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“Nellie Bly: Standing Up for the Mentally Ill”

Emily Fletcher Junior Division Research Paper

Research Paper Word Count: 2,500

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Introduction

Rays of sunshine tickle your cheek--the only warmth that has reached you in a

week. You bathe in the moment, trying to absorb every last bit. It brings you away from

your torment and into a state of tranquility. However, this doesn’t last. Remembering

that you have been confined to an abusive mental asylum for the past nine days

disheartens your mood, but bolsters your fortitude. The ambition that surges throughout

your body entangles with your stubbornness, creating a wave of willpower.

“I always had a desire to know asylum life more thoroughly - a desire to be convinced that the most helpless of God's creatures, the insane, were cared for kindly and properly .” 1

--Nellie Bly

Nellie Bly-journalist, philanthropist, tycoon, and innovator-inspired thousands through

her writings to take a stand against the treatment of the mentally ill and the facilities that

provided care. Bly’s efforts shed light on a number of perturbing conditions at several

organizations, including carelessness and physical exploitation, and ultimately aroused

a large-scale analysis of the organization as well as much-needed advancements in

health care.

The World

In May 1887, New York City gained a new visitor. Unlike the majority in the late 1800’s,

the individual had no interest in reciting lines for the cinema, but instead had interest in

1 Nellie Bly. Ten Days in a Mad-House , 6.

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writing for one of the Big Apple’s most successful newspaper companies. After a tragic

childhood , Nellie Bly, headstrong and unyielding, moved, as a last hope, to find a job 2

as an investigative journalist.

Though she held her head high, her cash was low. She had no money, little food, and

poor living conditions . She decided her best choice to get a newspaper job was to 3

propose a stunt. Bly marched up to The World’s front door and said she had an

important story to share. She threatened that if they didn’t let her in, she would go 4

somewhere else with it. Nellie quickly found herself in the office of John Cockerill.

Eagerly, Bly ran a number of story ideas past him. Cockerill was no doubt intrigued by

Nellie, but before making any offer to a reporter who was young, relatively

inexperienced, and female, Cockerill knew he had to speak with the publisher, Joseph

Pulitzer. 5

While Nellie waited, Pulitzer and Cockerill planned and debated. Two things were

gaining attention during that time: investigative journalism and Blackwell’s Island . Lots 6 7

of reports were filed stating that abuse was a daily custom on the island, but none could

be confirmed. A stunt reporter, posing as an insane person, could gain admittance to

2 Nellie Bly’s childhood contained the death of her biological father at age 6 and having to see her mother being abused by her stepfather. 3 Fredeen, Charles. Nellie Bly: Daredevil Reporter (Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Company, 2000,) 40. 4 Fredeen, Nellie Bly: Daredevil Reporter , 40. 5 Fredeen, Nellie Bly: Daredevil Reporter , 40. 6 Blackwell’s Island was located in the East River in New York. The mental asylum was located on the island. 7 Fredeen, Nellie Bly: Daredevil Reporter , 40-41.

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the women’s asylum and learn firsthand the truth about life for its inmates. By the time

they finished their meeting, Pulitzer had given Cockerill permission to give Nellie a shot.

Cockerill called Bly back to his office and explained the assignment. Bly knew that if she

succeeded in getting committed to the asylum, no one had an exact plan on how to get

her out. Cockerill also explained to Nellie that this wasn’t a permanent job; he was only 8

trying to see how well she would do.8 He was asking a lot of Bly with little assurance of

reward. Bly, however, thought the assignment was the break she needed. She may

have sensed too, that the story might generate excitement if she succeeded in obtaining

it. She eagerly accepted, and The World had its first stunt girl. 9

The Temporary Home for Females

There was no doubt in mind that Nellie would have to become an actress if she were to

fake her way into an asylum for the insane. She “remembered all I had read of the

doings of crazy people,” Nellie stated. First, she practiced in front of a mirror contorting 10

her face and staggering around in a pretend daze . Secondly, she had to change her 11

name. Cockerill advised her to go by the name “Nellie Brown” so that, if she were

admitted, the laundry markings on her clothes would match the pseudonym initials. 12

8 Fredeen, Nellie Bly: Daredevil Reporter , 41. 9 Fredeen, Nellie Bly: Daredevil Reporter , 42. 10 Bly, Ten Days in a Mad-House , 2. 11 Refer to Figure 1 in Appendix A 12 Bly, Ten Days in a Mad-House , 1.

