bedlam; bellatrix lestrange

day 58 : treatment 6

scoff at me in derision,

blame my cervix; use it as the reason

     for why i "can't" control my emotions

     why i am prone to lunacy

     why i am too delicate, too weak, too sensitive

please, i beg you then

     tell me what to do

     tell me what to do.

because i don't know any better,

     do i?

⊆ ♠ ⊇

tear me open,

rearrange my organs,

     why don't you!

first, stab the needle in me,

wait for my eyelids to fall heavy,

     why don't you!

then carry on diligently,

i commend you, sincerely,

for curing me of this malady:

     insanity!

╓┈♔◦☓◦☙◦♔◦☙◦☓◦♔┈╖
gynaecological surgery
╙┈♔◦☓◦☙◦♔◦☙◦☓◦♔┈╜

     throughout history, women have always been seen as weaker and overly sensitive and this is no different when it came to diagnosis and treatments in mental asylums. often, when women displayed "unusual" actions that seemed unfitting for their gender, they would be categorized as unstable and then thrown into an asylum.
     from potentially as early as the time of the ancient egyptians, women were thought to suffer from strangulation of the womb (i'm guessing this arose from menstrual cramps women would experience). thus, the uterus was perceived to be different from other organs, not unlike a animal starving for motherhood.
     this misunderstanding of the uterus then further supported the idea that women were made for motherhood only, because if they were pregnant, that would satiate the uterus. it was postulated that if the uterus was not satisfied, then the uterus would start moving around in the body, leading to all sorts of illnesses, insanity included. this led to the idea of gynaecological surgery, in which surgeons attempted to rearrange the uterus back to its "original place" and cure the person of lunacy.
     if you read this far down, i commend you. sorry this is so long. take care all.