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Wandering Uterus and Hysteria
The history of hysteria dates to antiquity when the condition was linked to cultural perceptions about the female body. The term "hysteria", derived from the Greek "hystera" (uterus), was based on the belief that it affected women exclusively due to uterine problems. In ancient Egypt and Greece, it was believed that the uterus moved around the body and caused physical and psychological symptoms. Hippocrates (c. 460 BC – c. 370 BC), a Greek physician, is considered the "father of medicine" and is known for his writings in the Hippocratic Corpus. He was the one who separated medicine from philosophy, establishing ethical principles, which profoundly influenced Western medicine. Even so, he treated hysteria because of the wandering uterus.
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Considered one of the founders of modern neurology, the French physician and neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot (1825-1893) considered hysteria to be a neurological disease. Charcot is known for his research into neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis and hysteria, and for using hypnosis as a treatment. His work influenced thinkers such as Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) and was instrumental in the creation of the Clinic at the Salpêtrière Hospital, an important center for the study and treatment of mental illness.
His approach combined neuroanatomy and histology in medicine. Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis. He introduced concepts such as the unconscious, defense mechanisms, and the importance of childhood in the formation of personality. His theories on sexuality and dreams have influenced psychology, literature, and modern culture, although they have also been the subject of controversy and criticism.
Freud associated hysteria with unconscious trauma and conflict, debunking the idea that it was exclusively a female disease. With the advancement of psychiatry, the term "hysteria" was gradually abandoned and, in the 1980s, removed from the classification of mental disorders, with related symptoms being relocated into categories such as dissociative and somatoform disorders. Somatoform disorders are psychological conditions in which a person experiences physical symptoms without a clear medical explanation. These symptoms can include pain, fatigue, or malaise, and are often related to emotional or psychological factors.
Why Only in Women?
Although the symptoms also appeared in men, hysteria was considered almost exclusively female for centuries, due to its association with the uterus. In the 19th century, scholars such as Sigmund Freud reformulated this view, highlighted the psychic origin of the symptoms, and separated the condition from the female gender. Hysteria was criticized by feminists for representing patriarchal control and the pathologization of female behaviors considered inappropriate. The history of this diagnosis reveals the relationships between gender, medicine, and power.
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Relationship Between Hysteria and Witchcraft
During the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Era, hysteria was often associated with witchcraft, with symptoms considered "hysterical" seen as signs of demonic possession. The social, religious, and medical context of the time interpreted behaviors and psychological disorders in women as evidence of evil forces. Symptoms such as convulsions, spasms and extreme mood swings were often considered indicative of demonic pacts or the influence of evil spirits, whereas today they are recognized as psychic disorders, related to hysteria or dissociative disorders.
The Inquisition and the Malleus Maleficarum
The Inquisition, established by the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages and Modern Age, aimed to combat heresies and witchcraft, using investigations, torture, and executions. A landmark of this persecution was the Malleus Maleficarum (1487), a manual by the inquisitors Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger, which identified women as the main suspects. Behaviors that today are seen as psychological disorders, such as emotional crises, were considered signs of witchcraft. During the 15th and 17th centuries, the Inquisition persecuted vulnerable or independent women, using torture to obtain forced confessions. This process reinforced patriarchal control, as the Church and society justified female submission, fearing their vulnerability to demonic temptation.
Transition to Medical Explanations
With the Renaissance and the beginning of modernity, supernatural explanations for "hysterical" symptoms began to lose strength, but hysteria was still seen as a female disease related to the uterus and sexuality. It was only in the 19th century, with the advancement of neurology and psychoanalysis, that the symptoms began to be understood as having a psychological origin, separating them from witchcraft. Women with behaviors considered "inappropriate" were often accused of witchcraft by the Inquisition.
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Freud’s Contributions
Freud challenged the notion that hysteria was exclusively a female condition, proposing that its symptoms were manifestations of unconscious conflict and repression. He identified cases in men, associating them with emotional trauma. Symptoms such as paralysis and temporary blindness were seen as psychological responses to trauma, not just physical problems.
