A geographical history of institutional provision for the insane from medieval times to the 1860s in England & Wales Book

This was an exceptionally compelling overview of "all that ails us" ... the us being women. It appears that the only thing that ails us is men, according to Showalter. I'm not sure whether I disagree, although I'll throw in just a pinch of irony.

With an eye to tracking our inner malady, Showalter traces the treatment of women from 1830 to 1980: a nice chunk of time which should have shown progression and breakthroughs in dealing with mental health issues in women. From my point of view, not much had "progressed" in 150 years, except that the facilities were somewhat more modern. The attitudes, the biases, the prejudices remained extant, for the most part -- at least well into the 1980s when this book was published. (Whether much has changed since the 30-odd years that Showalter wrote this book, I wouldn't begin to guess. Superficially, it seems so.)

Mental health is quite a misnomer, in any case, for the most part of this book, for women were considered "mad" for the most innocuous of "offences". Suffice it to say that I wanted to set my own hair on fire while reading the travesties that women committed against society: the travesty of wanting dignity to raise their children out of poverty; the travesty of earning a decent wage for a profession of choice, and not relegated to the kitchen or the scrubhouse; the travesty of wanting a voice in how their bodies were treated; the travesty of wanting a say in society. All these were crimes for which at one time or other women were imprisoned in asylums for merely speaking their minds. Oh, and you'd definitely not want to speak your mind. That in itself is the worst travesty.

Suffice it to say, also, that in the Victorian era, "they" would have locked me up and thrown the key into the deepest well for I am one who has never known "my place". Lord knows I've tried to scrape and curtsey; to do obeisance, and even genuflect, on occasion. But it just isn't me. The gall rises every time. So, I had my gall stones removed, and became a whole human being. If only society had known long ago the remedy to women's madness.

This is not a review by any means. Just some random thoughts. A review would require a thesis: and I'd be quoting more than half the book. Just read it. Showalter has such an engaging style, you'll be thinking you're reading just another gothic novel, but by the time you're through, you'll be scared to death. For real.

Recommended to everyone!

Why only 4 stars? I wanted more. : (