Peerless Prodigies of Physical Phenomena: A Re-examination of the 19th Century Freak through Aesthetics, Science and Photography.

摘要

Much scholarship has pictured the nineteenth century freak as a disadvantaged and marginalized individual, trapped by mental disabilities which showmen and entrepreneurs exploited. However, there is evidence that the majority of Victorian freaks gravitated to occupations in shows or museums because they were profitable employment. Freaks not only profited but became celebrities by constructing identities which demonstrated an understanding of what issues in science, technology and aesthetics were of concern to the average Victorian. The thesis looks at negotiations in culture regarding art and photography and the ambiguous areas in evolutionary debates to analyze what the freak performer knew and how they reconfigured it into performance-exhibition personas.