Medical Muses: Hysteria in Nineteenth-Century Paris

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science, Other Sciences, History, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Gender Studies, Women&
Cover of the book Medical Muses: Hysteria in Nineteenth-Century Paris by Asti Hustvedt, W. W. Norton & Company
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Asti Hustvedt ISBN: 9780393082173
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Publication: May 23, 2011
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company Language: English
Author: Asti Hustvedt
ISBN: 9780393082173
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Publication: May 23, 2011
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company
Language: English

A fascinating study of three young female hysterics who shaped our early notions of psychology.

Blanche, Augustine, and Genevieve found themselves in the hysteria ward of the Salpetriere Hospital in 1870s Paris, where their care was directed by the prominent neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot. They became medical celebrities: every week, eager crowds arrived at the hospital to observe their symptoms; they were photographed, sculpted, painted, and transformed into characters in novels. The remarkable story of their lives as patients in the clinic is a strange amalgam of intimate details and public exposure, science and religion, medicine and the occult, hypnotism, love, and theater.

But who were Blanche, Augustine, and Genevieve? What role did they play in their own peculiar form of stardom? And what exactly were they suffering from? Hysteria—with its dramatic seizures, hallucinations, and reenactments of past traumas—may be an illness of the past, but the notions of femininity that lie behind it offer insights into disorders of the present.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

A fascinating study of three young female hysterics who shaped our early notions of psychology.

Blanche, Augustine, and Genevieve found themselves in the hysteria ward of the Salpetriere Hospital in 1870s Paris, where their care was directed by the prominent neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot. They became medical celebrities: every week, eager crowds arrived at the hospital to observe their symptoms; they were photographed, sculpted, painted, and transformed into characters in novels. The remarkable story of their lives as patients in the clinic is a strange amalgam of intimate details and public exposure, science and religion, medicine and the occult, hypnotism, love, and theater.

But who were Blanche, Augustine, and Genevieve? What role did they play in their own peculiar form of stardom? And what exactly were they suffering from? Hysteria—with its dramatic seizures, hallucinations, and reenactments of past traumas—may be an illness of the past, but the notions of femininity that lie behind it offer insights into disorders of the present.

More books from W. W. Norton & Company

Cover of the book Infant Research & Neuroscience at Work in Psychotherapy: Expanding the Clinical Repertoire by Asti Hustvedt
Cover of the book The Lives of Others by Asti Hustvedt
Cover of the book Leela's Book: A Novel by Asti Hustvedt
Cover of the book What Goes On: Selected and New Poems 1995-2009 by Asti Hustvedt
Cover of the book Montana: A Bicentennial History by Asti Hustvedt
Cover of the book Quickies: The Handbook of Brief Sex Therapy (Third Edition) by Asti Hustvedt
Cover of the book Out of the Blue: Six Non-Medication Ways to Relieve Depression by Asti Hustvedt
Cover of the book In Beauty Bright: Poems by Asti Hustvedt
Cover of the book Five Pillars of the Mind: Redesigning Education to Suit the Brain by Asti Hustvedt
Cover of the book Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by Asti Hustvedt
Cover of the book The Pawnbroker's Daughter: A Memoir by Asti Hustvedt
Cover of the book 33 Artists in 3 Acts by Asti Hustvedt
Cover of the book The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe without Design by Asti Hustvedt
Cover of the book Love & Will by Asti Hustvedt
Cover of the book And Short the Season: Poems by Asti Hustvedt
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy