Historical Misdiagnosis and The Hysterical Circus
By Jaime Rainwater
convulsions, paralysis, blatant sexual desire, and
even rage, often directed at her husband or
children (Showalter 1997). Hysteria's causation
was believed to reside in physical or emotional
trauma, oftentimes associated with marriage or
childbirth which brought about an influx of new
responsibilities that the "fairer sex" was simply
unable to cope with (Scull 2009). Female sexuality
was viewed as a medical condition in need of
treatment rather than a natural occurrence, as in
men. The elusive female orgasm was often to
blame for this, and the inability for a wife to
achieve orgasm through intercourse led many a
pride-wounded husband to seek aid from medical
professionals, who offered an array of
controversial treatments which by today's
standards would be considered immoral and
unlawful.
The term "hysteria" derives from the
Greek word hystera, or uterus. Hippocratic texts
describe the disparities between men and women's
inherent health in claiming that "the womb is the
origin of all diseases" (Scull 2009). It was believed
that a woman's body was biologically inferior to
her male counterpart, claiming the perpetual state
of "wetness" as her primary weakness.
Menstruation, childbirth, and sexual desire were all
"maladies" in need of treatment. 18th and 19th
century corsets, worn by women to enhance the
bust and shrink their waists to an impossibly small
circumference, also contributed a host of medical
complications. Women were prone to fainting
spells due to the pressure placed on the organs
from the corsets, an ailment used as fictitious
evidence of their weakness. Theories also
indicated that hysterical fits were consciously used
by women in order to attract sexual attention from
men by mimicking orgasmic states (Maines 1999).
Thusly, hysteria became the catchall diagnosis for
ailing or unconventional women.
Treatments for hysteria ranged anywhere
from isolation, hydrotherapy, electrotherapy,
doctor assisted masturbation, and in extreme
cases, the barbaric practice of clitoridectomy.
British physician Isaac Baker Brown pioneered the
use of chloroform and surgery on his female
patients in the 19th century, often with fatal
consequences (Scull 2009). He concluded that
hysteria was brought on by chronic masturbation
"Hysteria, psychosis, torture, depression: I was
told that if something is unpleasant it's probably feminine."
(Sedaris 2000)
In 1875, a 14-year-old Parisian girl was
admitted to Salpêtrière Hospital after suffering a
series of convulsive fits and paralysis (Hustvedt
2011). During this time, photography and the
documentation of patients utilizing this medium
became the norm, and a young girl who was
misdiagnosed with the fictitious illness of
"hysteria", and who's identity was only revealed as
"Augustine," became the poster child for the
sexualization of women's illnesses and the
clandestine exploitation by medical professionals
for fame and profit. Her photographs were later
reprinted in the 1920s, and her legacy serves as a
reminder to the horrors of misdiagnosis and
medical abuse.
A photograph of Augustine Gleizes entitled "Passionate AttitudesEcstasy" taken by Paul Regnard at the Salpêtrière Hospital, 1878
Hysteria, or the condition of emotional
instability often associated with sexual deprivation,
was a popularized ailment for women during the
19th and early 20th century. A woman's mental
imbalance would often be expressed physically,
either through fits of laughter or screaming,
21