Bethlem Hospital [ Health ]
… "In The Madhouse" (c. 1732-1735). Abstract For much of the eighteenth century, conditions inside London’s premier public hospital for the insane were appalling, so much so that a major parliamentary inquiry in 1815 led to the dismissal … A form of sociability nevertheless was to be found there, not among the inmates but rather among those members of the public who paid for admission to witness the antics of the lunatics. But the most telling form of Bethlem sociability was … simply to survive. Sociability serves many functions, and one person’s chance for company while enjoying a virtually public entertainment is another’s opportunity for earning a few pence. 4 . See Roy Porter, Mind-Forg’d Manacles: A …
Confinement | Entertainement | Insanity | Punishment | Satire
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