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After a few days, “Nellie Brown” was ready to emerge. Bly checked into the Temporary

Home for Females, which was a boardinghouse for women . Immediately after dinner 13 14

she began acting the part of a deranged person. She muttered to herself and stared

blankly at the other boarders. Her gibberish and stares worked to such great effect the

one of her fellow guests was “afraid to stay with such a crazy being in the house.” 15

While everyone else was uncomfortable, Nellie Bly was thrilled by the effectiveness of

her acting. She sat up all night, feeling that the “turned-down pages of my life were

turned up.” 16

Court Ruling

The next day, the landlady called the police. They escorted her to Essex Market Police

Court, where crowds of reporters and children were gathering . Nellie’s heart sank as 17

she walked through the crowd to the courtroom where her fate would be decided. 18

During the session, a policeman offered to send her to Blackwell’s Island. Mrs. Stanard,

the landlady, protested, and Nellie “felt like shaking her.” After a bit of talking and 19

questions, the judge, Judge Duffy, concluded that she should have a preliminary exam

at Bellevue Hospital.

13 Refer to Figure 2 in Appendix A 14 Refer to Figure 3 in Appendix A 15 Bly, Ten Days in a Mad-House , 2. 16 Bly, Ten Days in a Mad-House , 3. 17 Refer to Figure 4 in Appendix A 18 Refer to Figure 5 in Appendix A 19 Bly, Ten Days in a Mad-House , 4.

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Tested for Insanity

In total, Nellie was tested three times by three different doctors. They all concluded 20

that she should be placed somewhere “where someone will take care of her.” One of 21

them concluded that it was “softening of the brain” and “sheer delusion.” Nellie Bly 22

knew she had done it--she proved herself insane. It was great news, but at the same

time, heartbreaking.

While in the asylum, Nellie reported that her doctor spent more time flirting with the

nurse on duty. “He gave the nurse more attention than he did me, and asked her six

questions to every one of me. Then he wrote my fate in the book before him.” 23

In the Asylum

On September 27, 1887, Bly was led with other new patients to a wharf in New York

City’s harbor. The new asylum inmates traveled to the island on a crowded, congested

ferry . Bly found the ferry’s cabins oppressive, heavy with stifling air. At one end of 24

Bly’s cabin, a sleeping bunk was so filthy and grimy that Bly had to “hold [her] nose” 25

when she went near it.

20 Refer to Figure 6 in Appendix A 21 Bly, Ten Days in a Mad-House , 6. 22 Refer to Figure 7 in Appendix A 23 Bly, Ten Days in a Mad-House , 9. 24 Refer to Figure 8 in Appendix A, 25 Bly, Ten Days in a Mad-House , 7.

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Ahead of Bly, on the island, the imposing asylum buildings were grand, almost beautiful,

but an oppressive air hung over the people inside. Bly carefully noted everything that 26

went on as several days slipped by. Very little to no entertainment or therapy was

presented, but misery was; Nellie was forced to sit for hours without talking, reading, or

doing anything that might relieve boredom. 27

“I would like the expert physicians who are condemning me for my action, which has proven their ability, to take a perfectly sane and healthy woman, shut her up and make her sit from 6 A. M. until 8 P. M. on straight-back benches, do not allow her to talk or move during these hours, give her no reading and let her know nothing of the world or its doings, give her bad food and harsh treatment, and see how long it will take to make her insane. Two months would make her a mental and physical wreck .” 28

-Nellie Bly

Daily life held many indignities. To bathe, Bly was led naked by female attendants to a

tub. She stood forlorn and shivering, as they threw buckets of ice cold water on her.

With water in her mouth and ears and eyes, the gasping Bly felt as though she was

drowning. “For once,” she wrote when she later described the scene, “I did look insane.”

