“Gaslighting” someone .....
I first heard this phrase used recently by my friend Catherine. Now me being me, my mind conjured up an image so far removed from the actual origin I was compelled to do some research and understand the meaning. Below is what I discovered.
Origins of the phrase, to “gaslight” someone:
It comes from the 1944 film called Gaslight...
From http://www.filmsite.org/gasl.html:
"... was about a diabolical, Victorian criminal husband (Charles Boyer playing against type) who systematically and methodically attempts to torment, menace, and drive his bedeviled, fragile wife (Ingrid Bergman) mad. Its title was derived from the frequent dimming and flickering of the gaslights. The phrase "to gaslight" someone (to deliberately drive someone insane by psychologically manipulating their environment and tricking someone into believing that they are insane), was derived from the film.
From http://www.filmsite.org/gasl.html:
"... was about a diabolical, Victorian criminal husband (Charles Boyer playing against type) who systematically and methodically attempts to torment, menace, and drive his bedeviled, fragile wife (Ingrid Bergman) mad. Its title was derived from the frequent dimming and flickering of the gaslights. The phrase "to gaslight" someone (to deliberately drive someone insane by psychologically manipulating their environment and tricking someone into believing that they are insane), was derived from the film.
Read more:
Here's what my mind immidiately jumped to when I first heard the phrase:
It is a great movie and even better stage play. You can see more about Gaslight at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036855/
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