Hysteria was a very stimulating topic and many people wanted to write and read about it. It was also a topic that was discussed cross culturally. For example, “The Yellow Wallpaper” was written by a female American writer while Madame Bovary was written by a male French writer. This showed that it was a prevalent topic across the world, and that both men and women were interested in exploring this ‘feminine’ disorder. Nineteenth century literature exposes the idea of hysteria not just a female disease, but also as a …show more content…
These two contrasting ideas exist in literature because if a character does not follow the norms of the time period they are automatically chastised. Because of these norms, characters are put into a villain or victim category. “The Yellow Wallpaper” shows that due to hysteria, protagonist Jane goes insane and is perceived as a villain. She is viewed as a villain because she is not cured of her disease and therefore she is seen as a social deviant. However, by modern views, Jane is a victim because she was constrained by the patriarchal society of the nineteenth century in which she lives in. Emma from Madame Bovary also has hysterical tendencies, but is as a villain of nineteenth century literature because she openly expresses her sexual desires and she acts on them, which is not socially acceptable.Yeah idk what to say about this >>>>> On the other hand, by a modern viewpoint and Dr. Carter’s theories, she is a victim due to the lack of sexual excitement in her life. Haven’t mentioned him