LA PLUME DE MA TANTE (ENGLISH VERSION)

                            I´m gonna start the blog with the last book I´ve read: The Exorcist, horror novel (the first one, cause until then the author had only written comedy novels) written by William Peter Blatty, in 1971. It is the story of the devil possession of a girl (Regan McNeil) which is based in a real exorcism incident suffered by a thirteen year old boy in 1949, in USA.

-The book was brought to the big screen by William Friedkin (the director) in 1973. It was the first horror film I saw when I was a child.

If you read the book, you will be able to discover that until getting to the devil possession diagnosis of Regan  and that an exorcism has to be practised, most of the doctors defined Regan illness as: hysteria.

-In the left picture there´s the famous french neurologist, Jean-Martin Charcot teaching hysteria in a class.

-I recommend you to watch the film: Hysteria (2011, directed by Tanya Wexler) to get an idea of how the girl with this illness was treated. 

The word Hysteria (etymologically) → is an uterus illness (only women can have) that causes psychological behaviour disorder.

As a matter of interest, throughout XIX century, doctors treated hysteria patients with clitoris massages, until they brought them to sexual climax, that was the moment when the pain disappeared. Doctors thought hysteria was caused by sexual frustration.

During 1890 there was an hysteria epidemic, doctors thought they had found a good remedy to relieve this illness, the use of vibrators and dildos, that´s when these sexual instruments appeared for the first time.

Nowadays the hysteria term does not exist (in medical terms).      

-Another thing I didn´t know is that the film scene (and used as the cover in film and book) is inspired  in a painting of René Magritte, named Empire of light.

Inspired scene in Empire of light painting (at the bottom of the left picture)

-The management team liked the strong contrast of the street lamp lighting up the main entrance and the darkness where the house is. They used it to create a mystery and strength air the moment Merrin Father gets Regan home.

         
-The main theme of the film is: Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield, I think the song is awesome (at the bottom of the page there´s the link)

-Here you have some passages from the conversations between Father Karras and the Devil:

--------------------------------------(part of conversation 1)

Before speaking again, he waited until the Devil stopped laughing.
-Quan profundus est imus Oceanus Indicus? [ ¿What is the depth of Indian Ocean?]
The Devil eyes sparkled:
-La plume de ma tante- said with roar voice
-Responde latine.  [ Answer in latin]

-Bon jour! Bonne nuit!
-Quam...?

Karras left the question incomplete when he realized Regan rolled her eyes and the entity appeared talking in jargon. 

-------------------------------------(part of conversation 2)

-Are you saying you are the devil?- asked
-I guarantee you.
-So, why don´t you make the straps disappear?
-That would be a coarse power deployment, Karras. Too clumsy. After all, I am a prince.