Neo-Victorian Madness: Rediagnosing Nineteenth-Century Mental Illness in Literature and Other Media

Sarah E. Maier (Curatore)

Brenda Ayres (Curatore)

Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2021

Neo-Victorian Madness: Rediagnosing Nineteenth-Century Mental Illness in Literature and Other Media investigates contemporary fiction, cinema and television shows set in the Victorian period that depict mad murderers, lunatic doctors, social dis/ease and madhouses as if many Victorians were “mad.” Such portraits demand a “rediagnosing” of mental illness that was often reduced to only female hysteria or a general malaise in nineteenth-century renditions. This collection of essays explores questions of neo-Victorian representations of moral insanity, mental illness, disturbed psyches or non-normative imaginings as well as considers the important issues of legal righteousness, social responsibility or methods of restraint and corrupt incarcerations. The chapters investigate the self-conscious re-visions, legacies and lessons of nineteenth-century discourses of madness and/or those persons presumed mad rediagnosed by present-day (neo-Victorian) representations informed by post-nineteenth-century psychological insights. 

• Curatore: Sarah E. Maier, Brenda Ayres
• Editore: Springer Nature Switzerland AG
• Anno: 2021
• Rilegatura: Paperback / softback
• Pagine: 308 p.
• Dimensioni: 210 x 148 mm
• EAN: 9783030465841

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