We have all seen it on television - the magical hearing device that promises to restore the gift of hearing to those who have lost it. With just a simple flick of a switch, the device claims to amplify even the faintest of sounds and allow its user to fully immerse themselves in the world of sound once again. The concept of a magical hearing device is undoubtedly alluring. For individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, the thought of being able to experience the richness and subtlety of sound is nothing short of life-changing. It offers the promise of reconnecting with loved ones, enjoying music, and participating in conversations without the constant struggle to understand. The portrayal of this device on television often depicts a dramatic transformation, with the user instantly experiencing a newfound sense of joy and wonder as they hear the sounds of birds chirping, laughter, and the gentle rustling of leaves.
The portrayal of this device on television often depicts a dramatic transformation, with the user instantly experiencing a newfound sense of joy and wonder as they hear the sounds of birds chirping, laughter, and the gentle rustling of leaves. It paints a picture of a device that seamlessly restores normal hearing, erasing the limitations imposed by deafness or hearing loss. However, it is essential to approach these portrayals with a critical eye.
American Horror Story: Coven Fantasy v. Fact Episode #1
Fans of FX’s incredibly popular American Horror Story: Coven recognize Madame Lalaurie and Marie Laveau as characters played by Kathy Bates and Angela Bassett in a mesmerizing world of intrigue, witchcraft, and gore set in New Orleans. Carolyn Long, the author of biographies on both of these fascinating women – Lalaurie and Laveau – undoubtedly has a hard time watching the series without noting historical inaccuracies. But that doesn’t mean she isn’t a big fan of Coven, too! As everyone gears up for the season finale (1/29), Long takes each episode and offers captivating facts to counter and compliment the over-the-top fantasy depicted on screen.
To kick things off, Long offers some background info to set the stage for what’s real and what’s sensationalized in Coven. Then she offers up a breakdown of Episode 1. You’ll never believe what really happened in Madame Lalaurie’s house that led her to be known as a slave torturer, or what Lalaurie’s real-life dynamic was with Bastien was reportedly like!
The Premise: According to the plot of American Horror Story: Coven, the survivors of the 1692 Salem Witch Trials eventually fled Massachusetts for New Orleans and made their headquarters in an opulent mansion called Miss Robichaux’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies.
The Characters: The present-day personnel at Miss Robichaux’s are the leaders of the coven and they are fictional characters created for the show:
- Fiona Good (Jessica Lange), the current Supreme, an aging beauty now dying of cancer.
- Cordelia Foxx (Sarah Paulson), Fiona’s daughter and headmistress of Miss Robichaux’s, married to the duplicitous Hank Foxx, who is later revealed to be a witch hunter.
- Spalding, the creepy butler.
- The students: Zoe (Taissa Farmiga) and Madison (Emma Roberts) are pretty white girls; Nan (Jamie Brewer), also white, has Down Syndrome; and Queenie (Gabourey Sidibe) is an overweight African American girl.
- Misty (Lili Rabe) a Cajun witch who lives in a cabin in the swamp; she is associated with, not part of, the coven at Miss Robichaux’s.
While Miss Robichaux’s once had as many as sixty “young ladies,” witches are “a dying breed,” and now there are only four girls.
Queenie is supposedly descended from Tituba, a fictional character that has been portrayed in popular legend as a black Voudou priestess who corrupted the young women of the Salem household where she was enslaved. In reality, Tituba was an Arawak Indian kidnapped from South America and sold as a slave in Barbados. Tituba was the first person to be accused as a witch during the Salem trails. She confessed under torture and named a number of other women as witches, including Sarah Good. Tituba was imprisoned but not hung. Sarah Good, perhaps meant to be the ancestor of Fiona Goode, was hung on July 19, 1692.
Madame Lalaurie portrayed in a collage by author Carolyn Long. Madame Lalaurie as played by Kathy Bates in Coven.
In New Orleans, the witch coven interacts with several nineteenth-century characters who were real people:
- Marie Laveau (Angela Bassett), the Voudou priestess
- Delphine Macarty Lalaurie (Kathy Bates), the slave-abuser
- Madame Lalaurie’s slave Bastien
- “Axe Man,” the early twentieth-century serial killer
Episode 1, “Bitchcraft,” aired October 9, 2013
The story opens in 1834, when Madame Lalaurie (Kathy Bates) is holding a reception at her luxurious Royal Street mansion. Her intent is to introduce her daughters Jeanne, Pauline, and Borquita to some prospective suitors. Madame Lalaurie’s husband, Dr. Louis Lalaurie, hovers in the background.
