Johnston describes a patient in analysis for three and a half years. The focus is on the oral material and the purpose is to re-enforce the emphasis placed by previous authors, notably Marmor, on the oral determinants of the hysterical character. Two aspects of this particular patient do not fit well into the usual definition of hysterical character: her masochistic sexual relationship, with three abortions, leading finally to her slashing her wrists and a rather severe eating disorder.

No reference is made to the study of Chodoff and Lyons, in which the hysterical character is described in a definitive way. The search for the determinants of the hysterical character hopefully will be solved when longitudinal life studies, beginning with direct infant observation, are available. Until then we must seek to learn what we can from the analysis of adults.