EMOTIONS GO TO WORK

Mouvements hystériques dans Les Démoniaques dans L’Art (J.-M. Charcot, P. Richer 1887)

This diagram shows a woman suffering from an emotional disturbance known as ‘hysteria’. Hysteria could include a great range of symptoms from uncontrollable movement of the limbs to hallucinations, delirium, and unconsciousness. Doctors kept detailed records of their patient’s symptoms both mental and physical. Thus the hysterics became some of the first bio-mediated bodies; that is biological beings that are the source of information.