"An Investigation of the Causes of Those Dark Forebodings Which Make Powerful Man Weak": Brandon Boozer, "Afflictions of 19th Century American Literature"

Full Text Available:

"An Investigation of the Causes of Those Dark Forebodings Which Make Powerful Man Weak"

Brandon Boozer

Dr. Coronado

10/31/16

ENGL 328

Afflictions of 19^th Century American Literature

Literature has always been a gateway to the past through just about any conceivable culture in just about any time period. Specifically, for America, the 19^th century was a crucial point in terms of the country’s literature and history. Not unlike many other parts of the world, this time period gave way to a line of curiosity in terms of science, particularly medicine and sickness. This can be seen in many of the great fictional works of the American 19^th century literary canon through authors like Edgar Allan Poe or Nathaniel Hawthorne who both had several works relating to some form of “affliction” of the mind and of the body. So it is not unlikely that these ideas would have been appealed to through different mediums other than fiction or poetry. Found in The Hanover Historical Texts Collection through the Hanover College History Department was an article from the Madison Courier in 1882 with no specifically accredited author titled “An Investigation of the Causes of Those Dark Forebodings Which Make Powerful Man Weak,” or “Dark Forebodings.” I believe that “Dark Forebodings” can give us a deeper understanding into how these ideas of affliction that seem almost omnipresent in much of 19^th century American literature functioned in the minds of the public as both a way of expression and a way of keeping each in good health. while at the same time, was used as a possible marketing tactic.

“Dark Forebodings” tells the stories of a handful of citizens who had recently died due to some form of sickness. In each of the descriptions of the person, they had all been experiencing what is best summed up to be some form of existential dread. Each person reported to initially not feel particularly sick, but had a deeply affected appetite, were restless at times and exhausted at others, felt extremely drained, and some are reported to feel like there was a specific evil among them. After dealing with these issues to no avail, they ended up dead. One of these people had an examination of their organs upon their death and it was eventually concluded that that person had died of Bright’s Disease, a medical condition affecting the kidneys. However, the article only has an explanation of one of the cases and continues to list off names of people who have died from similar reasons. What is most interesting about this is that the sickness does not seem to be the focus, but there is a deep concentration on the descriptions of the initial symptoms of the affliction.

Towards the end, there is a very obvious, but brief plug for a medicine that claims to help treat Bright’s Disease. This triggers my mind off in a few different directions. This piece, while possibly aiming to tell some real chilling stories, could have been a sly advertisement for the medicine. However, at the same time, the advertisement was brief, so it could have just been mentioned in passing. Either way, the piece is able to target people by honing in on the popularity of stories like that of Poe or Hawthorne by giving the reader a true tale. The question is really as to whether they were targeting a literary audience or an audience who may be feeling similar symptoms of dread or a possible mental or physical affliction. This tells us that it was a popular enough problem to address publicly in a newspaper type medium.

Being that the article was originally presented in a newspaper opens a decently sized realm of interpretation for the text. As stated before, simply by being presented in this manner means that whatever this “dark foreboding” really was, it was an issue facing the public that a voice of the people, of sorts, felt it necessary to bring it to light in an expressive format. The article begins by stating that this is a very important issue facing the people and the begins to describe the affliction as a direct problem of the mind and continues to do so, until one of the people is mentioned to have had kidney issues, then the article somehow comes to the conclusion that this is what all the other people have faced, without any direct evidence. The article concludes by firmly stating “to all candid minds the force of the above facts must come with special power. They show the importance of promptness and attention to the first symptoms of disordered health before disease becomes fixed and hope departs. They show how this can successfully be done, and that the dangers which await neglect can only with difficulty be removed” (Dark Forebodings). The conclusion indicates an extreme urgency for promptness in dealing with these symptoms as they appear. Of course, the author believes he is talking about Bright’s Disease, but concluding that all of these uninvestigated cases that so vividly describe the ailments of the mind are issues of the kidneys only seems doubtful at the least, in a modern lens. What this passage really seems to be functioning as is more of a direct warning of what a mental affliction might cause a person. These issues are now in the mainstream through literature, but the emotional problems that people faced in this time period were generally deemed as lesser than those concerning work, money, etc. This could be the others way of trying to vaguely disguise one illness under another illness. That seems more than probable by the clear focus on the mental state of the victims than their physical well-being.