Before Freud, men with similar symptoms were rarely labeled as “hysterical”, a gender bias in medical diagnoses. With the advancement of psychiatry, the term “hysteria” was replaced by dissociative and somatoform disorders, recognizing that these symptoms can affect people equally and vary according to cultural context.
The Role of Social Control
The association between hysteria and witchcraft also signified social control over women, especially those who did not conform to gender roles or who lived on the margins of society. Women who behaved unusually or who defied social norms were often accused of witchcraft to justify repression or control over them. Witch trials and executions served to discipline deviant behavior, including psychological symptoms that were not well understood.
PMS Symptoms and the Suspicion of Witchcraft
During the persecution of witches, women with symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) were vulnerable to accusations because the condition was not understood. Symptoms such as irritability and mood swings were seen as behavioral deviations, challenging norms of female submission. The lack of knowledge about women's health, combined with religious beliefs, made "different" behaviors easy targets. Between the 15th and 17th centuries, fear of the supernatural created an atmosphere of strict surveillance, where any sign of "deviation" was considered proof of witchcraft, resulting in trials and persecution.
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Behavioral Deviations and Persecution
Medieval and Early Modern European societies imposed strict norms on women, demanding obedience, submission, and chastity. Women who deviated from these expectations, such as those who exhibited "hysterical" behavior (emotional breakdowns, convulsions, fainting spells) or who questioned authority, were often the target of suspicion and accusations of witchcraft. Independent or widowed women, especially those who practiced witchcraft, and those who displayed sexuality outside the norm were seen as threats to the social order and the authority of the Church, making them easy targets for persecution.
Fire as Purification
The executions of “witches,” often at the stake, were seen as a form of purification. Fire was believed to be the element that would purge the soul of demonic influences and restore spiritual order. The stake became a symbol of punishment and social control for those who defied established norms.
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What if a Pregnant Woman was Accused of Witchcraft?
When pregnant women were accused of witchcraft during the Inquisition trials, the situation raised ethical and religious dilemmas. Although responses varied by time and region, suspension of execution was common. Often, the execution was postponed until after the birth due to concern for the life of the innocent baby. The act of executing the woman before the birth of her child was considered unjust, since the fetus had committed no crime. However, the woman was not acquitted and remained imprisoned until she gave birth, when the execution could take place normally.
Religious Justifications
During the Inquisition, the execution of pregnant women was often postponed on theological grounds, as the Church considered the soul of the baby to be pure. Killing the mother before birth was seen as a greater sin, as it resulted in the death of an innocent life. After birth, children were usually handed over to religious institutions. However, the death of the mother could raise suspicions of witchcraft. Although postponement was common, summary executions occurred during periods of religious panic, and pregnancy in "immoral" situations was seen as a sign of consorting with the devil.
Women Accused by Other Women
During the witch hunts, rivalries and conflicts in rural communities led women to accuse each other. Envy of successful women and disputes over land contributed to accusations. Negative events were attributed to the supernatural, making the "different" easy targets, especially in mass hysterias, such as in Salem (1692), where torture forced accusations, perpetuating distrust, and fear.
How is Hysteria Considered Today?
The term "hysteria" was abandoned as a medical diagnosis due to gender bias, being replaced by more precise classifications in the DSM and ICD, such as anxiety and dissociative disorders. Advances in neuroscience and psychiatry have improved the understanding of psychosomatic symptoms. Symptoms previously associated with hysteria are now treated as Conversion Disorder and Anxiety Disorders, with a more scientific and humanized approach, focused on individualized and evidence-based treatments.
However, women's behavior is still subject to judgments that are linked to gender bias, such as: Be careful, she is having PMS today! Women are very anxious... Nobody understands women... Therefore, think carefully about what you hear and say about women, so as not to run the risk of propagating concepts that no longer make sense and should be forgotten forever֎
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֎ Hysteria ֎ Inquisition ֎ Witchcraft
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