Art Criticism - The State University of New York
Art Criticism - The State University of New York Art Criticism - The State University of New York
is not always recognized as such. Hysteria has had many names, including Borderline Personality Disorder,50 Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Multiple Personality Disorder, among others. Elaine Showalter in her recent, highly controversial book, Hystories: Hysterical Epidemics and Modem Media, goes so far as to label recovered memory, satanic ritual abuse, alien abduction and Gulf War syndrome as contemporary hysteriasY Georges Guillain, a French medical historian of hysteria, sums up this change in terminology nicely when he writes, "In reality, the patients have not changed ... but the terminology applied to them has."52 Hysteria, as Showalter argues, "is more contagious than in the past." These words speak directly to Nordau's theory of social contagion. What both are arguing is hysteria's underlying connection to the "crowd" - how teeming masses of people contribute to and promote hysteria.53 The notion of the crowd is traditionally linked to modernity, because the development of modern cities and urban growth gives rise to the crowd. The work of Gustav Le Bon is especially useful in this context because his notion of the crowd functions to promote awareness of psychological diseases, specifically Multiple Personality Distorder and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - "the new hysterias." Le Bon's use of the term "crowd," according to Robert E. Park, assigns a "purely theoretical meaning to the word" and emphasizes its psychological aspects. Le Bon does not see the crowd as a "simple aggregate, but much more a collective entity whose unity is based on the special kind of mutual dependence among the individuals who compose it."54 It is clear from this definition that Le Bon is not conforming to the usual use of the term "crowd," which is concerned more with the use of physical space than psychology. Park further explains: Crowd used in this sense differs from the normal meaning of the word in that the usual spatial aspect is ignored. A number of individuals gathered in a square constitutes a crowd in Le Bon's sense only when it possesses a certain psychological nature. On the other hand, an entire nation can be a crowd in the psychological sense, without any visible gathering of people. Thus it is the psychological conditions rather than the spatial relationships of individuals which form the essential content of the concept 'crowd. '55 (emphasis mine) Given this understanding of the crowd, it seems that the United States readily fits the definition. Assuming this, Le Bon's psychological politics of the crowd seem applicable to late twentieth-century equivalents of nineteenthcentury hysteria. In particular I would like to demonstrate how the crowd, with the help of contemporary media, promotes "hysterical" maladies. 96 Art Criticism
One of the most famous cases of Multiple Personality Disorder (or MPD,)56 is the case of psychiatrist Cornelia C. Wilbur's patient, "Sybil." The case was published in book form in 1973 and later made into a film. The author describes it as an example of "grand hysterie," a term used by Charcot in Paris. Because of the case's wide exposure in the United States, psychiatrist Frank W. Putnam says it became "a template against which other patients could be compared and understood."57 In addition to serving as a template for psychiatrists, the Sybil case also became one for would-be patients to compare themselves with. What occurred here, broadly speaking, is that the case was presented to the crowd, who consumed it and adopted it as a newfound, newly diagnosable psychological disorder. The idea ofMPD was popularized to such an extent by the media that doctors suddenly began "looking" for MPD diagnoses whether or not they existed. This same situation occurred when Charcot's Tuesday lectures and photographs of hysterics popularized hysteria to the extent that women showed up daily at SalpAtri.Are whether by force or free will. Both occurrences can be understood through the contagion/crowd theory, which also explains what occurred on a more local level at SalpAtriAre with hysterical imitation of epileptic fits. Troubled by the situation with MPD, psychiatrist David Ross found that "A group knowledge ofMPD begins to circulate among the patients and, like a contagion of sorts, it multiplies."58 MPD symptoms include depression, history of sexual abuse (real or imagined), desire for independence, and the presence of multiple personalities which themselves exhibit variant personality traits - all very similar to what Charcot and Freud diagnosed as hysteria. It is worth noting that even the individual personalities ofMPD are directly parallel with the characteristics of the decadent personality. For example, "bad" MPD personalities