Gaslight

 

Gaslight

All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

There was a time, before electricity was discovered, when all homes and workplaces were lit by candlelight, oil lamps or rushlights. Rushlights were rushes soaked in fat or grease and were a common form of lighting for poorer people.

 Gas lighting was introduced in the 19^th century.

The first well-documented experimental use of gas street lighting was in Pall Mall, London, in 1807. Until then street lights were fuelled with oil, often whale oil. Most London streets were gas lit by 1816 but the general populace distrusted this ‘new-fangled’ form of lighting and were slow to accept it in their homes. Some fifty years after the introduction of gaslight, it was installed in the Houses of Parliament in 1859 and became thereafter more widely accepted.

Gaslights were often left dimly burning, to be turned up when brighter light was needed. Matches were always ready to hand to light the gas lamps in rooms that were not regularly in use.

 Electricity wrought a revolution. Light could be accessed at the flick of a switch and people who had been used to leaving the gas lamps on a low flame now had to remember to turn off the electric lights when they left a room. However, some people in UK continued to use gaslights as late as the outbreak of the Second World War.

There is a second, more sinister meaning to gaslight. Gaslighting someone is a method of psychological, emotional abuse, creating confusion and anxiety, with the intention of gaining control of an individual or situation. The objective is to undermine the victim’s self-esteem and confidence by creating doubt in their minds.

The term ‘gaslighting’ comes from a 1930s play called ‘Gas Light. The male character intends to steal from his wife and uses gas lights to persuade her that she is going mad. 

Its modern application can include examples like a victim being repeatedly told they are unwell, mad, selfish, manipulative, lying, or simply stacking the dishwasher incorrectly despite being told numerous times how to do it ‘properly’, This makes them jumpy and afraid of ‘doing the wrong thing’.  However, the ‘wrong thing’ may change without warning so that they are constantly on tenterhooks, worrying about what might happen next and beginning to doubt their own judgement and sanity. 

It is an awful way to live and is not always easy to escape or explain to others. The perpetrator may also try to influence others to accept their version of events, destabilising formerly good relationships with friends or family and further isolating the victim.

Not every perpetrator realises that their behaviour could be described as gaslighting but others make a conscious decision to gaslight. There are many reasons a person may choose to play mind games – control, self-aggrandisement, avoiding taking responsibility – but whatever the reason, the perpetrator needs professional help just as much as their victim. 

Just as practices like candle lighting moved with the times to provide gas and subsequently electricity, so bullying, now known as coercive control, has moved on and been recognised, thankfully, as a crime.

’section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 has stated that controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or familial relationship is a criminal offence.

On January 20^th, 2022, the term ‘gaslighting’ was acknowledged for the first time in the High Court.’