Charcot and recent French cinema

ABSTRACT

In the scientific world, Professor Jean-Martin Charcot is known for his contribution to the establishment of the anatomo-clinical method in neurology in Paris at the Salpêtrière hospital. However, media attention in the late 1800s has focused on his work on hysteria. In this article, we aim to review how he has been depicted in two recent French movies: Augustine (2012) and Le Bal des Folles (The Mad Women’s Ball) (2021). We will compare his image in those two films to articles at the time of his death and contrast how he is represented in other biographical works. Both in the newspapers and in the movies, Charcot’s public lessons and experimental work on hypnosis in hysteria are put forward. The two movies offer a new perspective, as both directors were women, and both movies focus on a woman patient’s journey at La Salpêtrière. His depiction remains superficial in Le Bal des Folles, portraying a cold, insensitive, and despotic approach to patients. He plays a more central role in Augustine, in which he develops intimacy with one of his patients and a more human and caring side is displayed, in parallel to his authoritative and meticulous figure. Both movies refer to him as a divine authority, but they also allude to his scientific method. In summary, Charcot’s recent representations in cinema add a woman’s perspective to life under Charcot at La Salpêtrière, which continues to shape further the image we have of this founder of modern neurology.

KEYWORDS:

• Augustine
• hysteria
• Jean-Martin Charcot
• Le Bal des Folles
• movies
• Salpêtrière
• woman’s perspective

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

¹ “Je ne cherche qu’une chose: comprendre.”

² “Elle est atteinte de la poitrine; elle ne fera pas long feu.”

³ “C’est Charcot qu’il faut prier ici.”

⁴ “Le but de l’hypnose est de reproduire cette crise, pour mieux l’identifier, l’observer et mieux en classifier les symptômes.”.

⁵ “Je vous trouve très belle ce soir.”.

⁶ “Ces filles qu’on a brûlées n’étaient que des malades.”

⁷ “Malade magnifique.”

⁸ “Pourquoi je n’ai jamais vu cette fille?”

⁹ “Saint-Ange Gardien, faites qu’il me guérisse!”

¹⁰ “Coquette, rubans colorés dans les cheveux, aime la vue des hommes.”

¹¹ “Protégée? Vous voulez dire patiente.”

¹² “Vous êtes en retard, Geneviève!”

¹³ “Vous arrivez après la bataille Mlle Gleize une fois de plus.”

¹⁴ “Contentez-vous de veiller sur mes patientes!”

¹⁵ “Faites-la taire!”

¹⁶ “Isolement. Elle est dangereuse.”

¹⁷ “Le plus grand scientifique français de notre époque.”

¹⁸ “Ce n’est pas toi qui décides. C’était ton père, maintenant c’est le docteur Charcot.”

Additional information

Funding

The authors reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.