The Time of Nostalgia

Abstract

The essay examines medical theories of nostalgia in 19th-century France. Nostalgia was thought to be a fatal illness during this period, and medical writings from the time examine the temporal and spatial components of the disease. Through their conceptualization of pathology, the medical writings allow us to see what doctors considered to be a normal memory, and a normal relation to the past. The historical writings of Jules Michelet, writings which evince an intense longing to connect with the past and to stay alive through a connection to the past, are examined briefly in relation to the medical understanding of nostalgia. With the decline of concern for nostalgia, notions of progress and normality are tied closely together.