Animalistic alcoholics: respectability and degeneration in sensation

Abstract

What does an alcoholic look like? What does an alcoholic sound like? For Victorians these questions had seemingly clear answers. However, the reality of alcoholism often defied expectations and revealed complexities that made most Victorians uncomfortable. Plunging into this cultural tension, this essay explores the treatment of alcoholics in sensation literature and science fiction. Although substance abuse disorders were only marginally understood in the nineteenth century, this essay understands “alcoholism” to be the habitual consumption of alcohol to excess (“Alcoholism”). Additionally, this essay understands alcohol to be inseparable from affect, or the expression of the emotions. As such, sensation fiction—produced to elicit emotional reactions from its readers—offers an apt medium through which to explore the treatment of alcoholism in late Victorian literature. Specifically, this essay addresses Lady Audley’s Secret, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Island of Dr. Moreau. By tracking the portrayal of alcoholics throughout time, from 1862 to 1896, this essay explores Victorians’ evolving understanding of the impact of alcohol—and affect—on society.