Augustine

Augustine experiences numbness in her hands during a dinner service and then suffers a violent fit. The attack leaves her paralyzed in one eye and unable to move on that side. The scene disrupts the dinner party and alarms those nearby.

She is brought to a hospital where Jean-Martin Charcot observes her seizures. He examines her and notes neurological signs, including the loss of sensation on one side of her body. The medical attention sets the stage for further investigation.

Charcot tests her response and discovers she cannot feel a hot needle she applies to her arm. He also learns that Augustine has never menstruated, indicating a deeper neurological condition. These discoveries become key to his framing of her case.

Charcot decides to use Augustine as a test case to secure funding. He hypnotizes her in front of a room full of doctors and induces a fit that ends with an orgasm. The doctors applaud the demonstration, and Charcot begins to take Augustine's case more seriously.

With the demonstration successful, Augustine is provided her own room and subjected to thorough ongoing examination. Charcot moves ahead with his research plan and brings her into his regular routine. The atmosphere becomes more formal and clinical.

While helping a fellow patient behead a chicken, Augustine faints at the sight of blood. When she regains consciousness, both of her eyes are open and she can see normally, but she still lacks sensation on one side. Shortly after, Augustine begins to menstruate.

Charcot leaves for Bordeaux to attend a conference. In his absence, Augustine is locked in her room and has a fit when she cannot see him. Upon his return, he finds she has stopped eating and he spoon-feeds her to keep her healthy enough for treatment.

As time passes, Charcot grows increasingly attracted to Augustine, even sneaking into her room at night to observe her sleeping. Augustine, meanwhile, feels trapped by the dynamic and the sense that she has no control over her own life. The tension between them deepens.

Augustine decides she wants to leave and find work elsewhere; her cousin stops visiting, leaving her more isolated. Charcot refuses to let her go, promising that he will help her once he cures her condition. The sense of entrapment grows more acute.

Charcot receives permission to lecture in front of the medical academy with Augustine present. As she is being prepared for the lecture, she runs away, falls down a set of steps, and regains sensation in her body. The incident disrupts the plan for the demonstration.

Before the lecture, Charcot tries to hypnotize Augustine to induce a seizure, but the attempt fails. Augustine leans in and whispers that she is cured, flexing her hand for him as proof. The moment blurs the line between doctor and patient.

After Augustine leaves Charcot's office, he goes outside to find that the lecture has gone well and his peers are impressed, promising backing for his work. At the same time, Augustine slips down the stairs and escapes from the sanatorium in pursuit of freedom.