# Did 19th century women frequently faint? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 10, 2006, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-19th-century-women-frequently-faint/343881 "2006-02-10T17:40:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2006, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-19th-century-women-frequently-faint/343881/1 "2006-02-10T17:40:40Z")
I just finished reading Dickens’ _Pickwick Papers_ for the first time. While I found it an enjoyable read, I did notice that it had countless episodes of women fainting. This was a worse case than usual, but in fact most 19th century novels feature female characters who swoon all the time. They faint when anything scary, shocking or surprising happens. They faint at moments of emotional intensity. They faint whenever they try any hard physical work. What’s up with this? I find it difficult to believe that women in England 150 years ago were constantly collapsing in public. After all, physically and genetically they were no different from modern women who can make it through a typical day without spontaneously losing consciousness. ---
**Author:** ![Crandolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Crandolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crandolph)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2006, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-19th-century-women-frequently-faint/343881/2 "2006-02-10T17:46:46Z")
I believe [corsetting](http://members.tripod.com/HistoricalNovelists/vicorse.htm) had something to do with this. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2006, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-19th-century-women-frequently-faint/343881/3 "2006-02-10T17:50:48Z")
> [@ITR champion](#): > > After all, physically and genetically they were no different from modern women who can make it through a typical day without spontaneously losing consciousness. Of course someone will quickly (before I hit the submit button) add that, unlike today’s women, backthen they wore tight corsets that cut off blood circulation. True, of course, but also, remember that fainting was an acceptable emotional outlet, and therfore women would have had it as part of their psychological vocabulary. Just like today, many women think nothing of flipping off other drivers: its a non-cognitive response to the situation. In 150 years, it may seem weird to our descendants. When Frank Sinatra was introduced to FDR in the 1940’s, FDR, in referneces to the Bobby-sockers hysterian, and recalling the customs of his own youth, jokingly thanked Sinatra for bringing back fainting. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2006, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-19th-century-women-frequently-faint/343881/4 "2006-02-10T17:53:34Z")
I’ve frequently read that tightly-worn corsets–prevalent throughout much of the 198th century–were primarily to blame for the fainting spells, since they restricted breathing and circulation. During heightened emotional arousal, the body needs more oxygen to fuel the “flight or fight” reflex, but an excessively restrictive corset prevented well-oxygenated blood from getting to the brain, resulting in lightheadeness (swooning) and fainting spells. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2006, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-19th-century-women-frequently-faint/343881/5 "2006-02-10T17:55:43Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > …prevalent throughout much of the 198th century… Yes, corsets make a triumphant return some seventeen thousand years from now. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-19th-century-women-frequently-faint/343881/6 "2006-02-10T17:56:36Z")
There’s a lot of misinformation in that link. Not sure where the author got her facts, if they are facts, or opinions. I can say there are many different styles of corsets and most of them are not uncomfortable, and don’t make anyone gasp for breath, and certainly don’t make anyone faint. If 19th century women were fainting, my opinion is that it could have been caused by a number of factors: possibly the corset, or possibly because they were trying to portray themselves as “delicate flowers,” or possibly because anyone might faint if wearing 5-6 layers of clothes and then be expected to walk around in the heat, or worse, do hard work dressed that way. ---
**Author:** ![deevee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@deevee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deevee)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2006, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-19th-century-women-frequently-faint/343881/7 "2006-02-10T18:04:30Z")
I always thought they fainted because they got the vapors. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2006, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-19th-century-women-frequently-faint/343881/8 "2006-02-10T18:06:32Z")
> [@missbunny](#): > > I can say there are many different styles of corsets and most of them are not uncomfortable, and don’t make anyone gasp for breath, and certainly don’t make anyone faint. It need not have been uncomfortable, nor made one gasp for breath in order to have induced fainting. They were rarely worn so tight as to restrict _normal_ breathing, but if they were tight enough to restrict _deep_ breathing, this could have prevented them from getting enough oxygen during a period of intense emotional distress or arousal. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2006, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-19th-century-women-frequently-faint/343881/9 "2006-02-10T18:11:02Z")
I could have sworn Cecil did a column on this one, but I can’t find it. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2006, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-19th-century-women-frequently-faint/343881/10 "2006-02-10T18:21:02Z")
He mentioned them [here](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a981023.html), maybe that’s it? ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2006, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-19th-century-women-frequently-faint/343881/11 "2006-02-10T18:32:03Z")
