ABSTRACT
In the summer of 1892, one not-so-ladylike individual by the name of Louise-Julia-Anna presented herself to Dr. François Guermonprez of Lille. She had been referred to him by his colleague, Dr. Reumeaux of Dunkirk, with “no other information than this: ‘subject interesting from the psychological point of view’ “ (Guermonprez 1892, 337). 1 Though her face had been shaven clean just before their encounter, and though she came wearing a lady's dress, corset, gloves, and hat (see Figure 1), Louise-Julia-Anna still struck Guermonprez as a rather poor specimen of a woman:
Her outfit is rather badly adjusted, lacking in grace and lightness … her broach is placed poorly to the side; her girdle goes more to one side than the other; the flowers and the ribbons of her hat are disposed without taste and the entire ensemble bespeaks a sort of negligence, which is not the consequence of bad intentions, but which results mainly from absence of good taste. (338–339)
