Hysteria as a Creative Condition Paper at AILC 2013
I finally had a chance to present a paper on one of the most interesting subjects I researched while writing my Remizov book. It has to do with the notion that the so-called hysteria (a diagnosis liberally dispensed to female patience for the good part of the late 19th and early 20th century), is in fact a condition that signals creativity, a performative form of expression akin to artistic expression.
Remizov’s understanding of hysteria and creativity bridges symbolist and surrealist interpretations of mental illness. His version hysteria/possession/creative release was at once a dialogue with contemporaneous artists, particulary French surrealists, and the reevaluation of symbolist notions of mental illness. Please see the abstract below.
