The nineteenth century seems to have been full of hysterical women - or so they
were diagnosed. Where are they now? The very disease no longer exists. In this f
ascinating account, Andrew Scull tells the story of Hysteria - an illness that d
isappeared not through medical endeavour, but through growing understanding and
cultural change.
More generally, it raises the question of how diseases are f
ramed, and how conceptions of a disease change through history. The lurid histor
y of hysteria makes fascinating reading. Charcot's clinics showed off flamboyant
ly 'hysterical' patients taking on sexualized poses, and among the visiting prof
essionals was one Sigmund Freud.
