In his book, "Mesmerism and the Enlightenment in France", Robert Dranton attempts to explain the mentality of the pre-Revolution Frenchman. He uses th etheory and expansions of Franz Anton Mesmer. In his noble effort, Dranton explains the frantic nature of the educated Frenchman at this time and since he has chosena specific "eye" to see through, his intention is satisfied. He also shows how the radical branches of mesmerism carried on long after the revolution and affected the thinking of many great men and women, such as Victor Hugo and Henri de Balzac. Dranton uses excerpts from the changes in the theory itself and the changes of the format in which it was used. O