Svengali

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This article is about the literary character. For the card trick unconnected to this character, see Svengali deck.

Svengali is the name of a fictional hypnotist in George du Maurier's 1894 novel, Trilby. A sensation in its day, the novel created a stereotype of the abusive hypnotist that persists to this day.

The word "Svengali" has entered the language meaning a person who, with evil intent, tries to persuade another to do 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 female or believes he or she can only perform in the presence of the coach).

1 The character
2 Svengali in culture
3 Spoof(s)
4 See also
5 External link

[edit] The character

Svengali is, in du Maurier's words, an "Oriental Israelite Hebrew Jew" with a cruel personality. He "would either fawn or bully, and could be grossly impertinent. He had a kind of cynical humour, 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.

[edit] Svengali in culture

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The novel has been adapted for the screen many times, the most successful being the 1931 film Svengali starring John Barrymore and Marian Marsh. A 1954 version is described by IMDb users as "unintentionally hilarious." There was a 1983 television version with Peter O'Toole and Jodie Foster.

In his album, "I Predict 1990," Steve Taylor speaks of the novel Trilby in the song "Svengali." The song includes references to "wide eyes, [that] mesmerize" and include Trilby's death toward the end.

In Season 4, Episode 5 ("The Wallet") of Seinfeld, the character Elaine refers to the power her psychiatrist boyfriend has over her, but mispronounces the name as "Svenjolly," prompting Jerry to suggest, "Maybe he has, like, a cheerful mental hold on you."

"The Two Svengalis," a two-person musical with songs by Fred Barton and book by Fred Barton and Toni DiBuono opened off Broadway in 2004. Starring Barton and DiBuono, the musical follows an inhibited suburban housewife and her ineffectual vocal coach as they collaborate their way to stardom.

In the Musical On the Twentieth Century, Lily refers to Oscar, her former lover and producer, as a "two-bit Svengali."

In the musical Kiss Me, Kate, Character Lily Vanessi bitterly retorts "you can't hypnotize me, Svengali," before she walks out on her ex-husband, Frederick Graham.

Along the lines of the media entitling each of the Spice Girls with a trait-specific name like "Posh" or "Scary", manager Simon Fuller was dubbed "Svengali Spice".

The band, The Disco Biscuits has a song named Svengali.

[edit] Spoof(s)

Svengali has been spoofed on The Three Stooges on a 1949 short "Hokus Pokus", Svengarlic has come to perform his hypnotism that the fictitious advertisement says "will steal your breath away."