
In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s women were a mere figure to the world. Insane asylums set the stage for this stigma that women were useful for one thing only. Women were used merely for housework and daily chores. Through further research, one is able to obtain new knowledge of how women were treated and stripped of an identity in mental asylums.  Nellie Bly provided readers with a first-hand example of the inhumane treatment of women in asylums and the reasons for admittance among these women through her short story, “Ten Days in a Mad-House”. Further research provides an even further and more in depth explanation of the stigmas of society that placed these women in those asylums for long periods of time or even life. 

There are many different approaches to reasoning behind the placement of women in asylums. One of the most interesting was the idea behind architecture and the layout of asylums contributed to the insanity of women in asylums. Carla Yanni theorized architecture shapes behavior within her writing of “The Linear Plan for Insane Asylums in United States Before 1866”. Bly explains the overpopulation of asylums in her piece by sharing her story of sleepless nights due to the disruption of the nine other women she shared a room with at night. Yanni would use this story to further her research in the aspect that asylums were overpopulated buildings made of concrete walls, contributing to the insanity of women. Yanni supports this idea even further with a picture of a patient chained to a concrete wall stripped of all clothing and belongings. The doctors and nurses in asylums strongly believed patients were unaffected of the cold temperatures or containment strategies. When Bly first enters the asylum she depicts this experience as walking down a “long uncarpeted hall to a room filled by so-called crazy women (p. 281).” This supports Yanni’s theory that the structure of the asylum only contributed to the decline of the mental health of patients in asylums. Patients were merely stripped of an identity as soon as they stepped foot in an institution. Bly writes about being told her eye color was grey and writes, “she lifted my dress and skirts and wrote down one pair shoes, one pair stockings, one cloth dress, one straw hat, and so on (p. 285)” strictly before that was all taken away. It is clear the doctors and nurses drown out all the women’s self- worth and well-being. Once institutionalized there is no return to a true humanized state, as Bly explains first hand and Yanni depicts in the article through the definition of moral treatment and management. Moral Treatment and management were one of the hardest things to come by as a woman in the late 1800’s. 

Other than the immoral treatment of patients and the architecture of asylums, the reasons and ideals behind admittance of women were ludicrous. Katherine Pouba and Ashley Tianen explain the morals of men and women’s roles in society in their writing of, “Lunacy in the 19th Century Women’s Admission to Asylums in the United States of America.” During the late 19th/early 20th centuries women were seen as resourceful for the sole purpose of having children and housework. The main goal for women was to become married to a male who would then have all power over the future of that woman. Of the admittance of all women to asylums the majority of them were admitted by a male spouse and further were only allowed to be released by that same male counterpart. The University of Wisconsin students used statistics from the Mendota Mental Asylum to show the amount of women in the asylum that were admitted by a male spouse. This surpassed many laws that were put in place to given women some sort of jurisdiction over themselves. Being married was seen as a rite of passage whereas being single, educated, or independent was seen as a failure to society. Since it was believed as a failure to be an educated woman, spouses of women often institutionalized them to prevent them from achieving any sort of success or sharing their beliefs with other women. Dorthea Dix and Elizabeth Packard were two women’s rights advocates who brought attention to the inhumane characteristics of insane asylums. Bly was also a large contributor in this aspect by providing a real life example of this treatment in writing for all to read. Bly’s work spiked an investigation of asylums and eventually had legislation passed to change policies regarding the treatment of the mentally ill. 

Through further investigation, it was learned that women were treated so poorly and inhumane due to the fact that their diagnoses were not real or in any way accurate. The article “The Linear Plan for Asylums in U.S. before 1866” by Carla Yanni states there were five reasons/diagnosis for women admitted to institutions. Those were melancholia, mania, monomania, dementia, and idiocy. Considering there are hundreds of diagnoses of mental illness today, five was unreasonable and often almost never an accurate depiction of a woman’s situation. Women were also admitted by their spouses for things such as epilepsy, suppressed menstruation and religious beliefs. Religion, family history and wealth status also played a role in who was admitted to such institutions, how long they stayed there, and their placement within the institution.  Bly put this investigation in to action by putting herself in to an institution. This was extremely risky considering women very rarely had a chance of leaving the institution considering a woman’s only chance of leaving was through the permission of the male that admitted her.  Without knowing a doctor in the institution Bly would have never left the institution and her research would have not been published. The article also provides the reader with an interesting example of how societies views have changed as a whole. Yanni explains many women were often institutionalized for being Mormon. Mormonism was seen as a mental problem rather than a cultural or religious choice. Society today is much more accepting of religious beliefs, cultural differences and sensitive to the institutionalization of women. 

