Hysteria has always been a topic that brings many concerns to society. When you look back on the history of hysteria and sexism you can easily see a connection between the two and the influences they have had on each other. The image of Charcot, “A Clinical Lesson at the Salpetrier.” could invoke various emotions from any regular human being. The art itself is extremely controversial and could mean many things when you stare at the blank faces of the men that are in the audience. The room is crowded with men and their notepads as they take notes on the hysteric woman that is being held by a man with one hand. Based on inferences, it is safe to say that the man is lecturing the group of men on hysteria by giving a live example of what hysteria actually looks like. Overall, the artwork personally makes me feel disturbed as I see that the men are using the woman in the artwork for their own conniving reasons. 

In the artwork, we can see the true meaning of belittling a person due to sex or mental disabilities. None of the men are giving any care to her comfort whatsoever, nor seem to be making an effort. It also makes me feel sympathetic towards the woman in distress in the far right corner. The art evokes the emotion of fear and timidity as we can see how cold a human can truly be when they feel the need to. In this case,  their need is driven by their want to gain more knowledge of hysteria. 

The reason why this artwork makes me feel so disturbed is that now we know the complete history of how men in the 1800s believed that hysteria was something that only women could have, and in the artwork we see the men using her as some sort of physical example for their own learning purposes. It is like she is nothing but a lecture to them, regardless of her being entirely vulnerable. It made me feel timid and fearful because of the overwhelming power that the men had over the woman. She is falling backward and the instructor is only holding her with one hand, which is a reference to the power he has over her but also shows a demeaning behavior. To think that someone could have that much power over a person is mad and not to mention how later in the future we end up seeing more of men overpowering women physically and mentally. When it comes to being treated less than for the improvement of another person; that is something that I found truly eerie.

Today, we have more knowledge of mental illnesses than back in the 1800s but there are still many things to discover. The image of Charcot, “A Clinical Lesson at the Salpetrier.” is an example of the beginning of one of the most intriguing topics, hysteria. Sadly, it is also a reminder of the disgusting actions that it took to get to the platform we have reached today. This artwork accents two very important subjects such as sexism, and the maltreatment of the ill. When you see the man grabbing the woman with one hand, it makes you think of her suffering and the things that are going through her mind at that moment. It is only normal to feel any type of uncomfortable emotion at first glance of it.