Fact check: Already the script, while incorporating some factual material, is deviating from reality. A portrait of Delphine Macarty Lalaurie is still exists and is owned by her descendants. From that portrait we know that she was slender and endowed with a severe sort of beauty. She had large dark eyes and prominent eyebrows. She was forty-seven years old in 1834 and still said to be a handsome woman. Kathy Bates, though a superb actress, looks nothing like Delphine Lalaurie. Bates’s character is portrayed as overweight, aging, and obsessed with retaining her youthful good looks.
Fact check: Delphine indeed had an older daughter from her first marriage, Borja López y Ángulo, nicknamed Borquita, but Borquita had been married since 1821. Jeanne and Pauline were daughters from Delphine’s second marriage to Jean Blanque, with whom she had another daughter, Laure, and a son, Paulin. Jeanne married and left home in 1833. So if Madame Lalaurie was having a party to arrange marriages for her daughters, it would have been for Pauline and Laure.
Fact check: Delphine married Dr. Louis Lalaurie, sixteen years her junior, in 1828. He arrived in New Orleans from France in 1825 after graduating from medical school and appears to have been a naive but ambitious youth seeking to make his fortune in the New World. Coming from a modest background in a small French village, he had nothing in common with Delphine, a wealthy widow from a powerful family that owned both land and slaves. Yet somehow, this unlikely couple formed an intimate relationship. Delphine became pregnant with their son, Jean Louis, before they were married. Lalaurie was obviously attracted to Delphine’s money and social status, and we can only speculate that she was attracted to his youth–she was, in today’s parlance, a “cougar.”
In Episode 1, Delphine slips away to her room during the party to apply anti-aging beauty treatment, made of blood extracted from the slaves she kept imprisoned. Dr. Lalaurie interrupts to say that “something’s happened” concerning her daughter Pauline and the manservant Bastien. Delphine accuses Bastien of sexually attacking her daughter, but Bastien protests that Pauline was the aggressor. Delphine has Bastien thrown into a cage, where she has the severed head of a bull forced over his face, transforming him into her favorite mythological character, the half-man, half-bull Minotaur.
Fact check: Delphine Lalaurie actually owned an enslaved man named Bastien. He was purchased by Delphine’s second husband, Jean Blanque, in 1815, and is listed in the act of sale as a coachman valued at $1,670. After Blanque’s death, Delphine retained Bastien and other slaves “in payment of her matrimonial rights.” He was still a member of her domestic staff in 1834.
Episode 1 continues in the present time with Fiona Goode and her coven of young witches walking through the French Quarter of New Orleans. Nan, who possesses the gift of clairvoyance, is distracted by impressions emanating from the Lalaurie mansion. The witches enter and eavesdrop on a tour guide’s retelling of the Lalaurie legend, and the group is conducted to the attic, the “infamous chamber of horrors” where Madame Lalaurie supposedly imprisoned and tortured her slaves.
Fact check: The building used in the series to represent the Lalaurie mansion is actually the Gallier House Museum at 1132 Royal Street, a few doors away from the actual Lalaurie mansion at 1140 Royal. Evidently the owner of the Lalaurie mansion refused permission to film inside or outside his private residence. Madame Lalaurie purchased this house in 1831 while it was still under construction. It was built as a two-story townhouse fronting directly on the street. An attached multi-story service wing opening onto the courtyard housed the kitchen and slave quarters. The notion that the slaves were held in chains and tortured in the attic of the elegant family home is unlikely–imagine the screams and the vile odors emanating from this prison! They would have been confined in locked cells above the kitchen.
American Horror Story: Coven airs at 10 pm each Wednesday on FX.
