ABSTRACT
This chapter demonstrates that sensation novels correlate sheltered and secluded lives at home with a particular sensitivity in their characters and a tendency to let themselves be ruled by their imagination. The authors say it's on the nerves, and they none of them know what they mean when they say it. Frederick Fairlie's wealth and free time allow him to surround himself with doctors and servants who cater to his every need. Unlike Robert and Roland, who are inconsistent in their opinions of others, Frederick and Noel never deviate from their distrust in their fellow men. Through Frederick's constant complaint about his nerves and general physical and mental fragility, Collins hints at a possible hypochondria diagnosis, but never specifies it, thus letting the reader decide whether or not Fairlie's illness originates from his imagination.
