Definition of a Fainting Couch

Features

• The fainting couch has legs, one arm, allowing for easy access, and a full or partial back. The furniture's distinguishing feature is that one side inclines upward, allowing a woman to recline.

Modern Fainting Couch

• The modern fainting couch is none other than the chaise lounge, which should not be confused with a divan, which has two arms.

Victorian Function

• During the Victorian era, ladies wore corsets, foundation garments that pulled tight around torsos to shape the figure. Wearing these could make a woman short of breath; a Victorian lady would use the fainting couch to collect herself.

Modern Function

• As the chaise lounge, the fainting couch is used in moderns homes, often placed in the living room, bedroom, or even outdoors.

Famous Connections

• Versions of this furniture have been used since ancient times and by a number of well-known historical figures. Cleopatra and the Greeks used their versions to lie on their sides. Freud had patients recline on a fainting couch during psychoanalysis.