When he wrote Gas Light in 1938, British dramatist Patrick Hamilton had no idea how frequently the phrase would be used in the twenty-first century. By Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the expression has just been chosen as the Word of the Year for 2022. The term “gaslighting” comes from a play by Alexander Hamilton written in the Victorian era and set in London about an erroneous middle-class union. The main character Jack Manningham tries to persuade his wife Bella that she is crazy. Without his wife’s knowledge, the husband routinely turns down the gas lights in the house. When his wife complains about it, he says it’s her fault and the lights aren’t dimming.
Remember that the term “gaslighting” originally referred to light produced by burning gas. That idea once appeared to be a game-changer. There are no longer any dwindling candles or questions about where the lights are. Your home now has dependable, bright lighting fixtures that make it usable at night thanks to the installation of gas lighting. Certain risks existed, but for many people, the convenience outweighs them. According to Merriam-Webster, psychological manipulation of a victim over an extended period of time that “causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and typically leads to confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem, uncertainty of one’s emotional or mental stability, and a dependency on the perpetrator” is the most common definition of gaslighting. In comparison to 2021, Merriam-Webster.com saw an increase in word searches of 1,740% in 2022. Yet another thing happened. In contrast to prior years when a word is chosen for the year, this one didn’t have a particular event that generated particularly significant increases in interest.
There was widespread gaslighting. According to Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-editor Webster’s at large, “it’s a word that has risen so swiftly in the English language, and especially in the last four years, that it genuinely came as a surprise to me and to many of us.” In this day and age, how does a phrase with such a dated origin become the “word of the year”? Even when the manipulators assert that nothing is wrong, the internet and social media have made it possible for you to be flooded with allegations that everyone and everything is working against you. Gaslighting without the use of gas (or light). Of course, the challenge is identifying who is engaging in gaslighting. If you’re going to assume that, for example, “A” is deceiving you because “B” says so, why not consider the possibility that “B” is the real culprit? It might be advisable to treat any allegations of deceit, fraud, or other covert plans with a healthy dose of scepticism. On the other hand, just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t following you, as Joseph Heller noted in his razor-sharp satire “Catch-22.”