Medical Malpractice

Victorian era - insane asylum?

Mrs.Atwood becomes the gaurdian of Charlotte. Mrs. Atwood lost her daughter, a wild and spirited girl, many years ago--the daughter had eloped with a penniless Italian and had died giving a miscarriage. Charlotte is very much like Mrs. Atwood's daughter, so Mrs. Atwood believes that its her duty to guide Charlotte down the right road. But she becomes so obsessed in this...madness of trying to save Charlotte, becoming abusive and such. Mrs.Atwood begins to call Charlotte her daughter's name. Is this a good enough reason to put someone in an insane asylum??? Or, if you're a wealthy person, do they not put them in an insane asylum. What kind of asylums were there?

Public Comments

1. what a peculiar question. i'd say it's fair enough reason to put someone in an asylum. http://www.rootsweb.com/~asylums/
2. I am not an expert in this, but have just done some research. During the Victorian times, treatment of the mentally ill underwent a change for the better. In the 18th century, people would pay to visit Bedlam and look at the "inmates", rather as we would look at animals in a zoo today. There was no understanding of the reasons of insanity; there were all kinds of explanations, such as the movement of the womb, possession, humours, etc. During Victorian times, exclusion was the norm, locking away the afflicted. To mention "Jane Eyre", Mr Rochester, a wealthy man, had his wife incarcerated in absolute secrecy; this site deals with the subject, but looks back from our 21st century standpoint. His treatment of her would have been much more acceptable in those times, as would the attitudes: http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/bronte/cbronte/iwama8.html This is interesting: http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~ulrich/femhist/madness.shtml With far fewer protective guidelines than we have today, it seems it may have been reasonably easy for someone to be sectioned - women were not then held to be as clever as men, and the "movement of the womb" itself was considered to cause madness. Even spinsters could be thought mad, as they did not have the guiding influence and steadiness a man and marriage could give them. This deals with early America; I don't suppose it differs greatly from Britain, though new ideas may have passed from Britain to America at the time: http://mgagnon.myweb.uga.edu/students/kAnderson.htm Who would commit Mrs Atwood to the asylum? She would probably need a husband, or other protector like a brother, etc. As the man's word would be taken over hers, it probably would be easy to have her committed. There is a lot of information here, and lots more on the internet! Sift through it, and see what fits your story.