had occasion to
pass &rs( *eeves house, !ere rather more astonished than delighted to 'ehold &cE!an standing
in front of the open !indo! clad in the ha'iliments of Adam 'efore the fall, !hile the fair &iss
*eeves, impersonating Eve, !as seen to flit to and fro under the gas?light li#e a fa!n gam'oling in
the Aarden of Eden
=.
(
/he couple proceeded to invite passers'y inside, and &cE!an delivered a lecture on the ne!
dispensation( /he /imes reports, /hey ignore human institutions, la!s, and customs, and act
solely from the promptings of spirits of Dust men made perfect
=-
( /he group created 7uite a stir,
and the police !ere eventually involved( /he couple !ere deemed insane 'y local doctors and
==
*o'ert Hares em'racing of Spiritualism !arranted a lengthy front?page treatment( See the
e! "or# /imes, ov( 1. +,--(
=.
e! "or# /imes, Jan( -, +,,G(
=-
e! "or# /imes, Jan( -, +,,G(
+B
sentenced to the 8nsane Asylum in /renton( 4hile this account is highly unusual for Spiritualist
'ehavior, it !as also precisely the sort of episode that got the most pu'licity( 8n fact, the /imess
correspondents occasionally lamented ho! tame and reasona'le the maDority of Spiritualists
!ere
=G
(
4hile such displays !ere an anomaly in Spiritualist circles, the theme of creation, and indeed
the creation of life, !ere not( 3irthing imagery accompanied !omens ascent into the pu'lic eye,
and it too !as accused of 'eing lascivious or at least sacrilegious( &argaret Fox, one of the
original sisters !ho founded American Spiritualism, !as appalled 'y the association of spirits and
giving 'irth that she had !itnessed in Hondon( /he e! "or# Herald reports, /hey even go so
far as to have !hat they call spiritual childrenL /hey pretend something li#e the immaculate
conceptionL ( ( (there are other sFances, !here none 'ut the most tried and trusted are admitted, and
!here there are shameless goings on that vie !ith the secret Saturnalia of the *omans
=B
(
4hile such negative accounts ma#e it impossi'le to ascertain !hat the Spiritualists thought
they !ere doing, there !as certainly a sym'olic association 'et!een mediums and pregnancy( 8n
certain cases, this sym'olism goes so far as to 'e indistinguisha'le from !hat psychoanalytic
discourse has termed :hysterical pregnancies,; a su'set of hysteria !hich may 'e part of a larger
constellation of symptoms or may manifest itself as the sole symptom( As !ith heteroglossia, the
crux of the argument is the interpretation, rather than the existence, of the phenomenon of
alternative consciousness(
8ncidents of hysterical pregnancies and 'irthing sym'olism !rit large are numerous in the
history of American Spiritualism( As the domestic sphere tightened and familial 'onds 'ecame
increasingly emotional rather than economic, the still?high infant mortality rate 'ecame an
un'eara'le psychological 'urden on mothers( 3raude !rites, /he focus on human agency and
moral accounta'ility suggested that individuals !ere responsi'le for their o!n failure to receive
the spirit( 3ecause of the ne! possi'ility that human 'eings might cause a conversion, the death
of an unregenerate individual engendered more anxiety than in the )uritan era !hen people left
=G
See the e! "or# /imes, Jan( . and Jan( ,, +,-=(
=B
<ited in Fornell, /he %nhappy &edium, +BG(
+,
election to Aods hands alone( /his !as especially true in the case of infants and children, !ho
died 'efore they had an opportunity to exercise their o!n agency to!ard
conversions ( ( ( ( 3y see#ing, and sometimes finding, intimate contact !ith the dead, Spiritualists
found evidence for the reDection of death as a final separation
=,
(
8n tandem !ith the psychological aspects of infant mortality, the material conditions of the
middle decades of the nineteenth century also indicate a !omens appropriation, or in this case,
reappropriation, of prevailing mores a'out death( 8n A History of >eath in Ante'ellum, Anglo?
