Fainting room

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A fainting couch and a low table in Villa di Poggio in Caiano Villa di Poggio a Caiano, salottino.JPG
A fainting couch and a low table in Villa di Poggio in Caiano

A fainting room was a private room, common in the Victorian era, which typically contained fainting couches. Such couches or sofas typically had an arm on one side only to permit easy access to a reclining position, similar to its cousin the chaise longue, although the sofa style most typically featured a back at one end (usually the side with the arm) so that the resulting position was not purely supine.

Contents

There are also accounts that mention fainting rooms in eighteenth-century America. [1] These rooms, which were also referred to as bedrooms (bedrooms were called chambers), were located in the ground floor and contained a daybed that allowed occupants to rest for brief periods during the day. [1]

Theories for prevalence

One theory for the predominance of fainting couches is that women were actually fainting because their corsets were laced too tightly, thus restricting blood flow. [2] [3] By preventing movement of the ribs, corsets restricted airflow to the lungs and,[ citation needed ] as a result, if the wearer exerted themselves to the point of needing large quantities of oxygen and was unable to fully inflate the lungs, this could lead to fainting. Hyperventilation for any reason could also potentially result in brief loss of consciousness.

One book associates Victorian fainting rooms with a claim that they are meant to force women to remain indoors and inactive under the guise of ensuring privacy, class, and interiority. [4]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Tometczak, Judith (2017). Haunted Crown Point, Indiana. Charleston, SC: The History Press. p. 79. ISBN   9781467136914.
  2. Stockdale, Brenda (2009). You Can Beat the Odds: Surprising Factors Behind Chronic Illness and Cancer. Boulder, CO: Sentient Publications. p. 60. ISBN   9781591810797.
  3. Caiola, Sammy (2015-11-02). "Get skinny in a cinch? Corsets make a comeback, along with health issues". The Sacramento Bee. ISSN   0890-5738 . Retrieved 2018-11-14.
  4. Harris, Adrienne; Kalb, Margery; Klebanoff, Susan (2016). Ghosts in the Consulting Room: Echoes of Trauma in Psychoanalysis. Oxon: Routledge. p. 165. ISBN   9780415728676.