Understanding the mind has never been easy. When an ailment is not psychically tangible, it is easy to dismiss. This is especially true when you try to understand the minds of a population of individuals, who, until the last 100 years or so, were supposed to be seen rather than heard.
Ever since the genesis of its practice, the relationship between psychology and women has been ambiguous at best. The so called father of psychology Sigmund Freud famously stated, “the great question…which I have not been able to answer, despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul is ‘What does a woman want.’” Even so, it was unlikely he was liable to find out as he also asserted that “women oppose change, receive passively and add nothing of their own.”
Even back to the 4th century B.C.E., long before Freud rocked the world with his theories, the perception of female mental illness was riddled with sexually objectifying oversimplification (Google “Female Hysteria”.)
Now, it is a fact that mental illness is caused by chemical imbalances in the brain. But one has to wonder, how much of it is chemical and how much is caused by trauma incurred by the cultural expectations of society (you will see a lot of housewives on this list.)
This is especially something to consider when the social construct of gender is thrown into the mix. One cant help but question, if mental illness is a by product of being maladjusted to the zeitgeist of the times.
When you are forced to keep something inside, it will eventually explode; be it a firecracker that catapults you into a crying fit or an A-bomb that blasts you all the way into an asylum. Regardless of its capacity, there is guaranteed to be fallout.
16. A Dangerous Method (2011) Dir. David Cronenberg
A film to focus on the topic of female hysteria. The spotlight falls on psych forefathers Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and his disturbed patient Sabina Spielrein.
Directed by David Cronenberg, the film is an interesting depiction of early psychological practices and as well as an investigation into their ethics.
Sabina arrives at Burgholzi psychiatric hospital a hysterical mess. Through talk therapy with Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender), they discover that the source of her illness was derived from the trauma of being spanked by her father as a child and the shame she felt over the arousal she experienced during the act.
Transference between the two inevitably develops and eventually Jung takes some advice from his librarian colleague Otto Gross and takes therapy to a physical level, stepping in as the father figure and entering into a BDSM relationship with Sabina.
Many critics felt that Keira Knightley’s performance was over the top, which many be true. Nonetheless, she plays a compelling character. The real Sabina Spielrein ended up being one of the first female psychologists. A hearty feat considering it was a field diluted by misogyny. Feminist in her own right, both Jung and Freud immediately recognized her intelligence.
