Scientific objectivity and social mores: Paternity testing, illegitimacy and misogyny in Constance Pascal’s ‘La Goutte de Sang’ (1935–1936)
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This article examines the French historical, scientific, social and biographical background to Constance Pascal's filmscript 'La Goutte de Sang' concerning the search for a reliable paternity test. The philosophical argument is between adherence to scientific truth against entrenched social custom. Pascal's filmscript highlights routine misogyny in the scientific workplace and the injustices to women and children of male sexual irresponsibility. I analyse the relation between Pascal's personal life, her psychiatric career and the filmscript's critique of scientific efforts at social reform, concluding with her enduring belief in the value of science based on humane principles.
Source: History of Psychiatry
Author: Felicia Gordon
Institution: University of Cambridge
Language: English
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,650
OpenAlex ID: W7125518369