Charcot and Recent French Cinema

Overview of Jean-Martin Charcot and Recent Cinema

• Foundational Context: Professor Jean-Martin Charcot is primarily recognized in the scientific community for establishing the anatomo-clinical method in neurology at the Salpêtrière hospital in Paris.

• Media Focus: Despite his broad neurological contributions, media attention since the late $1800s$ has disproportionately focused on his research into hysteria.

• Modern Cinematic Transitions: The article examines two recent French films directed by women that offer a new perspective on Charcot and his service at La Salpêtrière:     * Augustine ($2012$), directed by Alice Winocour.     * Le Bal des Folles (The Mad Women’s Ball; $2021$), directed by Mlnie Laurent.

• Objectives of the Analysis: The study compares these fictional depictions with contemporary obituary articles, historical biographies, and subsequent commemorative reviews to understand the social context of Charcot's contributions.

• Core Research Points:     * Both films highlight public lessons and experimental hypnosis.     * The films emphasize the journey and perspective of female patients.     * They explore the power dynamics between the male-dominated medical establishment and the confined women.

Analysis of the Film: "Augustine" ($2012$)

• Director and Reception:     * Directed by Alice Winocour; it was her first major motion picture.     * Premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May $2012$.     * Nominated for Best First Motion Picture at the Csar Awards $2013$.     * Public reception on Allocine.fr was mixed, holding a rating of $2.6/5$ stars.

• Historical Accuracy and Casting:     * Critics and historians (Walusinski, Poirier, and Dechy $2013$) criticized the film for betraying historical facts.     * Vincent Lindon played Charcot; critics noted his acting was reserved. Originally, Benot Poelvoorde was planned for the role.

• Plot and Historical Divergence:     * The story is a fictionalization of the real life of Augustine, a domestic servant.     * In the film, she enters the hospital at age $19$ after seizures.     * In reality, Louise Augustine Gleize entered La Salptrire at age $14$ and had experienced sexual abuse at age $13$ by her mother's lover (a detail omitted in Winocour's film).

• Depiction of Charcot's Character:     * Initially shown as cold and authoritative. First scene quote: "Je ne cherche qu’une chose: comprendre" ("I am only looking for one thing: understanding").     * Depicted as a divine figure to patients. Quote: "C’est Charcot qu’il faut prier ici" ("It is Charcot you should pray here").     * Shown examining naked patients without regard for privacy, drawing brain sections and postmortem diagrams.

• Scientific and Human Nuance:     * He is shown scientific obsession: "Le but de l’hypnose est de reproduire cette crise, pour mieux l’identifier, l’observer et mieux en classifier les symptmes" ("The purpose of hypnosis is to reproduce this crisis, to better identify it, observe it, and better classify its symptoms").     * Contradictory compassion: He feeds patients meat once a week using the doctors' fund.     * He defends historical "witches": "Ces filles qu’on a brles n’taient que des malades" ("These girls that we burned were only sick patients").     * Personal life: Shown with his wife (played by Chiara Mastroianni), his dog, and his monkey, Zibidie.

• Intimacy and Power Dynamics:     * Charcot develops a "love at first sight" attraction to the phenotype of Augustine's illness. Quote: "Pourquoi je n’ai jamais vu cette fille?" ("Why have I never seen this girl?").     * The relationship evolves into a sexual one following a faked performance of hysteria in front of the Academy to secure funding.     * The power shift: Augustine's realization of her importance to his career leads to the resolution of her paralysis and her final escape from the hospital.

Analysis of the Film: "Le Bal des Folles" ($2021$)

• Production and Source Material:     * Directed by Mlnie Laurent; her sixth motion picture.     * Based on the novel by Victoria Mas ($2019$).     * Released directly to a video-on-demand service.

• Characters and Plot:     * Main character: Eugnie Clry, committed by her family because she claims to communicate with dead souls.     * Focuses on the sorority and solidarity between women (patients and nurses).

• Representation of Charcot:     * Played by Grgoire Bonnet with limited screen time (under $10$ minutes).     * Depicted as unidimensional, cold, and career-obsessed.     * Addressed as "Master" by head nurse Genevive Gleize.     * Punitive interactions with Eugnie. Quotes: "Faites-la taire!" ("Make her silent!") and "Isolement. Elle est dangereuse" ("Isolation. She is dangerous.").     * Presented at the ball as "Le plus grand scientifique franais de notre poque" ("The biggest French scientist of our times").

• Medical Misconduct: The film shows pupils taking advantage of vulnerable patients, though it suggests Charcot was unaware, as he left the ball early.