)rotestant <ommunities, Aary Haderman argues that the rise of capitalism !ith rapid
industriali$ation radically altered the gendered roles surrounding death( 4hereas in the first half
of the century the corpse and its attendant duties fell firmly in the !omans or'it of care, 'y the
+,-Cs death had 'ecome a commodity?driven industry run almost solely 'y men( Haderman
states, >espite their intimacy !ith the corpse in the early part of the century, in the pu'lic sphere
!omen !ere often segregated from the dead ( ( ( ( 5/6he services of the underta#er and the
attendant emerging funeral industries located the corpse in a net!or# of commercial activity that
!as Dust 'eginning to operate in a heretofore untapped mar#et( /he dead !ere inserted into an
arena !here consumerism, class differentiation, and mass?produced goods and services ensured
that their treatment depended on a slo!ly developing economic regime
=2
(
/hus, the historical location of Spiritualism !ould support an argument that !omen !ere
contesting theological ideas a'out infant damnation as !ell as reappropriating their roles as
careta#ers of the deceased, al'eit after the fact( Ho!ever, these factors are inade7uate to locate
the events of hysterical pregnancies in Spiritualist mediumship( /he incidents of hysterical
pregnancies do not reflect the 'irth of children, and most fre7uently not even spirit children(
*ather, 8 !ill argue, hysterical pregnancies !ere the vehicle for !omens appropriation of an
alternative discourse(
8f one grants that hysteric or alternate states manifest something sym'olically through the use
of the 'ody, the metaphoric occurrence of hysterical pregnancies in Spiritualism may shed light
not only on the situation of American !omen in the Ailded Age 'ut also on hypnoid states !hich
38
3raude, *adical Spirits, -C?-+(
39
Haderman, A History of >eath, =G?=B(
+2
have heretofore 'een largely pathologi$ed in the discourse of psychoanalysis( As !ith the case of
the unnamed !oman !ho gave 'irth, or life, to a machine, in an era !hen electricity !as the
cutting edge of technology, the 'irth imagery of mediumship repeatedly refers to scientific, or
pseudo?scientific, progress(
3y the fin de siMcle, the marriage of Spiritualism and science appeared in the form of
ectoplasm( /he Spiritualist phenomenon of ectoplasm made its de'ut in the first decades of the
t!entieth century, !hen it !as 'oth pedigreed and populari$ed 'y the noted scientist Hom'roso,
the inventor of modern criminology
.C
( /he term :ectoplasm; !as in fact coined 'y the physicist
Sir 0liver Hodge !hen it appeared at a sFance comprised entirely of academics( Hodge !rites,
As far as the physics of the movements !ere concerned, they !ere all produced, 8 'elieve, in
accordance !ith the ordinary la!s of matter( /he ectoplasmic formation !hich operated !as not
normal9 'ut its a'normality 'elongs to physiology or anatomy??it is something !hich 'iologists
ought to study( 8t !as something !hich *ichet, as a physiologist, found repugnant and !as very
loth 5sic6 to admit, 'ut the facts !ere too much for him
.+
(
&anifestations of ectoplasm !ere soon seen on this side of the Atlantic, and &argery <randon
!as at the apex of this historical moment, not only for her ectoplasmic productions 'ut also
'ecause her mediumship provo#ed the life?long and venomous dispute 'et!een Houdini and Sir
Arthur <onan >oyle( )erforming a sFance for the mem'ers of the Scientific American Journal Jof
!hich her hus'and !as presidentK, &argery produced pseudopods from her navel( 0ne o'server
testifies, 8t !as the most 'eautiful case of teleplasm and tele#inesis !ith !hich 8 am ac7uainted(
0ne is a'le to handle the teleplasm freely( /he materiali$ed hands are connected 'y an um'ilical
cord to the medium9 they sei$e upon o'Dects and displace them ( ( ( ( /he control is
irreproacha'le
.1
(
4hile 8 have no intention of arguing that the production of ectoplasm !as solely the result of
an involuntary hypnoid state, the choice of sym'olism remains fecund ground for an exploration
into the role of trance?induced pregnancies in Spiritualism( 8n 'oth Spiritualism and
.C
3randon, /he Spiritualists, +=C?+=1(
41
<ited in 3randon, /he Spiritualists, +=.(
.1
<ited in 3randon, /he Spiritualists, +,G?+,B(
1C
psychoanalysis, the 'ody is the conduit of an alternative discourse to speech( Narious feminist
theorists have analy$ed the semiotic code of the 'ody as a language of protest against masculine?