Perhaps worst of all, Bly witnessed the physical abuse she had heard of; she saw 29

attendants choke, push, and slap patients. She retold one night at the asylum in her

26 Refer to Figure 9 in Appendix A. 27 Nellie, along with the rest of the inmates, were placed in “insane halls” where nurses would monitor them. If anyone was caught doing any activities other than sitting still, they were punished abusively. Refer to Figure 10 in Appendix A to see what an example of an insane hall looked like. 28 Bly, Ten Days in a Mad-House ,12. 29 Bly, Ten Days in a Mad-House ,11.

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book Ten Days in a Mad-House , “After they had gotten all the amusement out of her

they wanted and she was crying, they began to scold and tell her to keep quiet. She

grew more hysterical every moment until they pounced upon her and slapped her face

and knocked her head in a lively fashion. This made the poor creature cry the more, and

so they choked her. Yes, actually choked her. Then they dragged her out to the closet,

and I heard her terrified cries hush into smothered ones. After several hours' absence

she returned to the sitting-room, and I plainly saw the marks of their fingers on her

throat for the entire day.” 30

The food situation in the asylum was absolutely horrendous. Nellie Bly focused a lot

about the food situation in the asylum, by saying, “The eating was one of the most

horrible things. […] Even that was all consumed after two days, and the patients had to

try to choke down fresh fish, just boiled in water, without salt, pepper or butter; mutton,

beef and potatoes without the faintest seasoning. The most insane refused to swallow

the food and were threatened with punishment.” 31

Patients at the asylum were also required to take walks in the pavilion. Even with the 32

fresh air of the outdoors, the experience was just as bad. “Mad! what can be half so

horrible? My heart thrilled with pity when I looked on old, gray-haired women talking

aimlessly to space. One woman had on a straightjacket, and two women had to drag

30 Bly, Ten Days in a Mad-House , 8. 31 Bly, Ten Days in a Mad-House , 7. 32 Refer to Figure 11 in Appendix A.

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her along. Crippled, blind, old, young, homely, and pretty; one senseless mass of

humanity. No fate could be worse,” stated Nellie Bly. 33

Bly also observed her fellow inmates. She began to believe that some of them were not

insane but merely immigrant women who spoke little to no English . These women had 34

been declared insane, Bly believed, because they could not make anyone understand

them. The asylum did not seem to be a hospital at all, but rather a prison for locking

away unwanted and misunderstood people. Bly began to feel that the inmates, including

herself, were caught in a “human rat-trap.” 35

Release

Ten days after Bly had been ferried to Blackwell’s Island, an attorney from The World

arrived . He had come to gain Bly’s release. When he said he found friends to care for 36

Nellie Brown, the asylum released Bly. She was free.

As Bly headed out of the door, she passed fellow inmates who were still imprisoned.

“Sadly I said farewell to all I knew as I passed them on my way to freedom and life,

while they were left behind to a fate worse than death,” she wrote later. 37

Standing Up

33 Bly, Ten Days in a Mad-House , 7. 34 Bly, Ten Days in a Mad-House , 14. 35 Bly, Ten Days in a Mad-House , 16. 36 Noyes, Deborah, Ten Days a Madwoman , (Penguin Random House, 2016,) 62. 37 Bly, Ten Days in a Mad-House , 16.

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On October 9, 1887, the first of two installments of Bly’s story were splashed across five

columns of The World ’s front page . Bly’s eyewitness account of abuses was published 38

under the headline “Behind Asylum Bars.” Bly revealed details about the harsh baths 39

and the rancid food. She told of beatings and of inadequate doctor’s examinations that

left sane women imprisoned. Word of Bly’s shocking exposé traveled, and people

snapped up copies of the newspaper as fast as they could be distributed.

Soon many people began to demand reform. The World’s competitors followed public

view in condemning the treatment of Blackwell’s Island patients. Newspapers 40

throughout the United States featured editorials agreeing with them.

A grand jury convened to look into the situation on Blackwell’s Island. To help the

asylum improve its conditions, jury members recommended increased funding for it.

