Abstract
Friend and colleague of Jacques Lacan, Dr Charles Melman offers a key to interpreting the enigma that is hysteria, through a detailed study of its historical, social and cultural determinants. Delivered over two years, this foundational text is the first longitudinal approach to the study of hysteria. Peppered with invaluable clinical examples, the author guides us through difficult concepts as he links hysteria to the birth of psychoanalysis and demonstrates how the reader is involved in this discourse. This work restores hysteria to its central place in the structure of neurosis and helps us understand some of the biggest problems facing modernity.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Freud, S. (1953). Fragment of an analysis of a case of hysteria. In J. Strachey (Ed.), Standard edition: Vol. 7 (pp. 1–122). Hogarth Press. (Original work published 1905)
Freud, S. (1955). Studies on hysteria. In J. Strachey (Ed.), Standard edition: Vol. 2 (pp. ix–319). Hogarth Press. (Original work published 1893–1895)
Freud, S. (1957a). On the universal tendency to debasement in the sphere of love (contributions to the psychology of love II). In J. Strachey (Ed.), Standard edition: Vol. 11 (pp. 177–190). Hogarth Press. (Original work published 1912)
Freud, S. (1957b). On the history of the psycho-analytic movement. In J. Strachey (Ed.), Standard edition: Vol. 14 (pp. 1–66). Hogarth Press. (Original work published 1914)
Freud, S. (1957c). Papers on metapsychology. In J. Strachey (Ed.), Standard edition: Vol. 14 (pp. 105–258). Hogarth Press. (Original work published 1915)
Freud, S. (1961a). The ego and the id. In J. Strachey (Ed.), Standard edition: Vol. 19 (pp. 1–66). Hogarth Press. (Original work published 1923)
Freud, S. (1961b). The infantile genital organization: An interpolation into the theory of sexuality. In J. Strachey (Ed.), Standard edition: Vol. 19 (pp. 140–145). Hogarth Press. (Original work published 1923)
Joyce, J. (2022). Ulysses. Penguin Classics. (Original work published 1922)
Lacan, J. (1981). Propos sur l’hystérie (1977) [Comment on hysteria]. Quarto, 2, 1–6.
Lacan, J. (1993). The psychoses: The seminar of Jacques Lacan, book III (R. Grigg, Trans.). Routledge. (Original work published 1981)
Lacan, J. (2002). Anxiety: The seminar of Jacques Lacan, book X (C. Gallagher, Trans.). Karnac.
Lacan, J. (2004). The four fundamental concepts of psychoanalysis: The seminar of Jacques Lacan, book XI (A. Sheridan, Trans.). Karnac. (Original work published 1973)
Lacan, J. (2006). Écrits: The first complete edition in English (B. Fink, Trans.). W. W. Norton. (Original work published 1966)
Lacan, J. (2007). The other side of psychoanalysis: The seminar of Jacques Lacan, book XVII (R. Grigg, Trans.). W. W. Norton. (Original work published 1991)
Lacan, J. (2015). The seminar of Jacques Lacan, book XXIII: Joyce and the sinthome 1975–1976 (C. Gallagher, Trans.). Karnac.
Melman, C. (2022). Studies on hysteria revisited: Charles Melman on trauma, incompatibility, repression and the unconscious (H. Sheehan, Trans.). Routledge. (Original work published 1984)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Sheehan, H. An Introduction to Dr Melman’s Studies on Hysteria Revisited. Psychoanal Cult Soc 29, 102–111 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41282-023-00420-6
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41282-023-00420-6