Showalter explores the integral components of hysteria and identifies the disorder as being more universal than it is stereotypically known. Instead of the assumption that hysteria largely roots from the Victorian sexual repression and is commonly a female disorder, Showalter recognises parallels with other contemporary forms of illness, demonstrating its universality.

'This is a brave book, not only because it dares to question feminist orthodoxies, but also because it reminds us that feminism's purpose is the investigation of truth, not the perpetuation of blame' Erica Jong, author of Fear of Flying