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Were the asylums of the nineteenth century intended to incarcerate dangerous elements of society or treat unfortunate sufferers?
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| Submitted: Mon Dec 22 2003
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Were the asylums of the nineteenth century intended to incarcerate dangerous elements of society or treat unfortunate sufferers? It is a reasonable assumption that throughout mankind's history mental illness has been present. Ancient sources exist detailing the mannerisms and symptoms of 'mania' and 'melancholia', diseases that could today be identified as 'schizophrenia' and 'depression'. The mad were often left to themselves, the 'village idiot' being a common sight in English villages throughout the middle ages. During the seventeenth century, 'dangerous' mad people would be incarcerated in prisons and privately run 'madhouses' whilst those who could not support themselves would often be grouped together with other social deviants in the workhouses. Madness belonged to the realm of the supernatural and the religious. Madness was explained as the possession of the soul by evil spirits and treatment involved the use of charms and rituals. The Enlightenment of the eighteenth century rendered these views as...
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