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Hysteria has been discussed in the works of many fictional and nonfictional writers. For instance, Sarah Ruhl, in her In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play, presents the perception of the condition in the 1880s. The concept of hysteria has been mentioned ever since ancient Greece, where diseases were either gratuitous or deserved (Shreve; Sontag 34). In comparison, the XIX-century society embraced the notion that illnesses can express one’s character (Sontag 34). Accordingly, different conditions, including hysteria, were associated with distinct groups of people. Ruhl’s play shows that women represent the typical hysterical patient expressing such signs as sensitivity and weakness, and the playwright veers away from the historical performance of hysteria by differently depicting the symptoms.
The hysterical patient is illustrated in the In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play through a woman with relatively unusual behavior. For example, Mrs. Dardly is a married lady in her early thirties and is described as “fragile and ethereal” (Ruhl 9). She is diagnosed by Dr. Givings to be “suffering from hysteria” based on several signs conveyed by her husband, as Mrs. Dardly appears to not speak for herself often (Ruhl 13). In particular, Mrs. Dardly’s symptoms are being sensitive to light and cold and “weeping at odd moments during the day” (Ruhl 11). Dr. Givings states that the hysterical indicators are caused by the “pent-up emotion inside the womb” and can be remedied by several rounds of special therapy (Ruhl 22). Notably, while the doctor explains the reason for the illness, Mrs. Dardly cries about not being able to have children and not knowing “what is wrong” with her (Ruhl 22). Nonetheless, the play suggests that patients treated by Dr. Givings from hysteria are typically sensitive and emotional women.
Although In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play presents a male person diagnosed with hysteria, his presence seems only to support the notion that the condition is prevalent among female individuals. Leo Irving is a painter whose “whole body revolted against” him and who is experiencing such symptoms as “headaches, eyesight, weakness, and nausea” (Ruhl 69). As a result, Dr. Givings proposes that Irving has a hysteria but claims that it is “very rare in a man” (Ruhl 74). However, rather than stating a possible cause, the doctor suggests that Irving’s condition is likely to be due to him being “an artist” (Ruhl 74). Nevertheless, Irving implies that the changes in his health started after his beloved abandoned him and left for another country with no desire to contact him again (Ruhl 69). Overall, the play indicates that Dr. Givings views hysteria as a women’s disease that can be seen in male persons but quite infrequently.
Furthermore, the playwright appears to veer away from the historical performance of hysteria based on the description of symptoms. For instance, Jean-Martin Charcot’s observations at La Salpêtrière asylum can be considered the most prominent “clinical theatre” of hysteria in the XIX century (Borgstrom 1). Accordingly, Ruhl’s play differs from the condition’s portrayals of Charcot’s “hysteric industry” (Furse 84). In particular, Ruhl demonstrates that hysteria’s signs are sensitivity to light and cold, weakness, headaches, and nausea. In comparison, Charcot used models to depict such symptoms as seizures, “clenched” hands, “foaming” mouth, and “rolled back” eyes (Borgstrom 2). Moreover, Charcot’s studies strengthen the notion that hysteria is linked to “female sexual chaos,” and he was interested in the illness’s physical rather than psychological attributes (Borgstrom 2). Similarly, Ruhl supports the idea that the 1880s society was more concerned with one’s physical condition. However, the playwright implies that the symptoms attributed to hysteria are connected with emotional distress caused by the inability to have children or the abandonment by a loved one. Therefore, the play varies from the historical representation of hysteria due to differently illustrating the disease’s signs and what generates them.
To summarize, In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play represents the hysterical patient based on the character of Mrs. Dardly, who is weak, emotional, and sensitive. While Dr. Givings also treats a male person from hysteria, the play suggests that the condition is perceived to be prevalent among women and is quite rare in men. Accordingly, Ruhl does not challenge the historical performance of the illness because such specialists as Charcot also considered the diseases to be more often seen in female individuals. Instead, the playwright veers away from Charcot’s illustration of hysteria symptoms by depicting different signs and suggesting that they may be caused by one’s emotions rather than the womb.
Works Cited
Borgstrom, Henrik. “Strike a Pose: Charcot’s Women and the Performance of Hysteria at la Salpêtrière.” Theatre Annual, vol. 53, 2000, pp. 1-14.
Furse, Anna. “Hysteria in Pictures.” Hysterical Methodologies in the Arts, edited by Johanna Braun, Palgrave Macmillan, 2021, pp. 73-105.
Ruhl, Sarah. In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play. Theatre Communications Group, 2010.
Shreve, Grant. “The Racialized History of “Hysteria”.” JSTOR Daily.
Sontag, Susan. Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors. Picador, 1989.
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