controlled speech( >ianne Hunter, in Hysteria, )sychoanalysis, and Feminism, argues
persuasively, Hysteria can 'e considered as a self?repudiating form of feminine discourse in
!hich the 'ody signifies !hat social conditions ma#e it impossi'le to state linguistically ( ( ( (
Hysteria expresses in the language of the 'ody !hat psychoanalysis says in !ords( 3oth
psychoanalysis and hysteria su'vert the reigning cultural order 'y exploding its linguistic
conventions and decomposing its facade of orderly conduct
.=
(
8n re'utting Hunters thesis, Elaine Sho!alter cautions against the feminist appropriation of
!hat is in fact a psychologically excruciating illness( Furthermore, she argues that hysteria has
hampered the causes of feminism precisely 'ecause it is not productive( Sho!alter !rites,
5H6o!ever, the hysterics deviance and re'ellion are carefully programmed and delimited 'y the
social order( Hysteria is tolerated 'ecause in fact it has no po!er to effect cultural change9 it is
much safer for the patriarchal order to encourage and allo! discontented !omen to express their
!rongs through psychosomatic illness than to have them agitating for economic and legal rights
..
(
Although compelling on their o!n terms, neither Hunters nor Sho!alters theses !ithstand the
scrutiny of hysterical symptoms in Spiritualism( 4hile some mediums dissociative states may
easily 'e seen as a non?linguistically articulated form of protest Jthe lo!er?class medium !ho
produced rats from the spirit !orld for her !ealthy clients, for exampleK,
.-
hypnoid states in
Spiritualism uphold the scientific and progressivist mores of the epoch( Furthermore, those
!omen !ho !ere periodically overta#en 'odily 'y spirits !ere also the same ones !ho ran
practically all of the reform movements of the nineteenth century, including the platform for
!omens rights( 8ndeed, hysterical mediumship routinely advocated e7uality 'et!een the sexes
and 'rought to the movement the theological 'uttress that all people !ere e7ual in the afterlife(
From electricity to ectoplasm, hysterical pregnancies in American Spiritualism produced the
discourse of science( As numerous scholars have noted in connection !ith rituals of passage,
43
Hunter, Hysteria, )sychoanalysis, and Feminism,++=?++.(
44
Sho!alter, /he Female &alady, +G+(
.-
See <arrington, /he American SFances(
1+
!omen may give 'irth to 'a'ies 'ut men give 'irth sym'olically to culture
.G
( /hrough the vehicle
of hysterical pregnancies, !omen in Spiritualism claimed 'irthing sym'olism in service of the
production of culture, the pseudo?scientific progressivism of the day( 3y posing an alternative
discourse to that of psychoanalysis, Spiritualists proposed that the hypnoid state !as continuous
!ith consciousness and that it should 'e intermittently culled for its #no!ledge( 8n so doing,
Spiritualists articulated the hypnoid 'ody, the !omans 'ody, as a site of epistemic possi'ility9 far
from re7uiring a cure, the hypnoid 'ody !as generative and productive, fertile !ith the latest in
technology(

/he &aster &esmerists: Freud and 3reuer
Freud and 3reuers landmar# !or# of +,2-, Studies in Hysteria, !as !idely recogni$ed as
providing the *osetta stone for the !or#ings of the unconscious( 4hile Freudian methods of
analysis have largely dropped out of vogue in favor of treating neurotic symptoms !ith
medication, Freuds legacy remains an intellectual 'ehemoth of the t!entieth century( As
Ed!ard Shorter has documented, Freuds !or# caught fire in America even 'efore the first
translation of Studies in Hysteria and remained the most influential theory for treating mental
illness through the +2BCs(
.B
4hile Freud !as 'y no means the only, or even the first, person to
propose the presence of an unconscious, his particular articulation of the theory held the most
s!ay and is em'lematic of his generation of thought(
.,
3y the turn of the t!entieth century,
Spiritualism !as contending !ith the existence of an unconscious, and the proponents of the
unconscious !ere 'eing contentious a'out Spiritualists hysterical symptoms(
.G
