Mercury Visions of Louis Daguerre

Reading Group GuideThe Mercury Visions of Louis Daguerreby Dominic SmithINTRODUCTIONParis, 1847. Louis Daguerre has achieved the height of fame for his invention of the daguerreotype, but his legacy has come at a great cost. He is falling deeper and deeper into delusions caused by repeated exposure to mercury, the key ingredient in capturing photographic images. Daguerre believes the world will end within a year and creates a "Doomsday List," ten things he must photograph before the final day -- including a portrait of Isobel Le Fournier, the woman he loved and lost nearly a half century ago. With the aid of colorful poet Charles Baudelaire and a beautiful prostitute named Pigeon, Daguerre sets out to locate his subjects and fulfill his quest.The Mercury Visions of Louis Daguerreweaves together the strands of Daguerre's life: his youth in rural France, the ruined love that gave rise to artistic achievement, and the eventual unraveling of a prodigious mind. As Daguerre counts down the days to his apocalypse, he is caught between memory and reality. Ultimately, he must confront his haunting past if he is to finally win the heart of the only woman he has ever loved.QUESTIONS & TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION1. Item number 10 on Louis Daguerre's "Doomsday List" of images to photograph is Isobel Le Fournier. Why is it so important to Louis that he find Isobel before (as he believes will happen) the world expires? Why does Louis confide in the poet Charles Baudelaire about his doomsday prophecy? What about the other items on the list? What do they reveal about Daguerre?2. As arapinat the theater, Louis is subjected to an "initiation" by his fellow apprentices, who attempt to frighten him by taking him to a morgue and having him sketch a portrait of a dead woman. Louis, however, stays inside the morgue for hours, long after he is free to leave. Why does Louis put so much time and effort into his drawing of the corpse? What does this incident reveal about Louis? What does Degotti mean when he later tells Louis, "You drew what you wanted to see" (78)?3. Under Degotti's tutelage, Louis serves as the master paint mixer and brush washer at the theater for more than a year. What makes him finally stand up to Degotti and demand that he be allowed to paint a set? Is it a coincidence that Louis takes a stand on the same day he has his first sexual encounter with Madame Treadwell? Why or why not?4. In what ways do the instances of civil unrest in France mirror Louis's states of mind, including the burning of the mansion in Orleans, the rioting taking place in Paris the first time he has a vision, and the uprising on the day his "apocalypse" arrives?5. Why does Louis develop such an intense fascination with quicksilver, to the point where he "carried a phial of mercury around his neck at all times....He was, in a sense, in love again"? What does the quicksilver represent to him?6. On the night Louis and Isobel kiss on the Pont Neuf in the shadow of Notre Dame, Isobel says to him, "Life is more complicated than you know." Louis replies, "Life is more mysterious than you know" (99). What do these statements reveal about Louis and Isobel's respective attitudes about life in general, as well as about their relationship?7. On that same evening in Paris, Isobel tells Louis that someday he will be famous. "Louis knew this to be true; he saw it sometimes in the shop-windows when his reflection passed, the glimmer of who he was becoming" (100). Why is Louis so certain that he will achieve renown? Particularly when his discovery of the daguerreotype, as even he admits, is primarily accidental?8. Describe the way Louis looks at the world both before and after the onset of his mercury-induced visions. What similarities, if any, are there? How did Louis's experiences as a boy, particularly his fascination with light and his youthfulSmith, Dominic is the author of 'Mercury Visions of Louis Daguerre ', published 2006 under ISBN 9780743271141 and ISBN 0743271149.