The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether
by Edgar Allan Poeliterary work· published 1845
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"The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether" is a dark comedy short story by the American author Edgar Allan Poe. First published in Graham's Magazine in November 1845, the story centers on a naïve and unnamed narrator's visit to a mental asylum in the southern provinces of France. The story follows an unnamed narrator who visits a mental institution in southern France (more accurately, a "Maison de Santé") known for a revolutionary new method of treating mental illnesses called the "system of soothing". A companion with whom he is travelling knows Monsieur Maillard, the hospital superintendent, and introduces the narrator to him before riding ahead. The narrator is shocked to learn that the system of soothing has been abandoned and replaced with one partly devised by Maillard.
Adaptations (2)
The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether has been adapted into 2 films, from 2005 to 2014. The most recent is Stonehearst Asylum (2014).
Lunacy2005 · film · 118 min · dir. Jan Svankmajer · IMDb ↗A man takes up residence with a mysterious marquis and is soon persuaded to enter into an asylum for preventative therapy. Things are not what they seem, and the marquis may be even more sinister than what the young man might have predicted.
Stonehearst Asylum2014 · film · 112 min · dir. Brad Anderson · IMDb ↗An Oxford Medical School graduate takes a position at a mental institution and soon becomes obsessed with a female mental patient, but he has no idea of a recent and horrifying staffing change.
