Widlocher had the opportunity to observe hysterical symptoms developing during the course of sessions with a patient. He presents the case of Aline who replaced associations with a sort of hysterical attack during moments of anxiety. The author focuses on the roles of repression, condensation, and formal regressions and on the conflict between activity and passivity. By these observations he hopes to clarify certain aspects of the mechanism of hysterical conversions, and he suggests some generalizations concerning these specific mechanisms in hysteria.