The idea that 19th century women frequently fainted when presented with anything exciting, shocking, or grotesque, or with hard work, would come as a surprise to all those 19th century maid servants, pioneer farm women, and midwives. Read the Sherlock Holmes stories and novels from the late 19th century and there are plenty of examples of women who do not faint (and men who do!). It was probably a combination of attire and fashion, stamina and station, and one’s dramatic inclination. In two hundred years people will be asking, “Did all 20th century women have breast implants?” Fainting at a dramatic moment probably isn’t much different than the common attitude today among women I know to say, “Yes, I can change a tire, but if a man stops to help, I’ll gladly pretend to be helpless so I don’t have to do it. I don’t want my dress to get dirty!” ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2006, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-19th-century-women-frequently-faint/343881/12 "2006-02-10T18:43:17Z")
Arsenic, taken orally to make them pale & fashionable, might have had something to do with it. > [@](#): > > In Victorian times, arsenic was mixed with vinegar and chalk and eaten by women to improve the complexion of their faces, making their skin more fair to show they did not work in the fields. Arsenic was also rubbed into the faces and arms of women to improve their complexion. > **[Arsenic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenic)** > > Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, but only the gray form, which has a metallic appearance, is important to industry. > The primary use of arsenic is in alloys of lead (for example, in car batteries and ammunition). Arsenic is a common n-type dopant in semiconductor electronic devices. It is al... Hmmm…a “Fatal Beauty”, indeed… ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2006, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-19th-century-women-frequently-faint/343881/13 "2006-02-10T18:45:54Z")
More on the cosmetic thing. [http://storm.prohosting.com/cizumoto/cosmetichistory.html](http://storm.prohosting.com/cizumoto/cosmetichistory.html) > [@](#): > > 19th Century: France again. They develop chemical processes to replace fragrances made by the natural methods. Zinc oxide becomes widely used as a facial powder, replacing the more deadly mixtures of lead and copper previously used. Other poisonous substances are still used in eyeshadow (lead and antimony sulfide), lip reddeners (mercuric sulfide), and to make one’s eyes sparkle (belladonna, or deadly nightshade. Hey, it’s important to look good! ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2006, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-19th-century-women-frequently-faint/343881/14 "2006-02-10T19:08:04Z")
I agree with the “delicate flowers” theory as well as the corsets. PBS did a series on 19th Century House, and the wife and eldest daughter had to wear corsets as part of their attempt to live like they were living in the 19th century. Both women developed breathing trouble. In _Gone With the Wind_, much is made of Scarlett’s lack of femininity, and it is mentioned that she didn’t faint when she should or carry smelling salts like the other nice ladies did. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2006, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-19th-century-women-frequently-faint/343881/15 "2006-02-10T19:21:34Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > Arsenic, taken orally to make them pale & fashionable, might have had something to do with it. I know a woman who takes arsenic orally all the time, and she isn’t prone to fainting spells. (I forget _exactly_ why, but it’s part of her “Keep young and beautiful” regimen, too. Traditional chinese medicine, so the rationale is probably along the lines of “To expel damp” or somesuch.) ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2006, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-19th-century-women-frequently-faint/343881/16 "2006-02-10T19:53:14Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > I know a woman who takes arsenic orally all the time, and she isn’t prone to fainting spells. > > (I forget _exactly_ why, but it’s part of her “Keep young and beautiful” regimen, too. Traditional chinese medicine, so the rationale is probably along the lines of “To expel damp” or somesuch.) :eek: Has anyone told her that it might not be a great idea? ---
**Author:** ![AFAIKnow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a6a055/32.png) [@AFAIKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AFAIKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2006, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-19th-century-women-frequently-faint/343881/17 "2006-02-10T20:00:57Z")
I was watching AFV the other night and one video had an elderly lady faint almost instantly when she walked into a surprise birthday party type of thing. I remember thinking how strange that was that someone would faint so quickly without any other signs of distress like a period of hyperventilating. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2006, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-19th-century-women-frequently-faint/343881/18 "2006-02-10T20:10:14Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > :eek: > > Has anyone told her that it might not be a great idea? No, it works great. You will never grow old as long if you take it. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2006, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-19th-century-women-frequently-faint/343881/19 "2006-02-10T21:35:58Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > Has anyone told her that it might not be a great idea? Oh, believe me, I’ve tried. She’s one of those people who derives improved self-esteem from “knowing better” than western medicine (which is automatically discounted as ignorant,) and places absolute faith in TCM. Anyway, while I don’t see any benefit in including small amounts of arsenic in my diet, the actual harm is probably nothing compared to what you’d get from a bad diet or smoking/boozing – and she’s got a pretty healthy lifestyle. Not much to be gained from pushing the point, since she’s been doing it for years without showing any signs of arsenical poisoning. > [@Shagnasty](#): > > No, it works great. You will never grow old as long if you take it. Heh. ---
**Author:** ![YaWanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/bbce88/32.png) [@YaWanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YaWanna)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2006, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-19th-century-women-frequently-faint/343881/20 "2006-02-10T21:41:31Z")
> [@deevee](#): > > I always thought they fainted because they got the vapors. I read somewhere that “the vapors” was the polite euphemism for intestinal gas caused by…tight corsets. Sorry, no cite. Maybe I’ll go looking for the source, though, to see how reliable it might be. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-19th-century-women-frequently-faint/343881.md?page=2)