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Notes
1. Much has been written about hysteria as defined by Freud and other nineteenth-century thinkers. In this paper, hysteria and obsession are defined in strictly Lacanian terms, particularly as described in Fink Citation1995 and Fink Citation1997.
2. Juliet Flower MacCannell agrees that Butler writes as a hysteric (MacCannell Citation2000:28, 30), but bases this characterization solely on Butler's preoccupation with the hysterical question, 'Am I a man or a woman?' Anyone can ask the hysteric's question. A truly Lacanian hysteric must also exhibit a certain relationship with the big Other.
3. Fink Citation1995:133. The diagnostic category 'hysteric' should not be confused with the 'discourse of the hysteric', one of Lacan's four types of social bond. The hysteric does not necessarily adopt the discourse of the hysteric, nor is it necessary to be a hysteric in order to adopt the discourse of the hysteric.
4. According to Lacan, the discourse of the hysteric is the discourse of the rebel, but because the hysteric remains in solidarity with the master, a master is exactly what the revolutionary seeks-and will find (Bracher Citation1994:122, Lacan Citation1991:239). Note that he is here speaking of the 'discourse of the hysteric' and not necessarily the hysterical subject.