For an excellent treatment of this phenomenon in ra''inic Judaism, see 3oyarin, /he Areat Fat
&assacre(
.B
See Shorter, A History of )sychiatry, +GC?+,2(
.,
/he terminology for similar theoretical constructs changes rapidly in the course of the
nineteenth century, from the :dou'le consciousness; of early &esmerists, to the use of
:su'conscious; in a !ay that is analogous to Freuds term :unconscious,; Jand distinct from !hat
Freud means !hen he uses the term :su'conscious,;K and finally to a Freudian :unconscious(;
For the sa#e of clarity, 8 have used :unconscious; in the Freudian sense to denote an ever?present
part of the psyche !here traumata are repressed and attempt to ma#e themselves #no!n to
consciousness( Ho!ever, the term is not !ithout its precedents, and many Spiritualists !ritings
use older terms(
11
Hysteria !as Americas introduction to the ne! school of psychoanalysis spearheaded 'y Freud
and 3reuer( Hysteria !as also the 'ac#drop for the invention of the :tal#ing cure,; provided to
3reuer 'y his patient 3ertha )appenheim, pseudonymously recorded as Anna 0( /he introduction
to the case studies details the theoretical contri'utions of the !or#, in !hich Freud and 3reuer
assert that the manifestation of hysteria is the result of a repressed memory of a traumatic
psychological event and that language is the therapeutic #ey to dislodge it(
/he relationship 'et!een the repressed memory and the hysterical symptoms is metaphoric:
the 'ody concreti$es the trauma 'y sym'olic associations( Freud and 3reuer argue, 8n other
cases the connection is not so simple, there 'eing only, as it !ere, a sym'olic relation 'et!een the
cause and the pathological phenomenon, Dust as in the normal dream ( ( ( ( 4e have studied
patients, !ho !ere !ont to ma#e the most prolific use of such sym'oli$ation ( ( ( ( 546e must
maintain that the psychic trauma or the memory of the same acts li#e a foreign 'ody !hich even
long after its penetration must 'e considered as an agent of the present, the proof of !hich !e see
in the most remar#a'le phenomenon
.2
( /he past traumatic event em'edded in the unconscious
asserts itself sym'olically through the 'ody, and hysterical symptoms disappear in their entirety
!hen the memory is 'rought to consciousness and thoroughly :tal#ed out(;
/he hypnoid state is the pharma#on for Freud and 3reuer: hysteria is a state of hypnosis !hich
is most effectively cured 'y therapeutic hypnosis, under !hich the patient is induced to remem'er
the repressed event !hich caused the hysteria in the first place( /he centerpiece of their
argument, the implementation of the tal#ing cure, is the primary form of instrumentality??the
repressed memory is 7uite literally lodged into the !omans 'ody and uses the 'ody as an
instrument to proclaim its existence( /he tal#ing cure unseats the memory from the unconscious
and moves it into conscious reflection, along !ith the repressed affect and its concomitant
associations, there'y dispelling its hold on the hysteric( /he result is catharsis9 the instrument of
the voice con7uers and supercedes the instrumentality of the 'ody
-C
(
Hanguage is not only the cure for hysteria, it !as symptomatic of 'eing hysterical( /he loss of
language, and sometimes the loss of the right language, !ere indications that hysterical symptoms
49
3reuer and Freud, Studies in Hysteria, 1?=(
50
3reuer and Freud, Studies in Hysteria, +1(
1=
had progressed( Anna 0( lost her a'ility to control !ords, syntax, grammar, and eventually lost
her a'ility to spea# her native Aerman, although under hypnosis she !as a'le to spea# three other
languages fluently
-+
( /he restoration of language is tantamount to the restoration of sanity, since
the vehicle of !ords is necessary to con7uer the sym'olic manifestations in the 'ody(
/he relationship of psychoanalysiss disease of language to classical religious heteroglossia
'egs the 7uestion of !hether psychoanalysis has served to recast historically religious 7uestions in
scientific discourse, and effectively, in the t!entieth century, to replace religiosity !ith secular
individualism( 4hile it is outside the scope of this !or# to tac#le psychoanalysis for its
