Bethlem Hospital [ Health ]
… was introduced). 4 Here individuals and groups could wander and enjoy the antics of the inmates, goaded often by the warders in the hope of gratuities, and could tease or reward the most amusing. This was a species of sociability that confirmed the sanity of the sane, providing thereby a spurious group cohesion along with a pleasant day out. Indeed, as Ned Ward described in his satirical periodical The London Spy in 1699, the sociable nature of a visit to Bethlem could …
Confinement | Entertainement | Insanity | Punishment | Satire
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