Jean-Martin Charcot and Scandinavian literature: On the 200th anniversary of his birth.

Abstract

French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot, a towering figure familiar to late-19th-century physicians, became better known to the laity of different countries through periodicals, books, and plays. This article examines how Charcot influenced the works of four popular Scandinavian authors: Norwegians Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Hans Ernst Kinck, and Øvre Richter Frich, and a Swede, Axel Munthe. These popular novelists and playwrights, all having lived in Paris, provided pictures of different sides of the brilliant and innovative Parisian physician and researcher, who despite his renown was nonetheless criticized for his theories about the hysterias and hypnosis.