Quote:A History of Criminalized Rest

For much of American history, menopause wasn’t just misunderstood; it was criminalized. In the 1800s and early 1900s, physicians routinely diagnosed middle-aged women with “climacteric insanity.” Symptoms included unrefreshing sleep, hot flashes, heartburn, and “inattention to ordinary domestic affairs.” The cure? Institutionalization. A husband’s word could land a woman in an asylum with no trial or formal diagnosis required.
The diaries women wrote from inside these institutions are harrowing. Mary Huestis Pengilly, a 59-year-old teacher and mother of six, lost her daughter and home. When she told her doctor she needed “good food and rest,” she was committed to St. John’s Lunatic Asylum. Her hidden diary describes acute neglect and abuse.