Portrait de l’artiste en magnétiseur Transferts d’influence dans le roman de la seconde moitié du xix^e siècle

This article explores the sociological and ideological implications of mesmerism in French novels of the second half of the 19^th century. Through three examples (Avatar, by Gautier; L’Ève future, by Villiers de l’Isle-Adam; Le Disciple, from Bourget), it shows how novelists use the character of the mesmerist and his power of influence to reflect on their own symbolic but challenged authority.