usurpation of traditional religious forms, 8 !ould posit that the Spiritualists intuited precisely such
a movement and aggressively sought to counter it( 3y the Freudian era, the alternate
consciousness posited 'y Spiritualists from the outset !as thoroughly medicali$ed and stuffed into
the 'asement: the higher trance state !hich made spirits accessi'le 'ecame the lo!er constant
state !hich made pathology possi'le( 8n short, Freud successfully inverted a model of
consciousness !hich the &esmerists and Spiritualists had handed him@the alternate
consciousness !as no! omnipresent and a danger to consciousness(
/he !ritings of fin de siMcle Spiritualists engage the psychoanalytic construction of the
unconscious, and ta#e issue !ith its characteri$ation of the unconscious as a su'terranean 'reeding
ground for pathology( 4hile agreeing that alternate states of consciousness existed, those states
!ere not naturally occurring 'ut rather re7uired cultivation and talent( 8ndeed, the argument !ent
further into the nature of the psyche itself( Some Spiritualists altogether denied the existence of
an unconscious, and argued that alternate states of consciousness sprang from a different source(
/he +2+1 ho!?to manual, Spirit &ediumship??Ho! to >evelop 8t, pu'lished 'y the *everend E(
4( Sprague, specifically refutes the psychoanalytic constructions of the unconscious:
J( S( Hoveland says: A dual 'ody implies dual consciousness( 4e prefer to 'elieve that
there is 'ut one consciousness 'elonging to each of us, and !hen it enters the vi'ration of
the spiritual, or etheric 'ody, !hich is enveloped !ithin the physical 'ody, it discerns
spiritual things( 8t is then that mediumship 'ecomes operative(((( /herefore the theory of
the Su'?conscious &ind of /homson J( Hudson, and other theoretical dreamers, is not
an independent entity endo!ed !ith all #no!ledge not possessed 'y the conscious mind,
-+
For an excellent treatment of this, see Sho!alter, /he Female &alady, +--?+-G(
1.
nor !ith so?called occult po!ers not possessed 'y the normal man( /he discovery JOK of
a scientist, li#e many others coming from similar sources, passes a!ay under the light of
true science, as the de!s and fogs of the morning disappear 'efore the penetrating light of
the rising sun
-1
(

Hi#e the Freudian understanding of hysteria, alternate states of consciousness do not
necessarily imply individual agency??!hile the cultivation of such states !as imperative in order
to develop mediumship, spirits also foisted these states on the unsuspecting( Sprague continues,
Somnam'ulism 'orders closely upon clairvoyance and sleep?!al#ers are sometimes controlled 'y
spirits !hile in this strange condition( )ersons !hile in this unconscious somnam'ulistic state
have !ritten !onderful essays and sermons ( ( ( and !ritten poetry and other things that !ere
'eyond their a'ility !hen in their normal state( /his may 'e mental mediumship(
Somnam'ulism is also closely related to the trance condition( /he medium acts and does things
!hich exceed his po!ers !hen a!a#e
-=
( /hus, in the post?Freudian epoch, the language of the
!ill 'egins to pale in Spiritualism( /he ne! discursive enemy, the unconscious, had to 'e
contested on its o!n grounds@spirits could account for an apparent lac# of agency as !ell as the
clear demonstration of it(
/a#ing the &esmeric legacy one step further, Spiritualism disputed the construction of the
unconscious as disDunct from consciousness: alternative psychic states certainly existed, 'ut for
the theological Jand economicK 'etterment of humanity( Sprague argues,
Every mental medium !hen placing himself in a condition to 'e hypnoti$ed 'y his spirit
helpers, 'ecomes su'Dect to suggestion9 therefore it is detrimental to the mediums
development and to the results of the sFances to suggest that there are, or may 'e, evil
spirits present ( ( ( ( 4hen a medium gets his mind full of Hudsons theory of the
Su'conscious &ind and is filled !ith fear of Evil Spirits, he had 'etter cease trying to
develop his mediumship( A 'elief in either of these theories is almost sure destruction to
his development
-.
