Art Criticism - The State University of New York
Art Criticism - The State University of New York
Art Criticism - The State University of New York
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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