NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY 7objects that she believed were magnets or
that were connected with Mesmer, but
not other magnets he had hidden in the
room. After she failed to respond to them,
Ingenhousz publicly denounced Mesmer
as a fraud.
To redeem his reputation and demon-
strate animal magnetism’s effectiveness,
Mesmer took on a difficult case. Blind
since childhood, 18-year-old pianist Ma-
ria Theresa Paradis had been treated by
leading Viennese physicians with blister-
ing plasters, leeches, and electric shocks
through her eyes, to no effect. She began
treatment with Mesmer in 1777. He
claimed to have partially restored Maria’s
eyesight, noting that she was “frightened
on beholding the human face” and could
imitate the expressions painted on small
figurines. But Mesmer’s apparent success
was followed by accusations from a tri-
umvirate of detractors: a prominent phy-
sician, who declared Mesmer a charlatan;
Maria’s father, who feared audiences
would lose interest if his daughter were
cured; and Maria herself, who was irritat-
ed by the constant testing and struggled
with her musical performances. Mesmernonetheless continued the treatment and
invited the public to witness her immi-
nent recovery. But upon Maria’s return
home, her family reported that she was
still blind. Mesmer’s attempt at accredi-
tation had failed once more.Escape to Paris
Discredited and derided in Vienna, Mes-
mer left for Paris in January 1778. The
City of Light seemed willing to embrace
Mesmer’s novel style of treatment. Es-
tablishing a practice in the luxurious Hô-
tel de Bouillon, the charismatic MesmerFRANZ MESMER was unable to ob-
tain praise or recognition from the
medical and scientific communi-
ties for his cures, but his patients
gave him glowing testimonials.
They described how Mesmer,
confident and charismatic, radi-
ated a comforting serenity. His
theory that a universal magnetic
fluid governed the human body
was wildly inaccurate. But Mes-
mer believed his powerful mag-
netism could restore health, and
in many cases, his confidence and
the trust of his patients resulted
in relief. Rather than revealing
the powers of animal magne-
tism, Mesmer’s experiments
were some of the earliest docu-
mentations of the placebo effect,
when treatments work because
patients expect them to.POWER OF
PLACEBOSFRANZ ANTON MESMER. THE GERMAN DOCTOR
IN AN 18TH-CENTURY COLORED ENGRAVINGALAMY/ACI