(
Spiritualists too# aim at not only the proximate causes of hypnoid states in psychology 'ut also
their results( 8n +2CC, Hudson /uttle, arch?defender of the faith, laid 'are the distinction of
referents 'et!een the movements( He !rites, /heorists attempt to account for the mental
manifestations, as trance, !riting, etc( 5sic6, 'y mesmerism or psychology( ( ( ( 3ut mesmeric
52
Sprague, Spirit &ediumship +C1(
53
Sprague, Spirit &ediumship, ,C.
54
Sprague, Spirit &ediumship, ==(
1-
impressions do not go outside of the person or o'Dects en rapport !ith the su'Dect( /hey never
reveal !hat is un#no!n to those in connection( Spiritual impressi'ility reaches outside of
surroundings, and reveals the thoughts of the spirit !ho is en rapport
--
( /hus the limited range
of psychology is 7uestioned9 the self?referentiality of the unconscious gives !ay to the self?
referentiality of the tool to measure it(
4hile the spirits play an analogous role to the repressed memory in hysterical attac#s, the
memory is 'y definition traumatic in 'oth its inception and its role in governing the character of
the hysterical symptoms( /he distinctions 'et!een the causal forces are three?fold: first, time is
essential in the Freudian understanding of hysteria( Hysteria is a psychological condition
referring 'ac#!ard to some prior traumatic event( &ediumship refers 'ac#!ard in time only
inasmuch as the spirit controlling the 'ody is no longer of this !orld9 in all other senses the spirit
is fully present( Secondly, the interpretations of the phenomena differ radically: Freud
pathologi$es the hypnoid state and grants it the status of a psychological disease, !hereas
Spiritualists interpret the same condition theologically( Finally, the instrumentality of the 'ody is
at sta#e( Hysterics are victims of their unconscious !hich sym'olically manifests the repressed
memory in the 'ody( /he constellation of symptoms refers to one event, the repression of !hich
'loc#s associative affect( For Spiritualists, the 'ody is an instrument of the spirit !orld, 'ut, as 8
have argued, that instrumentality is overdetermined and highly associative(
&any contemporary scholars have ta#en Freud to tas# on his insistence that hysterical
symptoms mean only one thing( 8n /he Forms of Niolence Heo 3ersani and %lysse >utoit
forcefully argue that Freud himself first claimed that the unconscious !as riddled !ith
overdetermined sym'ols and then proceeded to argue that these overdetermined elements pointed
to a single referent
-G
( 4hile understanda'ly the Spiritualists !ere lac#ing a voca'ulary of
narrative theory, 8 !ould argue that this is precisely the first leg of their argument against
psychoanalysis@alternate states, trance speech, and even the !omans 'ody are overdetermined(
&uch academic !or# has 'een done on the gendered effects of the tal#ing cure( 8n /he Female
&alady, Elaine Sho!alter argues that the remar#a'le contri'ution of Freud and 3reuer !as their
--
/uttle, Arcana, +C?++(
-G
3ersani and >utoit, /he Forms of Niolence, +C.?+1-(
1G
!illingness to listen to !omens stories( >eparting from the o'Dectifying photographic
construction of hysterics 'y their predecessor <harcot, Freud and 3reuer undertoo# the proDect of
curing hysteria not only 'y seriously listening to !omen 'ut also 'y asserting that hysteria is the
'y?product of 'right and talented !omen !hose potential is 'eing socially stifled( Sho!alter
!rites,
/he feminist criti7ue of Freud should not o'scure the fact that the early years of
psychoanalysis offered a considera'le advance over the 'iological determinism and
moralism of >ar!inian psychiatry ( ( ( ( 8n principle, although not al!ays in practice,
psychoanalysis !as not moralistic9 it did not Dudge the hysteric as !ea# or 'ad, 'ut sa!
