Analysis Of Nellie Bly's Ten Days In A Mad-House

Whenever one thinks of psychiatric hospitals in the nineteenth century, visions of inhumane tests and poor living environments rack the brain. Although some events like these did occur during the time of author Nellie Bly, the treatment and lack of social acceptance of the mentally ill was much more alarming and needed immediate change. In the 1800s, mental illness was considered beyond terrible and embarrassing, but it is now considered a disease of the mind, something that is much more accepted. During the nineteenth century, people were terrified of those with even a slight mental illness. If someone acted just a little out of the ordinary, those around them would become afraid and accuse them of being insane with little to no proof. At the beginning of Nellie Bly’s book, Ten Days in a Mad-House, when she first starts to act insane, the women around her immediately started worrying about their safety and expressed their concerns about her mental condition

In an essay written by Kimberly Leupo, she stated that homeless people would often stay at the asylums because they had nowhere else to go, and “families would submit their elderly relatives to asylums because they lacked the resources or time to deal with them appropriately” (Leupo). These patients stayed at the hospitals for long periods of time, usually until they passed away or were taken back home by family. Nowadays, psychiatric hospitals are much harder to be admitted into as they are a place to help people with mental illnesses, not just a residence to stay temporarily. Patients’ time at asylums has also decreased since Nellie Bly’s period. Because treatment is much more effective, individuals usually only stay for a couple weeks, depending on their