When the novel genre began to become popular in the Ottoman Empire, many authors such as Ahmet Midhat emphasized that the novel was fundamental for society. These writers made use of “nonliterary” discourses, such as medicine, and formed a new value system for literature. To demonstrate the engagement of these writers with medicine, a close reading of Hayal ve Hakikat (Imagination and Truth; 1891) is provided, which was co-written by Ahmet Midhat and Fatma Aliye. In particular, the article analyzes the “Hysteria” section of Hayal ve Hakikat and historically contextualizes it through examining both the literary criticism and the medical works that were produced in the nineteenth century. It shows that some Ottoman writers who lived when the work was composed depict medicine and/or science as an ideal for literature, and it is argued that these depictions have shaped critical judgments on genres such as poetry and the novel. These writers could foreground the “seriousness” of the new literature through comparing the old divan poetry with a woman or a sick person. This article shows the intersections between the history of literature and the history of science at a time when the novel could be considered the source of a cure.