Why Mesmer Really Left Vienna
When you go grocery shopping, do you look at the tabloids, the scandals, and try to keep up with what those crazy Hollywood types are doing? Sometimes, its is a little more enthralling than watching the person in front of you (though I do find people’s habits interesting). But somehow I suspect Mesmer, Mr. Animal Magnetism himself, if he lived today, he would be one of the people gracing the pages of such publicaitons.
When one goes in search of the truth of the legends of the past, I think one does find the extent of tabloids of the time. History seems to be filled with vague murmurings that probably were the stuff of tabloid printing that becomes legend today.
So, I think I owe an apology to Mesmer. I think I might have been about to fan the flames of myth with my ending comments on Saturday’s post. I mentioned a scandal. Luckily, I did not carry that statement too forward. Many have said that Mesmer left Vienna because of the scandal caused by his relationship with a young pianist. Rather I believe it was as I put in my original Mesmer post, that he left for a more receptive audience in France. His views were being malingered in Vienna by his contemporaries. What was his choice? Give up something he believed in to go “along” with peer pressure or continue pursing that which drove him - the idea of healing through one’s animal magnetism?
What brought me to all this was the discussion page about Mesmer on wikipedia (don’t groan - if I ever site wikipedia, then I sight it, otherwise, I go with other sources). It was actually a good page. It mentions this idea about the Mesmer scandal, which made me double-check what I had written. Here is an interesting quote from wikipedia (but I cannot find a real source):
It should be noted that he left Vienna equipped with a letter of recommendation written by the Austrian Lord Chancellor, Kaunitz, directed to the Austrian Ambassador in France.
It would seem then that he left Vienna in good standing, or at least on his own ideas rather than fleeing.