Biographical and Scientific Context of Jean-Martin Charcot

• Major Biographies:     * Georges Guillain ($1955$): A respectful/reverent account by a neurologist with strong ties to La Salptrire.     * Bonduelle, Gelfand, and Goetz ($1996$): Charcot, un grand mdecin dans son sicle, considered the most comprehensive and balanced biography.

• Neurological Contributions: Charcot utilized the anatomo-clinical method (detailed clinical exams followed by thorough pathological descriptions) to expand understanding in:     * Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, known as "Charcot’s disease" in Europe).     * Multiple sclerosis.     * Paralysis agitans (Parkinson's disease).     * Peripheral neuropathy.     * Locomotor ataxia.     * Spinal cord localization.     * Aphasia.     * Hysteria.

• Clinical Observation:     * Known for his "coup d’oeil" (clinical intuition or "smelling" the diagnosis).     * Utilized drawing and photography; worked with gifted artist/intern Paul Richer.     * His public lectures were highly organized for teaching purposes, though critics often called them "staged."

• Personality: Biographies describe him as having an "impassive temperament" since youth. He was lonely during medical studies and remained reserved/emotionally distant even with his wife and two children.

Death and Contemporary Legacy

• Death Details: Died at age $68$ from heart failure on August $16, 1893$.

• Immediate Legacy (Scientific Journals):     * Joseph Babinski described a "quasi-filial" relationship with Charcot.     * Brissaud and Marie ($1893$) stated the French neurological community was "stunned."     * Sigmund Freud ($1893$) published an obituary acknowledging his debt to Charcot.

• Public Perception (Press):     * L’cho de Paris, Le Figaro, and Le Monde Illustr focused on the "supernatural" or "magical" aspects of his hypnosis demonstrations.     * Harel ($2015$) found that modern students still associate him with "crazy people" and hypnosis rather than modern neurology.

Commemorative Differences: $1925$ vs. $1993$

• $100^{th}$ Anniversary of Birth ($1925$):     * Led by Pierre Marie and Joseph Babinski.     * Speeches were nationalist and political, aimed at praising France's role in international science.     * Criticisms of his hysteria work were downplayed; Babinski highlighted the rarely discussed work on male hysteria.

• Centennial of Death ($1993$):     * Provided a fresh, objective reappraisal.     * Recognized his political and antireligious dimensions.     * Explored the controversial nature of his studies on hysteria without the need to purely laud him.

Thematic Analysis: Physical and Social Containment

• God-like/Despotic Authority:     * Charcot is portrayed as controlling the fate of women. Quote from Le Bal des Folles: "Ce n’est pas toi qui dcides. C’tait ton pre, maintenant c’est le docteur Charcot."

• Historical Medical Treatments:     * Ovarian compression and hydrotherapy are depicted. While seen as cruel today, they were based on contemporary scientific hypotheses regarding hysteria.

• Public Persona:     * Tuesday morning lessons: Scientific and public demonstrations at the hospital.     * Tuesday evening gatherings: Social events at Charcot's home on Boulevard St-Germain with high society and scientists.

• The Woman’s Perspective and the Corset:     * Both films use the corset as a metaphor for the literal and figurative oppression of women’s bodies in the $19^{th}$ century.     * Relief is depicted through segments where Charcot’s wife, Genevive Gleize, and Eugnie Clry remove their corsets.

• Sorority: Le Bal des Folles emphasizes female solidarity during routine washing, church singing, and responses to trauma (e.g., Louise’s rape).

• Contemporary Resonance: The reappropriation of La Salptrire's history by women artists resonates with the "Me Too" movement (launched in $2006$), highlighting the patriarchal structure where $5,000$ women were examined exclusively by male physicians.

Associated Artistic and Literary Works

• Short Film: Augustine ($2003$) by Jean-Claude Monod and Jean-Christophe Valtat; more faithful to the actual history of Louise Augustine Gleize.

• Novels:     * City of Incurable Women ($2022$) by Maud Casey.     * The Madwomen of Paris: A Novel ($2023$) by Jennifer Cody Epstein.

• Recent Film: Captives ($2024$) directed by Arnaud des Pallires, set one year after Charcot's death, focusing on the "horrifying treatment" of captive women.

The author connects Michel Foucault’s theories about power and control to the character of Jean-Martin Charcot in Le Bal des Folles. Foucault discusses how institutions define and manage madness, which is evident in the film's portrayal of women in psychiatric confinement. This highlights the struggles of women against a male-dominated medical field. Charcot’s authoritative character reflects Foucault’s idea of biopower, showing how societal norms can control individuals. The film also highlights women's resistance, aligning with Foucault’s belief that power allows for forms of opposition. This connection frames Charcot as a symbol of societal structures that oversee and restrict female experiences related to mental health.