The lunatic Asylums of the late 1800s were cutting edge. They were not the Bedlams of an earlier period, nor the depressing, underfunded institutions of the c20th.
As OC says, mental illness was poorly understood, but they were attempting to find out what caused it, what the symptoms were, how it might be managed. The records, where they survive, are fascinating.
They were particularly successful with mothers, where a good diet and a separation from their husbands and children often gave them the strength to return to a debilitating life.
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The chestnuts cast their flambeaux
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