RESISTANCE TO SEXIST MEDICAL COMMUNITY WITH SEMIOTIC LANGUAGE IN AUGUSTINE (BIG HYSTERIA)

Set in the late nineteenth- century, anna furse’s play, augustine (big hysteria) rewrites the real life woman, augustine’s story, who was accused of madness, to demonstrate how the phallocentric medical community promotes gender- based treatment. in the play, the cast included neurologist professor and governor of the salpetriere hospital, jean- martin charcot and psychologist aspiring student sigmund freud exhibits intriguing case of augustine to the all-male audience under the disguise of medical wisdom and discovery. through her hysteric performance to all- male spectators, who are intentionally put into the role of voyeur, augustine not only succeeds in acting out her rape scene and makes a critique of male-dominated society. in furse’s feminist revision, furse also deals with how augustine’s semiotic language creates an alternative to the male –oriented language. augustine’s final critical response to the male- dominated society is achieved through her escape in male attire. this paper investigates how the mental hospital under the control of misogynist charcot and male- oriented language system converts augustine into a voiceless sexual object.