Abstract
This study explores the western Romantic period as a transition between the medieval “open body” and the modern “closed body.” It focuses on “closing body” phenomena such as “mesmerism” (i.e. animal magnetism), somnambulism, substance abuse, and the “second-self,” including notions of the subconscious and the trope of gothic Doppelgängers. This study draws from many pieces of western Romantic literature but is most centered around James Hogg’s 1824 The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner. This new reading of Hogg’s novel suggests a core theme of body anxiety, rather than theological dispute.
Degree
MA
College and Department
Humanities; Comparative Arts and Letters
Rights
https://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Hinds, Elizabeth E., "Body in Rebellion: The Closing Body, Romantic Mesmerism, and Gothic Doubles in Hogg's Justified Sinner" (2023). Theses and Dissertations. 9859.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/9859
Date Submitted
2023-04-10
Document Type
Thesis
Handle
http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/etd12697
Keywords
body theory, mesmerism, somnambulism, Romanticism, Hogg studies, the self, animal magnetism, body anxiety, body hate, self harm, suicide, Justified Sinner, Gothicism
Language
english