Court Theatre

"Treatment of Hysteria"  from The Hydropathic Encyclopedia (1843)

The "hysterical woman" in psychoanalysis and the techniques used to "cure" her are of particular interest to me when thinking about Miss Julie as a character. This image in particular offers an interesting gestural vocabulary illustrating a popular Victorian era treatment method of hysteria. The woman in the illustration is "treated" by disembodied hands appearing to drench her in water and collect the runoff in a bowl underneath her head. The cool, rational (presumably male) psychoanalyst is not the subject of the image, he is simply demonstrating the proper technique for handling the hysterical woman. He doesn't even need to be fully present to do so. In fact, his presence is also strangely servile-- the water being poured and caught, if not being done over the woman's head, would be an action potentially performed by a servant. Instead, it is recontextualized as a clinical treatment.

(right) "Icarus Fallen" by Andrew Denman

A portrait created by a wildlife artist, who described the piece as a "dead bird one finds on the ground while out for a stroll, stiff and frozen with wings half spread, still carrying the echo of its fully animated glory". Resonances between the rise/fall of Miss Julie + Jacque as well as the death of the bird. I could also see the myth of Icarus being an interesting reference point for the lovers' arcs in the play, especially the interpretation where Icarus falls in love with the sun (which causes his wax wings to melt and him to fall to his death). Additional notes: nakedness and sex as a potential cause of this particular fall (note the intact wings), how could we view this play as a walk of shame?