It is more than understandable to immediately agree with what the author has decided and concluded with, being that his assumption about Bright’s Disease was very frank. However, that does not invalidate the argument. A key to understanding how this text would work as an appealing to a vexing emotional state especially to people who were expressionistic or those had trouble coming to terms with their own expression is understanding how exactly disease or sickness functions in creative literature. Linda Simon states that “illness makes its way into literature in surprising ways—ways that show both what people want to think about how a disease affects them and what they most fear about it; ways, in fact, that reflect beliefs about the relationship of an affliction to the essence of one’s identity” (Simon 5). Essentially, illness in literature reflects how fear about the illness affects the identity of the person as they are feeling the symptoms of a certain affliction. This idea coincides with how “Dark Forebodings” is actually more of a focus on the mental affliction rather than the physical. The author’s obvious fixation on the mentality of the affected people is an indication of the fear that presents itself in the face of an illness. Simon, while speaking specifically of Alzheimer’s Disease, states that it “has made its way into popular and literary fiction, generating questions of how—and why—a particular etiology and biology are being transformed imaginatively” (Simon 6). Obviously, the author of “Dark Forebodings” is most likely not focusing specifically on Alzheimer’s, although each case has ended with death, but the evidence just is not there, but I believe that whatever the article is focusing on parallels this sentiment. What Simon is trying to convey here specifically is that as the illness or affliction begins to rise in popularity and in literary works, the imagination is stimulated in terms of how the symptoms function in the life of the person and how the biology of the illness affects and will continue to affect that person’s well-being. The accounts of each person who has fallen to the “dark forebodings,” like any disease has had a focus on the symptoms and how they affect that person’s life, but in a way that reflects something much more like how Simon states that Alzheimer’s Disease is portrayed in more contemporary literature, rather than anything having to do with that of Bright’s Disease.

Another important aspect of why this particular piece should be included in the general literary canon of 19^th century American literature is that even though the article focuses on the experiences of certain individuals, “Dark Forebodings” is truly about a communal experience that affects individuals, but also has an impact on the community. Andrew Wehrman states that “early Americans did see affliction as an impediment to independence, and for many Americans political freedom and good health were interrelated goals” (Wehrman 213). Additionally, the introduction of “Dark Forebodings” states “an event of far more serious importance, which is taking place to-day, seems to be almost wholly overlooked” (Dark Forebodings). Wehrman makes the case that in the 19^th century, much like today, Americans realized that affliction affected their lives in a variety of ways. They saw their health as an asset that worked as a vessel for freedom and independence, which it is. Freedom is both individual and communal, so it is only logical to make the connection that health is a communal worry as well. The author of “Dark Forebodings” even states this directly by stating that the issue is being overlooked. Not only is this a statement on the concern, or lack thereof, about health or affliction, but can even be read as a political statement, saying that the freedom and independence is being overlooked just the same. The two are not exclusive to each other and in order for the individual to prosper in both ways, the community must do the same. Even the full title, “An Investigation of the Causes of Those Dark Forebodings Which Make Powerful Man Weak” is a testament to the importance of a strong and healthy bond.

The authors and works of literature that come to mind when anyone brings up the literary canon of 19^th century American literature are there for a reason. Each and every one of those works captures a very particular and sentiment unique to the experience of the author and of the reader. However, it is not often that readers are given a direct chance as to how exactly the ideas that appear in the works of authors like Poe and Hawthorne, as mentioned before, came to be something that was more popular in the public eye; it just simply was. “An Investigation of the Causes of Those Dark Forebodings Which Make Powerful Man Weak,” while being a very short read, is ripe for interpretation and dialogue concerning authors like Poe and Hawthorne, but also can add to a political discussion of how health fit into an idea of independence and freedom. Whether it is fictitious or not, texts that concern themselves directly with affliction, illness, and health do not seem to be existent in general literary canon of this period. A shame, because these topics not only give more context for discussion, but are just as important in understanding how the written word acts as a device for administering a warning, helping individuals, or growing the community. It is my hope that other texts like “Dark Forebodings” that concern themselves with both mental and physical health become a greater part of the discussion on how people struggled to express themselves publicly.

Works Cited

“An Investigation of the Causes of Those Dark Forebodings Which Make Powerful Man Weak.” Madison Courier, 12 April 1882. The Hanover Historical Texts Collection. Web. 1 Oct. 2016.

Simon, Linda. "Battling the 'Invincible Predator': Alzheimer's Disease as Metaphor." Journal of American Culture 37.1 (2014): 5-15. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.

Wehrman, Andrew M. "'The Furnace of Affliction': Health Care in Early America." Early American Literature 49.1 (2014): 213-224. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 26 Oct. 2016.