Myers 1 Amanda Myers LBST 2101 Extra Credit: Hysteria Paper The movie Hysteria portrayals the 19th

century ideals of how a woman of the time (middle to upper class) should appear. Emily and Charlotte Dalrymple are the two main women portrayed in the movie, one Emily displaying the right way to act where Charlotte was the woman suffragist fighting for the women and poors education and wellbeing. During the 19th century the un-substantiated medical diagnosis was running ramped; the movie did an accurate job showing that any woman who acted out could be diagnosed as having hysteria. Hysteria, was defined as anything abnormal in a womens behavior, restlessness, the inability to sleep, agressivness. It seems to be a diagnosis in which could be altered to fit anything in which was wrong with a woman. Personally it seemed like a cure-all diagnosis. However the diagnosis of hysteria could leave women mutilated, placed in mental hospitals, or even forced them to have brain surgery. Emily Dalrymple was the child that Doctor Dalrymple considered to be the one who had turned out right. She demonstrated all of the qualities in which a moral man would be looking for at the time. Her personality was passive, she knew how to run a house, and ultimately she was dull and un-entertaining. Emily had all of the qualities in which in modern day we would associate with the concept of republican motherhood. She was educated (in non-scientific subjects), modest, and concerned with matters of the house; thus supporting that she would take over being in the private sphere. Emily was not concerned with any matter out of the house, her sister could tell

Myers 2 her about the plight of the people in which she was working with, and she did not give one more thought to them. Charlotte was the polar opposite from her sister Emily, she was passionate about things larger than herself; subjects in which not only did her father not want to be associated with but things in which brought him much grief and avoidance of his own daughter. Charlotte was not a delinquent, nor was she mixed up in the wrong crowd. She felt compelled to make a change for the lower classes of society (the ones coined by the upper as the draft horses) by her work in trying to make a change for them she had to be vocal. While some of her ideas were on the radical side, she was also fighiting for things taken for granted in the social circle she belonged to. These were things simple like sanitation, washing of hands and reading basic information. At her sisters engagement party, her own father had one of her friends Fanny arrested for settlement houses debt in which Charlotte was running. When Fanny came running to Charlotte bloody and beaten, she learned about what her father had done, things went south and she ended punching a police officer in the face. This landed her in prison where the upper class of society had a chance to speak their minds. The upper class of society did not like this one bit, heaven forbid a woman during this time actually spoke her mind on matters. She took the time to know the people who were below her and to compassionately care for them. Society took such offense to her, that they pronounced her to have hysteria a fully educated, attractive, and compassionate young lady. If convicted of having hysteria, she would have forcefully placed into a mental institution, with a forced hysterectomy.

Myers 3 Charlotte did not fit the ideal for a woman in 19th century England, however I feel like she is a woman in which would be held in high esteem in modern society. She spoke her mind, worked hard to make those changes in which she spoke, which were backed up with an educated plan. She was different from activists at the time, she didnt only speak words without intent, she acted on them.