Sara Jeannette Duncan/Lily Lewis ArchiveMain MenuIntroductionSara Jeannette Duncan, Washington Post, 1885Sara Jeannette Duncan, Miscellaneous, 1890-1905All Tags (Cloud Format)Works CitedKathleen Hurlock62afa4649e1001ffbb7bf4bbefc88dc48d384c26
Science and Genius (Washington Post, September 6, 1885)
12017-05-06T10:51:36-04:00Kathleen Hurlock62afa4649e1001ffbb7bf4bbefc88dc48d384c26893plain2017-05-12T16:51:34-04:00Kathleen Hurlock62afa4649e1001ffbb7bf4bbefc88dc48d384c26Duncan reflects on the concept of genius. She talks, satirically, about how scientists in the 19th century have posited genius as a “hereditary disease”, complete with side effects, that a lay-person cannot simply reach. She talks about Mr. Sully (likely James Sully, a contemporary scientific writer who addressed the concept of genius), and how he does not really establish the fact of the negative impact of genius. Duncan basically calls him a fraud and states that a “psycho-physiologist” will not reveal the secrets of intelligence or find out why it pains some people. She talks about the “aristocratic” status of self-identified geniuses and satirically talks about how she does not have acquaintance among this “nobility”. She jokingly exaggerates the power of genius, arguing that John Keats will always be remembered for the “undying flame of his genius”
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12017-05-06T10:55:50-04:00Kathleen Hurlock62afa4649e1001ffbb7bf4bbefc88dc48d384c26Sara Jeannette Duncan, Washington Post, 1885Kathleen Hurlock3plain26472017-05-13T16:23:27-04:00Kathleen Hurlock62afa4649e1001ffbb7bf4bbefc88dc48d384c26