Hysteria in fin de siècle French novels.

During the second half of the 19th century, sociopolitical conditions and society's interest in psychological questions transformed the millennial concept of hysteria into a sociocultural representation of the female condition and sexuality. Influenced by the public demonstrations of Jean-Martin Charcot at La Salpêtrière, many writers attempted to magnify this neurologist's work in their novels. In this chapter, we will analyze several representative passages written by Jules Clarétie, Camille Lemonnier, Jules Lermina, Octave Mirbeau, Joris-Karl Huysmans, and Gustave Flaubert, bearing in mind the scientific, progressive, and anticlerical ideas of the time.