Women’s Mental Health History

A Female Malady? Women in the Lunatic Asylums of Victorian London

Throughout history, terms of madness such as ‘lunatic’, ‘idiot’, and ‘feeble-minded’ have appeared on the records of both men and women. Yet some historians argue that women were especially vulnerable to incarceration — particularly when placed in the asylum by husbands or fathers. Causes of madness often differed between men and women. Their experiences of the asylum also contrasted.

The 19th century heralded a new era in mental illness. Previously, lunatics were locked away in prisons or workhouses to protect the public; although the rich may have been hidden from view in private asylums. Even before Victoria became Queen in 1837, a new philosophy had begun to see lunatic asylums intended as places of cure. However, as laws changed (see the 1808 Lunacy Act), and large asylums were built, the 19th century saw increasing numbers of diagnoses of mental illness; and with that, increasing numbers of admittances to the new asylums. From 1845, it became compulsory for Justices of the Peace to house pauper lunatics in their county’s asylums, and from 1890, richer patients began to be admitted. The high numbers put pressure on staff, causing the gentle ethos of non-restraint to be abandoned, and an increase in the use of methods such as physical restraint, strait-jackets and padded cells.

Religious obsession, physical illness, tragic events, or love affairs were all stated causes of madness for women in this…