Etain White

Project 2: Hysteria

In the 19th century women were seen as objects with the sole purpose of marrying and bearing children. They were to be affectionate and submissive to their husband, live up to their domestic role within society and, add on top of that miscarriages, family deaths or illness and the “hysterical woman” emerged. It wasn’t acceptable for women to have jobs in industries such as literature, art or film so the portrayal of women in paintings, books and films in this period were from a males perspective. Often male directors created “hysterical” female characters who couldn’t handle their emotions as well as depicting them as witches, vampires or possessed creatures based on old mythologies.

This poly vocal publication celebrates women in film by giving them a voice beside male psychiatrists where they wouldn’t have had a voice before. It gives readers an insight into the treatment of hysterical women in order to allow them to connect and engage with the hardship of the past.