(Mass) Hysteria & The Crucible

1. (Mass) Hysteria & The Crucible

2. (More) Fun With Etymology! “The term ‘hysteria’ is obviously derived from the Greek word hystera, which means ‘uterus’” (Veith 1) “Inherent in this simple etymological fact is the meaning of the earliest views on the nature and cause of the disease” (Veith 1)

3. “formerly believed to be solely a disorder of women, caused by alterations of the womb” (1-2) • Goes back to the earliest sources of recorded medicine, Ancient Egypt (c. 1900 BCE) • Not called “hysteria” but related to concerns about changes in the position of the womb: “the notion of a mobile and migratory uterus”

5. “hysteria: 1.Pathol. A functional disturbance of the nervous system, characterized by such disorders as anæsthesia, hyperæsthesia, convulsions, etc., and usually attended with emotional disturbances and enfeeblement or perversion of the moral and intellectual faculties.” (OED Online) Hysteria: a condition in which physical symptoms or delusional thoughts have no biological cause, but are instead caused by anxieties/repression . (Ms. Slykhuis)

6. The shared habits, manners, and customs of a community or social group; “I don't regard hysteria as weakness, badness, feminine deceitfulness, or irresponsibility, but rather as a cultural symptom of anxiety and stress. The conflicts that produce hysterical symptoms are genuine and universal; hysterics are not liars” (Showalter 9) “Whenever it appears it takes on the colors of the ambient culture and mores; and thus throughout the ages it presents itself as a shifting, changing, mist-enshrouded phenomenon that must, nevertheless, be dealt with as though it were definite and tangible” (Veith 1)

7. So basically the idea is… • Individuals become hysterical in response to personal or social anxieties or repressed feelings • Their symptoms are often symbolic of their inner conflicts (mutism, paralysis, etc.) • They are not FAKING it; they truly believe this is happening to them, and in some sense, it truly is; it is not within their control • This can also happen en masse when hysterical symptoms spread from one person to another

8. “We need not assume that patients are either describing an organic disorder or else lying when they present similar narratives of symptoms. Instead, patients learn about diseases from the media, unconsciously develop the symptoms, and then attract media attention in an endless cycle. The human imagination is not infinite, and we are all bombarded by these plot lines every day. Inevitably, we all live out the social stories of our time” (Showalter 6)

9. Hysteria & Witchcraft: • “organized persecution of…witchcraft [starting in] the ninth century” (57) • “Hysterics clearly fitted within this atmosphere. They were the patients upon whom a spell had been cast, blinding and paralyzing them” (58) • “These weird confessions became increasingly complex and progressively more lascivious over the years as more and more refined varieties of torture were applied”(59)

10. “its [the centuries of various witch hunts’] aftermath was an apparently total loss of concern with witchcraft throughout Europe… The whole bizarre structure of witchcraft and wizardry became recognized as a delusion; and both the perpetrators and their victims were seen merely as sick human beings, if not gross imposters.” (73)

11. Connecting it to The Crucible… • Who seems like they might be hysterical? • Who seems like they are not? What is the key difference between the two? • How would the “hysterics” have all demonstrated the same symptoms without the mass media? • Are we clear on the difference between 1) biological illness 2) hysteria3) pretending? (Thumbs up/middle/down) • Do you think Miller interprets the events in Salem as mass hysteria? Why? • (How) would this apply to McCarthyism?

12. Keep an eye out as we continue through the play for more signs that this may be a hysterical epidemic…

13. “Hystories” Elaine Showalter