Horrors of the Madhouse In the mid 1800s, being sent to a madhouse was considered a horrible death sentence. Simply being in one could make a perfectly sane person go crazy in the short span of a week. A women Bly met in the institution said to her, "Criminals are given every chance to prove their innocence. These poor, overworked girls are convicted after a few trifling questions" (Ehrlich 63). Women were thrown into asylums simply because they cheated on their husbands, were physically sick or overworked, or because they could not speaking English (Ehrlich 62-63). Nellie Bly a journalist, went into a institutions and exposed the horrible doings of the asylums for the greater good. The institutions in the 1840s were a complete failure with
…show more content…
Some individuals were just thrown in the place because they simply could not speak English well enough for the liking of others. Bly tried many times to plead her case, "'You have no right to keep sane people here. I am sane, have always been so and I must insist on a thorough examination or be released. Several of the women here are also sane. Why can't they be free?'"(Bly). Nellie Bly was stuck in a madhouse for 10 days before she had the chance to leave. On of the most evident issues was the fact that Bly was even able to get into the madhouse, “She gained admittance and was declared insane by six doctors” (Valente). If Nellie Bly got into the asylum itself without any issue anyone could, whether trying to or not. Misplacement of individuals was another key issue inside the asylum, people were stuck inside there and should not have been. "At Bellevue, she had been mistakenly assigned to the mental ward and now found herself unable to get out" (Ehrlich 60). The mere treatment in the asylums drove the women mad, and most of the people that went in never came out (Ehrlich). The reason patients that went in rarely went out was mainly because staff did not care enough to arrange their release, it was simple laziness. Nobody was given the opportunity to prove their sanity and nobody was able to give their full story before admittance. The …show more content…
The asylums were obviously corrupt and needed to change for the better. Bly made it clear that her only regret was that she “could not have brought with me some of the unfortunate women who lived and suffered with me, and who, I am convinced, are just as sane as I was, and I am" (Ehrlich 66). Because of Bly’s hard work and thorough research, the asylums changed for the better. Funds were added to the industry to improve and add more workers. Money was also added in order to increase space and supplies. The sane women trapped in the asylum were released and conditions went from horrible to pretty good and/or
Some individuals were just thrown in the place because they simply could not speak English well enough for the liking of others. Bly tried many times to plead her case, "'You have no right to keep sane people here. I am sane, have always been so and I must insist on a thorough examination or be released. Several of the women here are also sane. Why can't they be free?'"(Bly). Nellie Bly was stuck in a madhouse for 10 days before she had the chance to leave. On of the most evident issues was the fact that Bly was even able to get into the madhouse, “She gained admittance and was declared insane by six doctors” (Valente). If Nellie Bly got into the asylum itself without any issue anyone could, whether trying to or not. Misplacement of individuals was another key issue inside the asylum, people were stuck inside there and should not have been. "At Bellevue, she had been mistakenly assigned to the mental ward and now found herself unable to get out" (Ehrlich 60). The mere treatment in the asylums drove the women mad, and most of the people that went in never came out (Ehrlich). The reason patients that went in rarely went out was mainly because staff did not care enough to arrange their release, it was simple laziness. Nobody was given the opportunity to prove their sanity and nobody was able to give their full story before admittance. The …show more content…
The asylums were obviously corrupt and needed to change for the better. Bly made it clear that her only regret was that she “could not have brought with me some of the unfortunate women who lived and suffered with me, and who, I am convinced, are just as sane as I was, and I am" (Ehrlich 66). Because of Bly’s hard work and thorough research, the asylums changed for the better. Funds were added to the industry to improve and add more workers. Money was also added in order to increase space and supplies. The sane women trapped in the asylum were released and conditions went from horrible to pretty good and/or