Neurastenia i prąd nerwowy, czyli późnodziewiętnastowieczne teorie o „nerwach elektrycznych”. Przypadek Augusta Strindberga

Abstrakt

The nineteenth century was a period marked by emerging tensions and rapid civilizational upheavals that found expression in literature, medicine, and philosophy. Within the shifting cultural and ideological landscape of the nineteenth century, neurasthenia – understood both as a type of psychological experience and a form of heightened psychic sensitivity – became a symbol of its time. The concept of neuras thenia reflected the nervous exhaustion caused by sensory overload and technological progress. Against this backdrop, August Strindberg appears as an emblematic figure: a man tormented by psychological strain and constantly searching for methods to purify both body and mind. His obsession with hygienic living encompassed spiritual dimensions (mysticism, religion) as well as everyday practices (diet, rituals, organization of space). This article aims to show how Strindberg combined control over body, mind, and environment in an attempt to cope with the chaos of modernity. Was his obsession with hygiene an effort to preserve himself in a world vibrating with nervous agitation? Strindberg was both a victim and a prophet of modern nervousness. He fled the city, avoided stimulants, ordered the space around him, and transformed every daily activity into a hygienic ritual. At the same time, his literary work records his struggle with sensory excess, anxiety, and spiritual disorientation.