Ten Days In A Mad-House

In Chapters 8-12, Bly intensifies her portrayal of life on Blackwell’s Island, where tone, patient interactions, and the behaviors of the doctors and nurses paint a disturbing picture of institutional life. This section underscores how the asylum was less a place of recovery and more a setting that fostered the deterioration of both mental and physical health. Through a tone that alternates between incredulity, empathy, and horror, Bly invites readers to see the stark reality of systemic mistreatment that she and others faced.

The Societal and Systemic Mistreatment of Mentally Ill Individuals remains central to these chapters, particularly as Bly highlights the asylum’s neglectful and often abusive practices. She observed the nurses and doctors as they went through the motions of assessing patients, indifferent to their well-being. Instead of providing individualized care or therapies, the doctors and nurses prioritized control over compassion. For instance, Bly witnessed an intake interview where she and other patients were addressed in a superficial manner. A doctor, instead of paying attention to the patients’ concerns, flirted and joked with a nurse. This unprofessionalism reinforced the institution’s disregard for the women in its care, effectively reducing them to objects rather than individuals in need of help. Even simple procedures, like examining Bly’s height and weight, turned into a spectacle, with staff trivializing each step and undermining the seriousness of their roles.

Additionally, the experiences of the other patients illustrate the asylum’s cruel practices and lack of respect for patient dignity. Bly encountered patients like Miss Tillie Mayard, who pled for her “sanity” but was dismissed without consideration. Mayard’s desperation and powerlessness reveal the hopelessness that many patients likely felt upon entry—a sense of abandonment and betrayal by an institution that should have been protecting them. Similarly, Mrs. Louise Schanz, a German-speaking immigrant, was admitted without any interpreter, leaving her unable to communicate or defend herself. The asylum failed to provide even basic assistance for non-English speakers, which prevented patients like Mrs. Schanz from being able to explain their circumstances or needs. This systemic neglect not only denied these women an opportunity to clarify misunderstandings but also condemned them to indefinite incarceration. Through these experiences, Bly exposes the disregard that underpinned the asylum’s operations, creating a damning picture of institutional neglect that further estranged people with mental health conditions from society.

The Role of Gender in the Perception and Treatment of Mental Health also continues as a prominent theme. Bly notes that the women were infantilized and patronized by the staff, who dismissed their voices and experiences. Bly’s observation of the doctor and nurse’s flirtatious behavior, for instance, suggests that the asylum operated more as a setting for socializing among staff than a place of medical treatment. Gendered assumptions about women’s mental health emerged frequently, with patients being spoken to as if they were naïve or “hysterical.” 

For example, when Bly requested her personal items or additional clothing, she was ignored and treated as a demanding child, told to be grateful for what she had. Similarly, Miss Mayard’s attempts to explain her nervous debility were entirely disregarded by the staff, who refused to entertain the idea that she could be mentally well. This dismissive treatment reflects broader Victorian attitudes about women’s mental health, with women’s suffering often misinterpreted or trivialized as emotional or “hysterical” behavior rather than as valid expressions of distress.

The asylum itself embodied a tragic irony. While it was supposed to be a place of recovery, its environment was more likely to induce mental health crises or exacerbate physical illness than cure anybody. Bly comments on the poor nutrition and freezing temperatures, both of which weakened the patients physically and psychologically. The inadequate diet left patients hungry and ill; Bly notes how hunger began to affect her, highlighting how the lack of adequate food can compromise even the strongest individuals. 

Bly also questions the treatment practices, particularly the freezing cold baths and inadequate clothing, which made the women more susceptible to illness. Miss Mayard, who was already frail, suffered greatly from these treatments, and other patients similarly showed signs of declining health. The conditions were so poor that Bly feared that she would genuinely develop a mental illness if she were forced to remain there indefinitely. In pointing out these ironies, Bly underscores a system that, in striving to contain mental illness, ultimately subjected its patients to conditions that could cause even healthy individuals to become unwell.

Through these observations, Bly also contributes to The Power of the Written Word to Effect Social Change. Her writing confronts readers with the unbearable reality of life within the asylum. By documenting her experience with both compassion and outrage, Bly challenges society’s understanding of mental illness and the ethics of institutional care. Her clear-headed observations, courage, and determination to remember every injustice she encountered speak to the transformative potential of investigative journalism, suggesting that her account could be a catalyst for reform.