Fact check: The most dramatic incident in the true story of Madame Lalaurie is omitted from American Horror Story. On the morning of April 10, 1834, a fire started in the kitchen of the service wing and quickly spread to the rest of that building. A group of concerned citizens gathered, and inquiries were made regarding the slaves who were rumored to be incarcerated there. Judge Jacques François Canonge led the men who broke down the doors, fought their way through the smoke and flames, and rescued seven slaves who had been starved, tortured, and chained. The victims were carried to the mayor’s office at the Cabildo, where they were reportedly viewed by at least 2,000 people. As the day went on and the sheriff did not come to arrest Madame Lalaurie, an angry mob formed to take justice into their own hands. Finally her carriage burst out of the gate and sped to Lake Pontchartrain, where she boarded a schooner. The populace, enraged by her escape, nearly demolished the empty house.
According to legend, Bastien was the coachman who saved Delphine’s life. The Lalauries fled New Orleans after the fire, leaving Delphine’s sons-in-law to settle her affairs and dispose of the house and slaves. Bastien was sold in September 1834 and resold to another buyer in June 1836. He was eventually freed by the will of his last owner in 1849.
Carolyn Morrow Long retired from the National Museum of American History in 2001. She lives in Washington, D.C., and New Orleans. Her books, Madame Lalaurie: Mistress of the Haunted House and A New Orleans Voudou Priestess: The Legend and Reality of Marie Laveau.
Carolyn Morrow Long retired from the National Museum of American History in 2001. She lives in Washington, D.C., and New Orleans. Her books, Madame Lalaurie: Mistress of the Haunted House and A New Orleans Voudou Priestess: The Legend and Reality of Marie Laveau.
While technological advancements have undoubtedly improved hearing aid technology, it is crucial to remember that no device can truly replicate the complexity of the human auditory system. Hearing aids and other assistive devices can certainly enhance sound perception, but they cannot fully restore natural hearing. The idea of a magical hearing device may offer hope to those who have lost their hearing, but it is important to manage expectations. The reality is that hearing aids are not a cure-all solution, and success with these devices can vary greatly from person to person. Factors such as the cause and severity of hearing loss, individual preferences, and lifestyle all play a role in determining the efficacy of a hearing aid. Furthermore, the portrayal of these devices on television may oversimplify the process of obtaining and wearing a hearing aid. In reality, it often requires a comprehensive evaluation by a qualified audiologist, a fitting session to ensure proper fit and function, and ongoing adjustments and follow-ups to optimize hearing aid performance. It can be a journey of trial and error, as finding the right device and settings for an individual's unique needs can take time and patience. In conclusion, the portrayal of a magical hearing device on television captures our imagination and offers hope to those impacted by hearing loss. While advancements in technology have undoubtedly improved the efficacy and accessibility of hearing aids, it is important to approach these portrayals with a critical eye. Managing expectations and understanding the limitations of hearing aid technology are essential for individuals seeking to improve their hearing..
Reviews for "A Symphony of Sound: Immersing in Life with a TV-Inspired Hearing Device"
1. Emma - 1 star
I bought the magical hearing device after seeing it on television and I'm extremely disappointed. The device did not enhance my hearing at all. In fact, it made everything sound even more distorted. The so-called "advanced technology" mentioned in the ad is nothing but a gimmick. I feel like I wasted my money on a cheaply made product. I would not recommend the magical hearing device to anyone.
2. Jonathan - 2 stars
I had high hopes for the magical hearing device, but unfortunately, it fell short of my expectations. The sound quality was poor and it often picked up background noises more than the conversations I was trying to listen to. The device also had a tendency to malfunction, requiring frequent battery replacements. Overall, I was not impressed with this product and found it to be a waste of money.
3. Sarah - 1 star
I purchased the magical hearing device with the hope of improving my hearing, but I was left deeply disappointed. The device was uncomfortable to wear and did not fit properly in my ear despite trying different sizes. It also failed to amplify sounds as advertised and often produced static noises instead. It felt like a cheap knockoff. Save your money and invest in a more reputable hearing aid instead.
4. Mike - 2 stars
I regret buying the magical hearing device as it did not live up to its claims. The advertising made it seem like a revolutionary product, but the reality was far from it. The device was difficult to adjust, and the volume control never seemed to work properly. It was also quite bulky and uncomfortable to wear for extended periods. I would advise others to be skeptical before wasting their money on this device.
Breaking Boundaries: Redefining Possibilities with a TV-Inspired Hearing Device