Svengali

Svengali is the name of a fictional character in George du Maurier's 1894 novel Trilby. A sensation in its day, the novel created a stereotype of the evil hypnotist that persists to this day. The character was portrayed in many silent film versions of the story, and in talking pictures by John Barrymore in a 1931 film of the same name, by Donald Wolfit in a 1954 version in Technicolor, and by Peter O'Toole in a 1983 made-for-television modernized version, also in color, co-starring Jodie Foster. This last one changed the names of all the characters, but was still called Svengali, the name having become a noun.

The word "svengali" has entered the language meaning a person who, with evil intent, manipulates another into doing what is desired. It is frequently used for any kind of coach who seems to exercise an extreme degree of domination over a performer (especially if the person is a young woman and the coach is an older man).

The term has entered the media lexicon for an unaccountable but overridingly influential adviser to a political leader or candidate. Recent figures to whom the label has been applied include Peter Mandelson (to Tony Blair)^[1] and Karl Rove (to George W. Bush et al^[2]).

The character

He "would either fawn or bully, and could be grossly impertinent. He had a kind of cynical humor, which was more offensive than amusing, and always laughed at the wrong thing, at the wrong time, in the wrong place. And his laughter was always derisive and full of malice."

Svengali transforms Trilby into a great singer using hypnosis, but she cannot perform without his help in entering a trance state. The relation between Svengali and Trilby forms only a small portion of the novel, which is mainly an evocation of bohemian Paris in the 1850s.

Popular culture

In an episode of the the sitcom Seinfeld, entitled "The Wallet", Elaine refers to her psychotherapist boyfriend as a "Svengali" because he wields a powerful mental influence over her. She mispronounces the word, causing Jerry and George to correct her.

In the season 1 pilot of the Moonlight TV series, entitled "No Such Thing as Vampires", Beth interviews a suspect who refers to another character as a "Svengali" who brainwashed students, using literary references to vampires, sex and dark desires and seduced them into his cult.

In the 1950's movie All About Eve, the character Bill Simpson (played by Gary Merrill) says to Eve Harrington (played by Anne Baxter), after she tries to seduce him, that he's 'been called a lot of names, but not Svengali'.

In the NCIS season 3 episode 'Silver War', Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs consoles Mossad officer Ziva David about her half-brother Ari Haswari, whom she had killed, by describing him as a Svengali.

Season 9, episode 6 of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit is called Svengali.

In the Season 2 episode of Venture Bros entitled "Guess Who's Coming to State Dinner?", Col. Bud Manstrong angrily calls Brock Samson "Svengali" when he finds his mother passed out in Samson's lap.

See also

• Stage mother

External links

• Svengali at the Internet Movie Database

References

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