Of One Blood: Or, the Hidden Self

Reuel and Aubrey go to the Vance house for a costume party. Charlie teases Reuel about his recent achievements in mesmerism, and Molly asks him about Dianthe. Reuel describes her as a “waif” who was in “mesmeric sleep” (43). Aubrey recounts how his father, Dr. Livingston, often hypnotized a young enslaved woman named Mira. At a dinner party before the Civil War, Mira predicted that the men present would be killed in the war and their houses would be destroyed. Mira’s words were so disturbing, Aubrey recalls, that his father sold her a few months before the beginning of the Civil War. Nevertheless, her predictions all came true.

Molly insists that Dianthe should stay at the Vance house during her convalescence. That night, Aubrey dreams of Dianthe. The next morning he realizes that he is “hopelessly lost” (46).

Reuel successfully restores Dianthe’s physical health, but her memory does not recover. The doctors say she cannot be cured, so she takes the name “Felice Adams” and moves into the Vance house. Reuel still feels distressed about Dianthe’s condition and her future. Aubrey and Reuel observe that she navigates her new life with ease, but Reuel thinks that her memory might return suddenly.