Marina Riggins 
‘The Woman in White’ by Willkie Collins. Psychiatric care for women during the Victorian era in 19th century English literature 

Essay from the year 2019 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies – Literature, grade: A, Northern Arizona University (College of Arts and Letters Nau), course: ENG 645, language: English, abstract: This essay is about how the psychiatric care for women is represented in 19th century English literature, with focus on the novel “The Woman in White” (Willkie Collins).

In order to properly identify the problematic evolving around the psychiatric care for women during the 19th century England. It is very important to explore socio-political factors and the actual mind set of the people in the Victorian era, their morals and values. Furthermore, how these so-called asylums emerged in a greater scale. Psychiatric care for women, exercised in the lunatic asylums, was not medically based, but influenced by social norms and beliefs.

This matters also reflected in 19th century English literature. Themes involving the disposition of women in asylums were central to many of the sensational novels emerging during the 19th century. Among others Willkie Collins’ novel “The Woman in White” suggests another reason: thieving inheritance from women by abusing the lunacy law in England. The novel outlines very disturbing facts concerning the general treatment of women by society, where for a number of reasons, they could be easily disposed in asylums, labeled as mental patients.