
Women’s inferiority has been dated back to the fourth century B.C. when Aristotle made a biological theory around the concept of heat (Weitz, Rose, 249). The concept of heat called women a “misbegotten man” and a “monstrosity” because of their lack of heat in their bodies. Many believed that this lack of heat in women caused deficiencies that would endanger men and the people around them. In the eighteenth century, women were protected and considered property by their husbands. Women lost their individual rights once they became married and the husband had complete control over their lives (Weitz, Rose, 249). Women were expected to stay home and perform their duties there. As women’s roles began to expand, men began to start labeling women as insane. The cultural changes of wanting an education or a job caused women to want more power while their husbands did not agree with this. Hysteria, a disease that women were believed to have whenever they disobeyed their husbands or displayed any sexual feelings, was beginning to spread like wildfire and women were being sent to asylums more now than ever. In 1887, Nellie Bly, a journalist for the New York World, faked being insane in order to show the injustice of the mentally ill in asylums. Since the beginning of time, women have struggled with their place in this world and Nellie Bly wrote 10 Days in a Madhouse in order to show this injustice. 

In 1900 B.C., the Egyptians identified the cause of hysterical disorders as the spontaneous uterus movement within the female body (Tasca, Cecilia, et al.). The Egyptians defined this disorder as showing depressive syndromes, tonic-clonic seizures, and the sense of suffocation or imminent death. In Greek mythology, hysteria was defined as the starting point of the birth psychiatry (Tasca, Cecilia, et. al). The physicians in Greek mythology wrote that the women’s insanity was caused by their uterus being poisoned by venomous humors. Aulus Corenelius Celsus in the 1st century B.C., said, “In females, a violent disease also arises in the womb…This cause, however, differs in that the eyes are not turned, nor does froth issue forth, nor are there any convulsions: there is only deep sleep” (Tasca, Cecilia, et. al). In the 5th century B.C., Hippocrates believed that the cause of hysteria was from the movement uterus which causes the poisonous humors due to an inadequate sexual life (Tasca, Cecilia, et. al). In the thirteenth century, the Church became involved in the struggle of women’s hysteria. The Church described hysterical women as being subject to exorcism due to the demonic presence in their bodies. The exorcism of these women was considered to be a cure and not a punishment. In the 16th century, hysteria was beginning to be defined as a disease related to the brain and nervous system, and not the uterus (Tasca, Cecilia, et. al). By the 18th century, the disease was becoming almost entirely associated with the brain and nervous system. Around the time that Nellie Bly wrote 10 Days in a Madhouse, there were many theories being made about the disease. Pierre Janet, a French neuropsychiatrist, studied five of the symptoms of hysteria which included anesthesia, amnesia, abulia, motor control diseases, and modification of character. Janet concluded that hysteria is in the subconscious and that “the hysterical are, in general, not any more erotic than a normal person” (Tasca, Cecilia, et. al). This new conclusion about the disease sparked others to look more into the disease and people began to question the “insanity” found in women. During the nineteenth century, the first Married Women’s Property Act was passed which challenged the traditional beliefs of women’s bodies. This act gave married women the right to own property before marriage and wages. Also during the nineteenth century, women were awarded the right to vote and many colleges began accepting women. The changes in the nineteenth century began the change in who had power in the relationship. While this change happened, many argued that middle-class women could not handle owning property or having an education. Women were beginning to be thought of as more frail and weak more than ever due to their entry into education and employment. These expansive behaviors were used to determine that women were not mentally stable and had the disease hysteria. Nellie Bly was one of those who questioned whether or not these women were actually insane and if they were being treated correctly. This is why Bly performed her stunt of staying in the Women’s Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell Island and then published her series in the New York World. 