New York City’s mayor, Abram Hewitt, acted quickly on the recommendation, providing

one million dollars for improvements --money Bly referred to as the “one consolation for 41

my work. ” Just as importantly, abusive nurses and attendants were removed; icy baths 42

and rotten food were eliminated.

38 Noyes, Ten Days a Madwoman , 65. 39 Fredeen, Nellie Bly: Daredevil Reporter , 46. 40 Fredeen, Nellie Bly: Daredevil Reporter , 46. 41 Fredeen, Charles. Nellie Bly: Daredevil Reporter . Minneapolis, Lerner Publications Company, 2000. 42 Bly, Ten Days in a Mad-House , 17.

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As for Bly, she was hired as a full time reporter for the World . She also wrote a book 43

titled Ten Days in a Mad-House which described her undercover experience on 44

Blackwell’s Island. She was invited to speak at meetings and fundraisers throughout

New York. Her appearances generated a great deal of publicity; her name became well

known throughout the country.

Though her time at Blackwell’s was over, her legacy wasn’t. In fact, this was just the

beginning. Bly had become a household name in the United States, but as impressive

as her entrance into journalism had been, she continued to amaze her readers in other

adventures . 45

Impact--Yesterday and Today

Nellie Bly’s writings affected not only the treatment within mental asylums, but how

individuals with mental illnesses were viewed. In the late 1800’s, placing the mentally ill

in facilities allowed members of the general public to avoid the beings that were being

held incommunicado. Asylums were incredibly inhumane in the treatment of their 46

patients. Many of those admitted were abused, abandoned, treated like animals,

restrained with shackles and iron collars, supervised for by untrained staff, and even as

43 Fredeen, Nellie Bly: Daredevil Reporter , 47. 44 “Nellie Bly” Encyclopedia Britannica, accessed January 1, 2017, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nellie-Bly. 45 “Nellie Bly” Encyclopedia Britannica. 46"A Beautiful Mind: The History of the Treatment of Mental Illness." History Cooperative, accessed February 8, 2017, historycooperative.org/ a-beautiful-mind-the-history-of-the-treatment-of-mental-illness/.

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a spectacle for crowds. Their “hysterical” patients were on display like “aberrations” 47

and their more “affable” patients were forced to beg on the streets. Patients who were 48

allowed to be visited by family often begged their families to be discharged, however,

since the current stigma of mental handicaps was so inimical, their pleas would be

disregarded. Treatments in asylums included purging, bloodletting, blistering, dousing 49

patients in either boiling or ice-cold water to “shock” them, sedatives, and using physical

restraints such as straitjackets. 50

“The remembrance of that is enough to make me mad. For crying the nurses beat me with a broom-handle and jumped on me, injuring me internally, so that I shall never get over it. Then they tied my hands and feet, and, throwing a sheet over my head, twisted it tightly around my throat, so I could not scream, and thus put me in a bathtub filled with cold water. They held me under until I gave up every hope and became senseless. At other times they took hold of my ears and beat my head on the floor and against the wall. Then they pulled out my hair by the roots, so that it will never grow in again ." 51

--Nellie Bly

After Nellie Bly disclosed the treatment patients were obtaining, the nation as a whole

reconsidered the way asylums should be run. As the social perspectives and knowledge

have changed, so has the treatment of those afflicted with mental pathologies. Not only

47 "A Beautiful Mind: The History of the Treatment of Mental Illness." History Cooperative. 48 "A Beautiful Mind: The History of the Treatment of Mental Illness." History Cooperative. 49 "A Beautiful Mind: The History of the Treatment of Mental Illness." History Cooperative. 50 "A Beautiful Mind: The History of the Treatment of Mental Illness." History Cooperative. 51 Bly, Ten Days in a Mad-House , 14.

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did Blackwell’s Island reform their methods, but many facilities across the country did as

well.

