Mental Illnesses In The 19th Century

The 19th century was a time in history when many new things were happening in the United States and medical marvels happened often. The south was a place specifically prominent where social standings were how people were judged and how one was were treated by people. While mental illnesses have been around forever, the treatment of them, medically and socially, has changed drastically over time. In a “Rose For Emily” William Faulkner tells how the community that Emily Grierson lives in did not speak of or act upon her mental illness because of her social standings and because they felt that mental illness was not considered a medical problem in those times.
Social standings, and the amount of money that one has or family once had was often how people cast their judgement during the 19th century, or before. While this still happens today, the way that one was treated by a community that
If somebody had a mental illness in the 19th century, they were told to be “insane” and they were often kept from the public eye in order to not disappoint their families. By 1850, more than 12% of the population lived in urban settings. New York's population had grown to a half million residents. In the emerging urban-industrial society, caring for insane individuals presented more and greater challenges. In densely populated cities, disturbed and disturbing behavior was more visible and less tolerated. (Smoyak) Families often times disowned family members if they felt that they had a mental illness. In the case of Emily Grierson, she did not show signs of being mentally unstable until after the passing of her father and that is probably what brought on her mental illnesses. Emily didn’t have any family besides her dad and did not have anyone around her except her servant Toby every single