Charcot decided that “grand hysteria,” or major hysteria, was characterized by episodic convulsions and four distinct, isolated phases: First, there is the epileptoid phase of seizures, preceded by an aura: a warning state in which changes in brain activity yield symptoms like visual disturbances, unusual smells or tastes, numbness, or tingling. (An image of Augustine in bed wearing her hospital gown, her mouth open and her tongue sticking out. Leather straps hold her to the bed. The photograph is labeled “Onset of the Attack: Cry.”) Second, there are grand movements and contortions, like the famous hyperextended arch of the back. The third and most captured phase was the attitudes passionnelles, or “passionate poses,” during which the patient acted out emotional gestures: ecstasy, eroticism, auditory hallucination, amorous supplication, menace, mockery. Finally, the fourth phase, delirium.

What can this tell us about illness or diagnosis? Probably very little. Sick girls often have to learn to pose, perhaps.