Welcome to episode three of our short story series. In this episode, we take a trip through the intense, gothic short story “The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether” by Edgar Allan Poe. Published posthumously in 1856, the story prompts us to ask, “have we given away our responsibility to think for ourselves?” Poe’s protagonist, an unnamed “young man” traveling through France, experiences a confusing scenario in a private insane asylum seemingly headed up by a “Dr. Maillard.” Decades before the term gaslighting was ever used, Poe’s short story illustrated how someone could be manipulated into questioning their own senses, beliefs, and reality.
Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was best known for macabre and mysterious short stories and poems. He was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic, widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in U.S. literature.
Discussion Points:
- Jessica was not a big fan of Poe previously
- Gaslighting – the word’s origins and meanings today
- Poe’s gothic story setting – a private asylum in France in the 1800s
- Treating ‘mania’ - Dr. Maillard’s protocol
- Questioning Maillard and his gaslighting response
- The increasingly alarming behaviors of the ‘staff’ at dinner
- We should heed Poe’s message - judge for ourselves what’s going on in the world
- Re-read the story yourself with the link below
Resources:
Read the Story ‘The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether
Gaslight - Story of the 1938 Play and subsequent productions
“Madding Crowd” Reference: Tréguer, Pascal. “Meaning and Origin of ‘Far From the Madding Crowd.’” Word Histories, 12 Sept. 2016, wordhistories.net/2016/09/12/far-from-the-madding-crowd
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