During the time that Nellie Bly experienced her stay at the Blackwell Island Asylum, women’s mental health was misunderstood. Women in this time period held little to no education. The cause of a woman’s mental illness was believed to be because of disobeying their husband and experiencing sexual feelings. Once a woman disobeyed her husband by showing interest in a job or education, she was declared to be insane. In this time, women’s lives were very similar to those that were researched in Aleppo, Syria during a study. Most mental distress came from physical abuse, low education, polygamy, residence, age, and age of marriage (Astbury, Jill A., 379). One of the main causes of mental distress was whether or not the woman was educated. If a woman is educated, they are less likely to develop the mental distress of physical abuse, polygamy, and age of marriage. Educated women are able to exercise their knowledge of human rights more by choosing who they want to marry and what type of marriage they have. A lack of education allows for the married woman to enter into depression because of the lack of knowledge of basic human rights and the ability to easily be taken advantage of. This study relates to Nellie Bly being denied of her right to have a book and pencil while being in the asylum. In 10 Days in a Madhouse, Bly asks for a book and pencil because “it helps me remember things” (Bly, Nellie, 291). Bly receives the response, “You can’t have it, so shut up” (Bly, Nellie, 291). This shows how women were denied the right to express themselves and their education. Women could not be thought of as educated and civilized because this gave them power and would cause them to be equal to men. Eventually, a woman would be described as entirely insane or ill just because she wanted to read or write. The woman showing interest in reading or writing would cause her to be sent to an asylum which would more than likely cause her to develop mental issues. The belittling of women’s mental distress often caused women to be misdiagnosed and misunderstood. Nellie Bly was able to expose this injustice by writing about it in her series. This exposure is important because it sparked the investigation of asylums and how they treat women as well as changing the policies of how the mentally ill are treated. 

Nellie Bly wrote in 10 Days in a Madhouse, “Poor women, they had no hopes of speedy delivery. They were being driven to a prison, through no fault of their own, in all probability for life” (Bly, Nellie, 281). As Bly was first witnessing the women she would be surrounded by in the Women’s Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island, she noticed the distress on their faces. Some of these women were being sent to the Blackwell Asylum even though there was nothing mentally unstable about them. At this time, men needed a way to keep their power over their wives because the roles were beginning to change since they wanted an education or a job. Men and doctors believed that any woman that went against their word, was not mentally stable. Women had always been expected to obey their rules and this new way of thinking challenged the traditional way of thinking. The disease hysteria was brought up in order to have a reason to incarcerate women into insane asylums for disobeying. According to Laura Briggs, assistant professor in the department of women’s studies at the University of Arizona, “hysteria was never just a disease, it was also the way nineteenth-century U.S. and European cultures made sense of women’s changing roles” (Briggs, Laura, 246). These cultural changes caused women to be viewed as mentally weak so that they would keep working in their homes. The nervousness of women was being characterized as an illness caused by “over civilization” due to finally being exposed to an education and employment (Briggs, Laura, 246). 

During this time period, women were mistreated in asylums and many people did not know that this was happening. In Bly’s series, she tells about her different experiences with being mistreated while staying in the asylum. She tells about her first dinner at the asylum and says, “I tried the bread, but the butter was so horrible that one could not eat it” and “My bowl of tea was all that was left. I tasted, and one taste was enough” (Bly, Nellie, 286). In the asylum, the patients were clearly not being properly fed. In response to Bly not eating, another patient says, “You must force the food down, else you will be sick, and who know but what, with these surroundings, you may go crazy. To have a good brain the stomach must be cared for” (Bly, Nellie, 286). This patient’s response to Bly not eating shows their feelings towards the food. In order to stay healthy, they must eat the terrible food that the asylum is serving them. Bly tells about her first bath at the asylum and says that the water was ice-cold and the nurse had to scrub her. After taking the cold bath, Bly was forced to put on a flannel with black letters that said, “Lunatic Asylum, B. I., H. 6.” (Bly, Nellie, 287). This shows how the patients were forced to take cold baths without a choice and then wear clothing that labeled them as mentally insane. Before going to bed, Bly requests a nightgown and the nurse says in response, “Well, I don’t care about that, you are in a public institution now, and you can’t expect to get anything. This is charity, and you should be thankful for what you get” (Bly, Nellie, 287). The response from the nurse shows how they do not care for their patients. If the asylum was actually interested in properly taking care of their patients in order to make them better, they would have invested more into them. Since the asylum is only doing the bare minimum for its patients, then they should have never expected them to no longer be mentally ill. Bly was able to expose the mistreatment of the asylum’s patients through writing her series. After getting the word out about how asylums were treating their patients, new policies were beginning to be made about how the mentally ill should be treated.

When Nellie Bly wrote 10 Days in a Madhouse, women’s mental health was highly misunderstood. Bly was able to make a contribution to society by publishing her series in the New York World. By performing her stunt by staying in an asylum, Bly was able to get out the truth about the injustice of the mentally ill to everyone. The mistreatment of women and the mentally ill was finally exposed and changes were going to be made. Asylums were soon being investigated all over and eventually were forced to change their policies behind the treatment of their patients. Bly was able to prove that mentally stable women were being sent to asylums for no reason other than the fact that people were threatened by them. People were now beginning to question their logic behind women’s sanity and the power of women would continue to grow due to Bly opening up new opportunities for women. Throughout time, women have struggled with their place and Bly was able to show the injustice and mistreatment. 
