Writing out (of) Darkness: The Bastilles of England; or the Lunacy Law at Work by Louisa Lowe (1883)

The first part of the
essay traces the history of internment in Victorian England. The
reconstruction is undoubtedly cultured and detailed starting from the
examination of the Madhouses Act of 1774 and its consequences on the care of
the mentally ill.The study is dedicated in particular to Louise Lowe,
interned for the first time in 1870. The case study is appropriate with
respect to the purpose that the author of the essay proposes: to analyze how
Lowe derived from the experience of her “incarcerations” some
denunciatory writings and how Lowe contributed with the foundation of the
Lunacy Law Reform Association (LLRA) to the improvement of the living
conditions of the mentally ill. Lowe’s writing cited in the title is in
fact accurately described through the metaphor of prison, the stigma on
health and the trade that came from it.