When Nellie Bly, Dorthea Dix and Elizabeth Packard all worked to bring attention to the institutionalization of women, Susan Cruea also noticed the lack of feminism and power amongst woman in society. Through her publication of the article, “Changing Ideals of Womanhood During the Nineteenth-Century Woman Movement” she addresses the topic of valuing true womanhood and the start of the “Woman Movement”. Cruea addresses the topic of valuing true womanhood as a young adult being one of the greatest values to hold. Yet men during this time period seemed to contradict these values by not allowing young women to develop into something they wish, rather living to fulfill the ideals of the man they marry. Intellectual knowledge and the heart to pursue such a characteristic, was portrayed as “delicate and weak.” School was seen as something that would over exert a woman’s body physically, emotionally, and mentally. This article continues to go in to the depth of religion. Women were technically used as a tool to be males “savior” and save them from the empowerment to do wrong. Women stood as an inferior wall from alcoholism, prostitution, and sinful behavior. 

Cruea brings up a new topic that many others have not thought about that brings a positive light to such a heavy subject of degrading behaviors. When attention was first being brought to women in institutions and the issues of mental health in the 1800’s was right around the beginning of the civil war. This was the very first time women got a taste of womanhood, individuality, power, and strength in society. As men went to fight, woman started to take over and work the men’s jobs. In Fact, “Over 3000 women from the North and South served as nurses during the war (p.191).” Jobs as such provided women with a sense of meaning, for those whose male spouses were in active duty. For those wives still working a household, their young children were soon encouraged to go out and play sports. This also drove women to look for hardworking, compassionate, and moral men so they could have a future for themselves. Other men would never allow a woman to get an education or could end us abused. As Cruea states, “Real Womanhood regarded the position of an educated spinster, able to support herself, as more desirable than that of an unhappy or abused wife (p.193).” 

Another source titled “Lives of Women” by Dorothy W. Hartman explains more about society in the 19th century and their involvement including the cult of domesticity, traditions in the home and society, and their education. This article talks about the beginning of the women’s rights movement. As mentioned in “Changing Ideals of Womanhood” the women’s rights movement began post-civil war era when men left home and women took their place in factories, school, and all realms of life they did not previously have access to. This article explains that even though the women’s right movement gained great momentum and women sought out so many new opportunities, 95% of women still remained at home throughout the 19th century. This was still the start of a great change. Hartman also discusses the fact that despite the technological and cultural advances in society, America as still predominantly rural meaning housework was still a prominent aspect of living. Writings and literature in the late 19th century also told women housework and keeping a home filled with things such as love and warmth was their highest calling. Hartman writes how, “A review of the popular literature of the time provides unique insights into the expectations for women’s lives and the realities of their existence.” This is relatable of all aspects of life and society. Authors are given inspiration to write during major life events or big societal changes. During the late 19th century women wrote letters describing the long endless “drudgery.” This included activities such as ironing, cooking, and childcare. Bly was motivated to write as a female author when she saw a major downfall in societies involving insane asylums. Women felt as if writing was an escape from the fears of reality yet great insight to those who were misunderstanding or not experiencing the downfalls they were. Bly writes about one of her experiences of listening to a woman be tortured due to her inability to write. The doctors and nurses kept a patient from freeing her thoughts through writing and therefore continued to decline in her mental stability and actually go insane.  

It is clearly evident through the research provided, Women had one sole purpose in society and the stigma of housework was idolized by all men. The stigma was characterized by aspects of asylums and their inhumane treatment of all patients. The continuation of research in this area will continue to provide insight on the issues that caused horrific trends in society and prevent history from repeating itself.  The women’s right movement provided hope for brighter future for women’s children in the areas of education, labor, and equality. Bly brought reform to the conditions of insane asylums. Bly was a courageous and incentivized woman who placed herself in a situation not knowing the full outcome. Women today should be thankful for her actions and being a women’s right activist. The image of women in society during the late 1800’s was degrading. This image was created by anyone other than women themselves and was inaccurate of their capabilities. The treatment of mental health has developed greatly; mental institutions have been defunded or outlawed in some areas and others require a true mental disorder to be placed in an institution where the patient will receive proper, humane treatment according to their accurate diagnosis. Bly’s experiences in a madhouse were the reason for reform and the motivation for women to seek the ideals they wish to display amongst society’ and the disruption of the stigma carried with mental health in the nineteenth century. 