are often highly narcissistic, degenerate, sexually "deviant" and rebellious to mention few traits. These could very well be used to describe decadent or femme fatal characters, such as Salome, Dessentes, or the characters created by the Goncourt Brothers. Nordau connects modern society's "consequence of fatigue" with the increase in such psychological conditions as hysteria.59 This same situation occurrs in contemporary society when psychiatrists diagnose what was once called hysteria as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (or CFS).60 CFS symptoms include rashes, abdominal pain, extreme fatigue, inability to function in daily life, headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, light sensitivity and facial numbness - any combination of these Freud, Breuer or Charcot would have called hysteria. Nordau says, Hysteria and degeneration have always existed; but they formerly showed themselves sporadically, and had no importance in the life of the whole community. It was only the vast fatigue which was experienced by the vol. 17, no. 1 97
- Page 48 and 49: The Femme Fatale as seen in the wor
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One <strong>of</strong> the most famous cases <strong>of</strong> Multiple Personality Disorder (or<br />
MPD,)56 is the case <strong>of</strong> psychiatrist Cornelia C. Wilbur's patient, "Sybil." <strong>The</strong><br />
case was published in book form in 1973 and later made into a film. <strong>The</strong> author<br />
describes it as an example <strong>of</strong> "grand hysterie," a term used by Charcot in Paris.<br />
Because <strong>of</strong> the case's wide exposure in the United <strong>State</strong>s, psychiatrist Frank<br />
W. Putnam says it became "a template against which other patients could be<br />
compared and understood."57 In addition to serving as a template for psychiatrists,<br />
the Sybil case also became one for would-be patients to compare themselves<br />
with. What occurred here, broadly speaking, is that the case was presented<br />
to the crowd, who consumed it and adopted it as a newfound, newly<br />
diagnosable psychological disorder.<br />
<strong>The</strong> idea <strong>of</strong>MPD was popularized to such an extent by the media that<br />
doctors suddenly began "looking" for MPD diagnoses whether or not they<br />
existed. This same situation occurred when Charcot's Tuesday lectures and<br />
photographs <strong>of</strong> hysterics popularized hysteria to the extent that women showed<br />
up daily at SalpAtri.Are whether by force or free will. Both occurrences can be<br />
understood through the contagion/crowd theory, which also explains what<br />
occurred on a more local level at SalpAtriAre with hysterical imitation <strong>of</strong> epileptic<br />
fits. Troubled by the situation with MPD, psychiatrist David Ross found<br />
that "A group knowledge <strong>of</strong>MPD begins to circulate among the patients and,<br />
like a contagion <strong>of</strong> sorts, it multiplies."58<br />
MPD symptoms include depression, history <strong>of</strong> sexual abuse (real or<br />
imagined), desire for independence, and the presence <strong>of</strong> multiple personalities<br />
which themselves exhibit variant personality traits - all very similar to what<br />
Charcot and Freud diagnosed as hysteria. It is worth noting that even the<br />
individual personalities <strong>of</strong>MPD are directly parallel with the characteristics <strong>of</strong><br />
the decadent personality. For example, "bad" MPD personalities are <strong>of</strong>ten<br />
highly narcissistic, degenerate, sexually "deviant" and rebellious to mention<br />
few traits. <strong>The</strong>se could very well be used to describe decadent or femme fatal<br />
characters, such as Salome, Dessentes, or the characters created by the<br />
Goncourt Brothers.<br />
Nordau connects modern society's "consequence <strong>of</strong> fatigue" with<br />
the increase in such psychological conditions as hysteria.59 This same situation<br />
occurrs in contemporary society when psychiatrists diagnose what was<br />
once called hysteria as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (or CFS).60 CFS symptoms<br />
include rashes, abdominal pain, extreme fatigue, inability to function in daily<br />
life, headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, light sensitivity and facial numbness<br />
- any combination <strong>of</strong> these Freud, Breuer or Charcot would have called hysteria.<br />
Nordau says,<br />
Hysteria and degeneration have always existed; but they formerly<br />
showed themselves sporadically, and had no importance in the life <strong>of</strong> the<br />
whole community. It was only the vast fatigue which was experienced by the<br />
vol. 17, no. 1 97
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