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The Aetiology of Hysteria (german: Zur Ätiologie der Hysterie) is a paper by
Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts in ...
about the
sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assau ...
of children below the age of
puberty Puberty is the process of physical changes through which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction. It is initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads: the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy. I ...
and its possible causation of
mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
in adults. Presented in April or May 1896, it is where Freud first outlined his
seduction theory Freud's seduction theory (german: Verführungstheorie) was a hypothesis posited in the mid-1890s by Sigmund Freud that he believed provided the solution to the problem of the origins of hysteria and obsessional neurosis. According to the theory, ...
.


Context

Aetiology Etiology (pronounced ; alternatively: aetiology or ætiology) is the study of causation or origination. The word is derived from the Greek (''aitiología'') "giving a reason for" (, ''aitía'', "cause"); and ('' -logía''). More completely, e ...
means ''cause''.
Hysteria Hysteria is a term used colloquially to mean ungovernable emotional excess and can refer to a temporary state of mind or emotion. In the nineteenth century, hysteria was considered a diagnosable physical illness in women. It is assumed that ...
was an amorphous medical diagnosis, now sometimes considered to have been a catch-all for various maladies and lifestyle choices. The diagnosis was typically applied to women, but Freud also applied hysteria to men. It was a common diagnosis in Freud's time, with a long history. Freud considered the cause of hysteria to be a great mystery, comparing it to searching for the source of the Nile. The 1895 book '' Studies on Hysteria'', coauthored by Freud, introduced a technique of exploring memories that would form the basis of "Aetiology of Hysteria".


Contents

Freud compares seeking the cause of hysteria to unearthing an ancient city in which some things are visible on the surface and some are hidden below. Following the technique of
Josef Breuer Josef Breuer ( , ; 15 January 1842 – 20 June 1925) was a distinguished physician who made key discoveries in neurophysiology, and whose work in the 1880s with his patient Bertha Pappenheim, known as Anna O., developed the talking cure (catha ...
, Freud expects the cause of hysteria must be
traumatic experiences Psychological trauma, mental trauma or psychotrauma is an emotional response to a distressing event or series of events, such as accidents, rape, or natural disasters. Reactions such as psychological shock and psychological denial are typical ...
, memories of which continue to act on the mind. The experience must fit the response, for example, hysterical vomiting could be justifiably attributed to seeing a disgusting dead body, but not to a frightening railway accident. Discovering the correct traumatic memory is expected to "resolve" the hysteria Memories form chains, with more recent memories reminding the patient of earlier memories. The analyst must help the patient mentally traverse back into
unconscious Unconscious may refer to: Physiology * Unconsciousness, the lack of consciousness or responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuli Psychology * Unconscious mind, the mind operating well outside the attention of the conscious mind a ...
portions of the memory chain. Persistent analysis will reveal the earliest memory in the chain, which is invariably one or more premature sexual experiences. Freud says he has observed this in all 18 cases of hysteria he has analyzed, 6 men and 12 women. Patients are visibly distressed when they uncover the childhood sexual encounter, which is evidence that the remembered events are real. The encounters are sometimes sexual assaults committed by adults, and sometimes sex between children. Freud thinks that sex between children is typically initiated by a boy who was previously "seduced" by an adult woman. Thus hysteria can be transmitted from person to person; when this happens in a family it my account for the appearance that hysteria is
hereditary Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic inform ...
. Hysterical people appear to overreact to things only because we cannot see the real stimulus; for example, a girl touched innocently on the hand may become hysterical if she was touched similarly on the hand during a traumatic experience. Freud speculates that childhood sexual abuse may also play a role in other disorders, like paranoia or obsession. He closes by saying he knows he will be disbelieved by some, and asks his critics to note the strength of the Breuer procedure for questioning patients.


Reactions

Freud received a cold reaction from his audience at the
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
Society for Psychiatry and Neurology, where he presented his paper.
Richard von Krafft-Ebing Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing (full name Richard Fridolin Joseph Freiherr Krafft von Festenberg auf Frohnberg, genannt von Ebing; 14 August 1840 – 22 December 1902) was a German psychiatrist and author of the foundational work ''Psychopathi ...
, the
sexologist Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behaviors, and functions. The term ''sexology'' does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social criticism. Sexologists app ...
who presided at the reading, remarked that the paper was "a scientific
fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cul ...
." The journal '' Wiener klinische Wochenschrift'', which typically published a summary of each paper and the ensuing discussion, was pointedly silent about Freud's paper, publishing only the author and title. The central idea in the paper became known as
Freud's seduction theory Freud's seduction theory (german: Verführungstheorie) was a hypothesis posited in the mid-1890s by Sigmund Freud that he believed provided the solution to the problem of the origins of hysteria and obsessional neurosis. According to the theory, ...
, though scholars have noted "
seduction Seduction has multiple meanings. Platonically, it can mean "to persuade to disobedience or disloyalty", or "to lead astray, usually by persuasion or false promises". Strategies of seduction include conversation and sexual scripts, paralingual ...
" is a misleading name for the assaults and molestation described in the paper. Under pressure from negative reactions to his work, Freud publicly retracted the seduction theory by 1905. He would later explain hysteria in terms of a new theory, the
Oedipus complex The Oedipus complex (also spelled Œdipus complex) is an idea in psychoanalytic theory. The complex is an ostensibly universal phase in the life of a young boy in which, to try to immediately satisfy basic desires, he unconsciously wishes to have ...
. Where the seduction theory had seen unconscious memories of sexual trauma, the Oedipus complex saw repressed sexual fantasies that were considered part of normal childhood development. Freud's abandonment of seduction theory became a central critique of his work in the subsequent century.
Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson (born March 28, 1941 as Jeffrey Lloyd Masson) is an American author. Masson is best known for his conclusions about Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis. In his ''The Assault on Truth'' (1984), Masson argues that Freud may ha ...
and
Florence Rush Florence Rush (23 January, 1918 – 9 December, 2008) was an American certified social worker (M.S.W. from the University of PennsylvaniaLove, Barbara J. and Nancy F. Cott. ''Feminists Who Changed America, 1963—1975.'' University of Illinois ...
have said that Freud took stories of sexual assault seriously in "The Aetiology of Hysteria," then later betraying his patients by recasting the memories as sexual fantasies, casting doubt on experiences that were probably real. Thus they accuse Freud of being complicit in covering up sexual assault.


External links


The Aetiology of Hysteria
modified version of 1924 English translation by C. M. Baines


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aetiology of Hysteria 1896 documents Works by Sigmund Freud