“Mental illness is not accurately described as a disease of the mind or brain and treatment must attend to the whole patient.” 52

--Eve Leeman

Now, mental hospitals provide the care that the patients need. They have

adequate resting areas, activities for entertainment, nutritious food, and an

accommodating staff for each and every individual. As said by Mayo Health Clinic in

Eau Claire, Wisconsin, “The Inpatient Behavioral Health unit is designed to help you

benefit from evaluation and short-term treatment. Our treatment team includes

board-certified psychiatrists, physicians, nurses, social workers, activity therapists,

certified nursing assistants and chaplaincy.” 53

Through Nellie Bly, we have not only gained better treatments and advanced caretaking

for the mentally ill, but overall as a nation united. We regained our sense of humanity by

looking upon the discarded. By standing up for the mentally ill, Nellie Bly saved

thousands of lives, while inspiring millions.

52 "A Beautiful Mind: The History of the Treatment of Mental Illness." History Cooperative. 53 "Behavioral Health." Mayo Clinic Health System, accessed February 8, 2017, mayoclinichealthsystem.org/locations/eau-claire/services-and-treatments/behavioral-health.

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Appendix A

Figure 1: Nellie Practices Insanity at home.

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Figure 2: At the Temporary Home for Women.

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Figure 3: Nellie’s First Meal at the Home.

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Figure 4: In the Hands of the Police.

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Figure 5:

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Figure 6: An Insanity Expert at Work.

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Figure 7: Positively Demented.

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Figure 8: On Board the Island Boat.

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Figure 9: The Insane Asylum.

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Figure 10: An Insane Hall.

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Figure 11: Quite Inmates Out for a Walk.

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Annotated Bibliography

Primary Sources:

At the Temporary Home for Women . This illustration was used to help the reader

understand what the boardinghouse Nellie went to before being declared insane.

I used this image in my appendix.

Bly Being Examined by a Doctor. I used this image to show the testing processes that

Nellie Bly had to go through to be proven insane. This image is helpful because it

gives the reader a clear understanding of what is going on.

Bly, Nellie. “Behind Asylum Bars.” The World [New York], 9 Oct. 1887. I was so happy

to find this source because it showed me Nellie Bly’s perspective on the case. It

also showed me her writing style and how important her time was.

In the Hands of the Police . This image shows Nellie Bly being escorted to her court

ruling (to be proven insane or not). I used this image in the appendix.

The Insane Asylum . This illustration was very useful in helping visualize how the asylum

on Blackwell’s Island looked. From what we can see in the photo, we can use

that to conclude that the mental institution was deceiving. It helps emphasize on

Nellie Bly’s metaphor of comparing it to a rat trap for humans; although the

outside looks promising and well-kept, the inside held much worse. I used this

illustration so the reader could understand why no one questioned the asylum; it

wasn’t the biggest concern because the outside appearance was promising.

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An Insane Hall . This illustration is shows one of the many “insane halls” that the patients

would have to sit in all day and do nothing but obtain good posture. I used this

source in my appendix.

---. “Inside the Madhouse.” The World [New York], 16 Oct. 1887, p. 25,

www.nellieblyonline.com/images/uploads/1887-10-16_INSIDE_THE_MADHOUSE_cop

y.pdf. Accessed 7 Feb. 2017. While reading this newspaper article, I gained

insight on the treatment and what it was like in the asylum with which Nellie was

placed. I used this to help with my body paragraph #3.

Nellie’s Before Judge Duffy . This illustration was really fascinating to look at because it

covered the hardships and challenges/obstacles she had to face before she even

entered the asylum. It also showed the appearances of the different people

involved in some ways. For example, it showed the clothes in which they wore

(girls wore long and fluffy dresses while men wore suits and bowties) and what

they looked like. This is helpful for the reader because they can connect faces to

names and also see the setup. I used this image when describing how she got

into the asylum.

“Nellie Bly in a Madhouse.” Fitchburg Sentinel [Fitchburg], 10 Oct. 1887. This source

showed me citizen’s outlook on Nellie Bly and how she was thought of. It didn’t

provide me lots of information, but it did give me an understanding of what it was

like.

Nellie’s First Meal at the Home . I used this image to show the reader how Nellie

behaved before acting insane at the boardinghouse. I used this image in the

appendix.

