Abuse of Women in Nineteenth Century Asylums: Past and Present Representations in English Literature

Madness has been frequently represented in English literature since it was an issue concerning not only medical practitioners and social control but also the role of women in society and the exertion of men’s will over wives, sisters, daughters and other female relatives. In this paper, the condition of nineteenth century women confined to the madhouses or asylums is discussed in relation to the different representations made by two Victorian novelists, Wilkie Collins and Mary Elizabeth Braddon, and a contemporary writer, Sarah Waters. Theories of insanity and the motives of women abuse are widely introduced followed by some reflections on the representation of abuse in three novels: The Women in White, Lady Audley’s Secret and Fingersmith. A substantial difference between the first two novels and the modern one is the portrayal of sexual orientation, masochism and pornography.