the hysterical symptoms as the product of unconscious conflicts 'eyond the persons
control( Finally, psychoanalysis !as attentive to the process of therapy ( ( ( ( /he patient
'ecame an active, although not an e7ual, partner in the cure
-B
(

For psychoanalysis, the 'ody represents the pro'lem that only the voice can correct( /he process
is inherently self?reflexive9 the hysteric is a partner in curing herself(
3y setting hypnoid states in the context of the doctorPpatient relationship, Freud and 3reuer
essentially re?introduce the element that American Spiritualists had dispensed !ith@the need for a
mesmeri$er( As it !ere, the hysteric has inadvertently hypnoti$ed herself to avoid confronting a
trauma9 she re7uires a doctor to hypnoti$e her to force her to recall the trauma( 3y reinfusing the
hypnoid state !ith the po!er dynamic of medical practice, the !omans 'ody is su'Dect to the
definitive interpretation 'y someone other than herself(
As the initial headiness of the young repu'lic died do!n, Spiritualism itself sought legitimacy
in the scientific discourses of its day( Ho!ever, it never relin7uished the individualism of self?
induced trance states and the hermeneutic privileges associated !ith them( As a feminine
discourse, Spiritualism introduced some provocative ideas9 ho!ever, it !as 'y no means the
utopia that !as ousted( /he mere fact that a mediums speech referred to anything 'ut herself
'egs the 7uestion of ho! protofeminist the interpretive stance !as( Freud and 3reuer at least
encouraged !omen to !orry a'out their o!n health( onetheless, the mere choice of
interpretation has interesting conse7uences, and raises more 7uestions( /he medical model
dictates that diseases of the psyche have single causes9 Spiritualism !as under no such constraints(
57
Sho!alter, /he Female &alady, +G+?+G1(
1B
8n contrast to Freudian constructions of the hysteric in !hich the metaphoricity of the 'ody
refers to a single traumatic event, the hysterical 'ody in Spiritualism promotes multiple layers of
meaning( Hypnoid language produced scientific discourse 'y merely existing9 hysterical
pregnancies allo!ed mediums corporeally to give 'irth to the discourse of science( 4ords and
'odies !ere productive and multivalent9 'y undermining the hegemony of psychoanalytic
discourse, Spiritualism offered not only a different interpretation 'ut also a different interpreter of
the 'odys language(
3orn in +2GB, <athy Autierre$ is an Assistant )rofessor of *eligion at S!eet 3riar <ollege in
Nirginia( She is currently !or#ing on a 'oo# a'out the influence of eoplatonism on American
Spiritualism(
4or#s <ited
Anonymous, <ase of &ania !ith the >elusions and )henomena of Spiritualism, Journal of
8nsanity QN8:= J+,GCK(
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<ulture, e! "or#: Schoc#en 3oo#s +2,-(
1,
3oyarin, >aniel, /he Areat Fat &assacre, in: Ho!ard Eil'erg?Sch!art$, Jed(K, )eople of the
3ody: Je!s and Judaism from an Em'odied )erspective, Al'any: State %niversity of e! "or#
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+22B(
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1C-?111(
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12
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=C