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Nellie Practices Insanity at Home . This picture was very useful as I was able to see how

she practiced for her “performance” at the lady’s home and Blackwell’s Island. I

found the fact that she would grab her hair in order to achieve the level of

craziness she desired. Overall, it was a very helpful picture that I used to explain

how she practiced acting at home. This image was helpful for readers as they

were able to see what actually happened through an image. It was especially

interesting that the picture was published in her book: Ten Days in a Mad-House .

The image brought the reader(s) to the time at which Nellie Bly was writing about

her experience.

On Board the Island Boat . This illustration really emphasized how cramped and

crowded the ferries were to the island. I used this image in my appendix.

Positively Demented . This illustration depicts Nellie when she is getting told she is

“insane”. I used this image in my appendix.

Quiet Inmates for a Walk . This illustration was used to show how the ladies would have

to walk in the afternoons under supervision of strict maidens. I used this image in

my appendix.

---. Ten Days in a Mad-House . When I read Nellie Bly’s book, I could imagine myself

with her in the asylum. She used so many descriptive words and lots of imagery

to make her text come to life. This was the source I benefitted from the most, as

Nellie Bly wrote it (therefore it contains the actual experience) and it focuses on

the asylum alone, not other accomplishments she completed.

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Secondary Sources:

“Behavioral Health.” Mayo Clinic Health System ,

mayoclinichealthsystem.org/locations/eau-claire/services-and-treatments/behavio

ral-health. Accessed 8 Feb. 2017. This source was used to show how mental

hospitals have changed and developed ever since Nellie Bly’s investigative

journaling.

“Elizabeth Jane Cochran, AKA ‘Nellie Bly’ (1864-1922).” National Women’s History

Museum ,

www.nwhm.org/important-links/search/search-results?sa.x=0&sa.y=0&sa=Searc

h&q=nellie+bly&cx=005884227371354842017%3Ahvvegknb8ms&cof=FORID%3

A11&ie=UTF-8. Accessed 7 Feb. 2017. When I read this source, I gained

tremendous insight on her life before her journaling career. I used this

information to help write my first body paragraphs.

Fredeen, Charles. Nellie Bly: Daredevil Reporter . Minneapolis, Lerner Publications

Company, 2000. This book talked about Nellie Bly’s reporting career, as well as

her life. This book was a huge help in getting an understanding on her life.

“History of Mental Health Treatment.” Dual Dignosis ,

www.dualdiagnosis.org/mental-health-and-addiction/history/. Accessed 8 Feb.

2017. This source was helpful as it showed the history of mental health treatment

and how Nellie Bly inflicted changes to be carried out.

Nellie Bly. Encyclopedia Britannica , Britannica. Accessed 1 Jan. 2017. This source

outlined Nellie Bly’s whole life, including her mental institution phenomenon and

her trip around the world. I used this source to get an understanding about her

life and what she did.

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“Nellie Bly (1864-1922).” National Women’s History Museum , Girls Learn International,

www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/youngandbrave/bly.html. Accessed 7 Feb. 2017. I

used this source to get an understanding on how she wrote. I also looked at her

history before her life in the mental asylum. Overall, this source was a great help

to getting information I needed.

Noyes, Deborah. Ten Days a Madwoman . Penguin Random House, 2016. This book

was tremendously helpful. It showed me her entire life in incredible detail. This

source was one of the first that I read.

Stanley, Tasha. “A Beautiful Mind: The History of the Treatment of Mental Illness.”

History Cooperative ,

historycooperative.org/a-beautiful-mind-the-history-of-the-treatment-of-mental-illn

ess/. Accessed 8 Feb. 2017. This source helped me learn how mental facilities

have advanced throughout the years and how Nellie Bly fit into that timeline.

“10 Days in a Madhouse: Nellie Bly’s Living Nightmare.” The Lineup , Open Road

Integrated Media, www.the-line-up.com/nellie-bly/. Accessed 6 Feb. 2017. This

website was very helpful as it clearly showed the horrors that Nellie faced during

her time at the mental asylum. I used this source to mainly emphasize the

treatment she was given.