Hysteria - The Romantic History of the Vibrator (Hysteria)

Country of origin and year: France, Luxembourg, Germany, United Kingdom 2011 Genre: period drama Director: Tanya Wexler Screenplay: Jonah Lisa Dyer, Stephen Dyer Music: Christian Henson Cinematography: Sean Bobbitt Cast: Hugh Dancy, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jonathan Pryce, Rupert Everett Medical topics: history of medicine, sexology, psychiatry Description: "Hysteria comes from the Greek word 'hystéra,' meaning uterus. From Hippocrates all the way to the 17th century, it was believed to be a disease of an overly dry, 'wandering' uterus, which, rising up toward the throat, caused a feeling of suffocation. Other symptoms of hysteria include: sudden fits of rage, fainting, vomiting, paralysis, and a constant alternation between sobbing and laughter." (Wysokie Obcasy, 2007) The history of medicine can be truly amusing. Especially when, in hindsight, one looks at its various pivotal moments, such as linking infectious diseases to microorganisms or the "scientific discovery" of women’s sexual sensations. What is obvious to us today aroused outrage or ridicule among the "learned minds" of the time. And it is precisely on the basis of the comedy and tragedy of those times that the plot of the film "Hysteria" (with an embarrassing subtitle added by Polish distributors) was built. It is the Victorian era in England. Dr. Mortimer Granville, a handsome doctor fresh out of medical school, gets a job at a rather unusual clinic. Its owner, the aging Dr. Robert Dalrymple, “treats” female patients for hysteria using a unique method—stimulating their intimate areas with his index finger. The therapy is effective, there is no shortage of “sick” women, and their numbers begin to skyrocket when word spreads in London that a young apprentice is taking over the doctor’s practice... Dr. Granville is fascinated by his employer’s two daughters—the younger, charming and well-behaved Emily, and the older Charlotte, a spirited feminist devoted wholeheartedly to the cause of poor children. Which of them will win his heart? The film is an intriguing tale of the beginnings of women’s emancipation and a subtle satire on prudish 19th-century British society (with the invention of the vibrator in the background).