42 Seconds Under Ground: The Photography of Lewis Carroll
Published May 27, 2004
There were at least two doctors who diagnosed Dodgson's epilepsy, both of whom are mentioned in his diary. During the Victorian era, this fact alone would have been enough to stigmatize him. That he then photographed children while making no effort to sanctify and purify them only added to the stigma.
Being born into a family of good social standing came with responsibility, one that young Charles was well aware of. In his early student years, he exhibited a brilliant mind and was considered a genius by many. He bore much responsibility during his childhood. Charles was highly creative, entertaining his siblings with family newsletters, complete with articles and illustration (all provided by him), and devising games, the favorite of which seems to be a train game, in which he served as stationmaster, and the train consisted of wheelbarrows tied together in which his siblings could ride, as Charles dictated all the rules and stops. Indeed, Charles spent his entire life seeing to his sibling's education and livelihood. From an early age, it was expected that he would, like his father, become ordained in the Church of England. Charles kept up his end, earning an outstanding academic record and displaying a remarkable talent for mathematics. He became a mathematics lecturer at Oxford and later an ordained Deacon in the Church, a compromise from Rector — a decision one can only speculate he made for personal reasons that may have had to do with his stutter, perhaps with a desire to keep time for his other pursuits, and, possibly, with a fear of having epileptic seizures. In his diary he notes, "I really think sermons may have something to do with [the seizures], preparing them takes a good deal out of me."
That Charles Dodgson, beloved Lewis Carroll, should have had epilepsy should come as no surprise when we consider the list of others who shared his malady, people like Edward Lear, Jonathan Swift, Vincent Van Gogh Napoleon, Saint Paul, Alexander the Great, Saint Teresa of Avila, and Joan of Arc. For Dodgson, seizures were a source of concern and some shame. In his diary, he records awaking one time on the cathedral floor, having been there for what must have been "exactly an hour." He waited until the cathedral was empty, not wishing anyone to see the blood that had spilled as he hit his nose in the fall.
To understand his reticence, one must first understand the stigma that surrounded epilepsy and has throughout history, especially in Victorian times. The only known treatments at the time were bromide and potassium, both of which had very undesirable side effects. Epileptics were often social outcasts, regarded as idiots or perverts, still believed to be possessed by bad and unclean spirits, forever unmarryable, never fitting in, and often relegated to a mental institution.
Though in some cultures the epileptic is valued as a shaman or healer, there can be little doubt that Dodgson was aware of the prevailing attitude of his own milieu and felt like a social misfit, which helps explain why he would be more comfortable around children.
- 42 Seconds Under Ground: The Photography of Lewis Carroll
- Published: May 27, 2004
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- Section: Books
- Writer: Sadi Ranson-Polizzotti
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agreed. it is sad. I don't judge him that way myself, and i hope that is clear in the piece. It would indeed be sad if he were judged so. I'd like to think that as biographers, we really do our research before condemning anyone to something as serious as that... Let's hope so.
Be well
s.r.p.
exceptional and infomative - I love your theory on stopping time
I also have found Lewis Carroll's writings exceptional.
I wasn't aware of his suffering from epilepsy and stuttered. I think this goes a long way to explaining his love of photography and his preference for the company of children.
I also prefer not to think of him as a creepy pedophile although there are some more modern "art photographers" that I would consider coming under that category.
Thanks for the book reviews.
This is a fascinating essay, especially the part about the epilepsy (which I'd never heard of).
It's interesting to contemplate how our view of photographs differ from other generations. The generational difference is seen today by how nonchalantly teenagers take photos of themselves and friends without inhibition (and how in contrast, a middle aged man or woman grumpily declines).
The novelty of the device in Dodgson's time probably ensured that neither parents nor children thought too hard about issues of exploitation. It also ensured that poses were more spontaneous (contrast this with Americans who see glamour shots of all kinds of models everyday and everywhere).
Aside from the pseudo-prurience of these photos, it would be interesting to view these photos as indicating what people of that time period considered as tableux. In that time, the cliches were cherubs; in the time of playboy pinups, the cliches were water hoses and horses and automobiles. Future historians will find the setups more fascinating that the models themselves.
a pity there is no posting of his pictures
i can organize some pics online for you to look at. give me a few days and i'll post the link and you can go to it. be sure to check back. i'll try and get it done before the end of the day on monday and will post the link back here.
be well,
sadi
here is the link on my site to Dodgson's photographs. i've uploaded quite a good sample, but no doubt, this will increase over time....
http://www.tantmieux.squarespace.com/display/ShowGallery?moduleId=68673&galleryId=8877
cut and paste that into your browser, OR,
go to
www.tantmieux.squarespace.com and go to IMAGES and then select the gallery marked Lewis Carroll nee Charles Dodgson.
Hope this helps and good luck...
Cheers,
Sadi
Excellent work, enjoyed exploring the essay.
Interestingly, Dodgson's epilepsy is, of course, a matter of some dispute. The fact that he tended towards neologisms, clang assosications and listmaking, indicates bipolar disorder rather than/in addition to temporal absence epilepsy.
While looking up Dodgson's epilepsy, I happened across this interesting medical diagnosis, termed Alice In Wonderland Syndrome.
yes, i've heard of alice in wonderland syndrome. i believe it's called that becaus eof the macropsia and micropsia, that are common to many temporal lobe seizures. the sense of time, things growing and shrinking, even the headaches, as you noted, the listmaking, the compulsive hypergraphia, etc etc. are all signs.
Dodgson WAS officially diagnosed in his life several times as someone with temporal lobe epilepsy and had several grand mal seizures that are well-documented, themost famous of them being the one at the chapel at Christ Church where he was teaching. He was on several medications for seizures though none of them agreeable. He also had the classic migraine symptoms that often accompany TLE and took Dilaudid and other opiates for this.
His friend Tennyson was also diagnosed with epilepsy and took treatment for it, though he was very private about it.
this is understandable; at the time, epileptics were considered 'insane' or 'mad' and were often confined to asylums. sad, when i know that in other cultures, epileptics are often revered as shamans and medicine men (inuit and native american cultures often do this).
What would be best would be for those with epilepsy to be treated just like everyone else, or for society to recognize the many good qualities that often accompany TLE and the many great men and women who have been the best leaders, artists, writers, etc. who all had well-documented cases - a few, Flaubert, Dostoevsky, Van Gogh, Napoleon, Julius Ceasar, Alexander the Great, Alfred Nobel, Socrates, Aristotle, Pythagorus, Lewis Carroll (of course), Tennyson, as noted, and on and on... i'm compiling a master list of document cases only that i hope to soon have on my site.
Be well, and thanks for reading...
Sadi
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Charles Dodgeson is a phenomenal genius. I regard the Alice books as my favorite ever written, and I have a literature degree to back that up. It's unfortunate that history will probably judge him as a creepy pedophile. He was a mathmatic genius, and several of the passages in the second book (through the looking glass) are actually working puzzles.
The first piece of music I wrote I put to Charles Dodgeson words (I think it was Shadowland).
take care,
lono