When, in 1874, she was stopping at a watering-place, a young lady, who took her for a man in disguise, fell in love with her. When this lady married, later, the patient was for a long time depressed, and spoke of unfaithfulness. Moreover, since her sickness, her relatives were struck by her desire for masculine attire, her masculine conduct, and disinclination for feminine pursuits; while previously, at least sexually, she had presented nothing unusual.
Further investigations showed that the patient had a love-relation, which was not purely platonic, with the lady described in Case 118; and that she wrote her affectionate letters like those of a lover to his beloved. In 1887 I again saw the patient in a sanitarium, where she had been placed on account of hystero-epileptic attacks, spinal irritation, and morphinism. The contrary sexual feeling existed unchanged, and only by the most careful watching was the patient kept from improper advances toward her fellow-patients.
Her condition remained quite unchanged until 1889. Then the patient began to fail, and she died of “exhaustion,” in August, 1889. The autopsy showed, in the vegetative organs, amyloid degeneration of the kidneys, fibroma of the uterus, and cyst of the left ovary. The frontal bone was much thickened, uneven on the inner surface, with numerous exostoses; dura adherent to vault of cranium. Long diameter of skull, 175 millimetres; lateral diameter, 148 millimetres; weight of the œdematous, but not atrophied, brain, 1175 grammes. The meninges delicate, easily removed. Cortex pale. Convolutions broad, not numerous, regularly arranged. Nothing abnormal in cerebellum and great ganglia.
Case 131. Gynandry.[[117]] History: On November 4, 1889, the step-father of a certain Count Sandor V. complained that the latter had swindled him out of 800f., under the pretense of requiring a bond as secretary of a stock company. It was ascertained that Sandor had entered into matrimonial contracts and escaped from the nuptials in the spring of 1889; and, more than this, that this ostensible Count Sandor was no man at all, but a woman in male attire,—Sarolta (Charlotte), Countess V.
S. was arrested, and, on account of deception and forgery of public documents, brought to examination. At the first hearing S. confessed that she was born on Sept. 6, 1866; that she was a female, Catholic, single, and worked as an authoress under the name of Count Sandor V.
From the autobiography of this man-woman I have gleaned the following remarkable facts that have been independently confirmed:—
S. comes of an ancient, noble, and highly-respected family of Hungary, in which there have been eccentricity and family peculiarities. A sister of the maternal grandmother was hysterical, a somnambulist, and lay seventeen years in bed, on account of fancied paralysis. A second great-aunt spent seven years in bed, on account of a fancied fatal illness, and at the same time gave balls. A third had the whim that a certain table in her salon was bewitched. If anything were laid on this table, she would become greatly excited and cry, “Bewitched! bewitched!” and run with the object into a room which she called the “Black Chamber,” and the key of which she never let out of her hands. After the death of this lady, there were found in this chamber a number of shawls, ornaments, bank-notes, etc. A fourth great-aunt, during two years, did not leave her room, and neither washed herself nor combed her hair; then she again made her appearance. All these ladies were, nevertheless, intellectual, finely educated, and amiable.
S.’s mother was nervous, and could not bear the light of the moon.
From her father’s family it is said she had a trace too much. One line of the family gave itself up almost entirely to spiritualism. Two blood-relations on the father’s side shot themselves. The majority of her male relatives are unusually talented; the females are decidedly narrow and domestic. S.’s father had a high position, which, however, on account of his eccentricity and extravagance (he wasted over a million and a half), he lost.
Among many foolish things that her father encouraged in her was the fact that he brought her up as a boy, called her Sandor, allowed her to ride, drive, and hunt, admiring her muscular energy.