Aveyron savage Victor (6 photos)

Peasants in the remote department of Tarn in southern France were doing normal work. When suddenly noticed in the bushes along the field strange flutter. Closer examination of the noise source turned out to be ... a wild child.





He was dressed in a torn dirty shirt, moved around exclusively on all fours, picking up some food from the ground. Subsequently, a strange creature was seen several more times during four years. Attempts to lure him were unsuccessful. But still in In 1800, the foresters managed to either catch or lure him.



Victor of Aveyron

Upon closer examination, the incomprehensible creature turned out to be teenager in appearance 14-15 years old. Naked, dirty, with matted hair and body covered with scars and sores.

The authorities of the department of Aveyron placed the foundling in a shelter. The boy could not speak and made only separate sounds, reminiscent of barking and howling. He was not interested in other children, he could sit for hours, looking at your own reflection in a pond or the moon in the sky. Boy had a low pain threshold, calmly pulled logs out of the fire with bare hands. During the experiments did not respond to loud sounds, but immediately alerted, hearing very quiet.

People - other children and caregivers, the foundling ignored. He hated clothes and tried at every opportunity to rip them off and fall on the ground. In a word, he demonstrated the behavior of an animal, probably a wolf.

Attempts to adapt





Victor

Since the educators of the shelter did not have the knowledge to instilling the necessary skills in a teenager, the boy was transferred to a Parisian deaf institute. Attempts by local teachers to educate him at least elementary signs facilitating communication were unsuccessful. It turned out that the guy is mentally retarded, he has problems with coordination, poor eyesight. The curator declined responsibility for socialization, and the guy just hung around the territory.

Until the local young doctor showed compassion to him - 25 year old Jean-Marc Itard. He took the wolf cub home, gave him the name Victor and entrusted the care of the adopted to his housekeeper Madame Guerin.



Jean-Marc Itard

For six years they tried to socialize wolf boy. Taught to distinguish hot from cold, wet from dry, wear clothes, use cutlery. Once upon a time at the doctor's house guests came to dinner who wanted to see the savage from Aveyron and his progress in adaptation. Despite the efforts of Itard and Guerin, Victor did not especially pleased them: he tore off his clothes, picked up goodies from the table and ran into the garden.

The guy could not learn elementary words. But I'm used to housework, carried out all the orders of Madame Guerin. Especially Victor loved chopping wood: simple and hard work seemed to fascinate and absorbed him. And he waved the ax for hours without showing any dissatisfaction or fatigue.

Then the doctor's lessons gave meager, but the result. Victor learned a few words and began to understand gestures. Interestingly, this Jean-Marc did not teach him.



Frame from the film "Wild Child" 1970

In an attempt to awaken the brain of a savage, Itard decided to resort to electroshock therapy - a progressive method for that period of time. But after the sessions, Victor began to experience attacks of aggression and epileptic seizures. The doctor completed the socialization project, left savage in the care of Guerin and returned to normal work. Victor from Averona lived with a woman until his death in 1828, when he was about 40 years old.



Frame from the film "Wild Child" 1970

For his time, Itard was an innovator and showed a really bright talent in the chosen field. Doctor was able to prove that the wolf boy was not a born idiot. He just lost the opportunity to develop during a critical period when children acquire language skills. And restore them as shows and modern practice in the case of Mowgli children, and, accordingly, it is not possible to fully integrate them into society.