What was your impression of Saint Agnes's and Opaline's experience there? Have you read/seen anything on the topic of asylums before?

What was your impression of Saint Agnes's and Opaline's experience there? Have you read/seen anything on the topic of asylums before?

I had never heard of a place like that, although I am sure that it is based on fact.

I have read about this “ treatment” before, and am still horrified by it. There are several books out about the horrific conditions in these asylums and of women being incarcerated there. Many women with “ unplanned” pregnancies but also women whose relatives wanted to shut them up, hide them from proper society or simply steal any property or valuable assets they were somehow able to acquire. It’s an awful reminder how those that our society grants innumerable power to can abuse it to the detriment usually of women, children and minorities. Those that the powers that be are all too happy to constrain, control and abuse. Some things never change.

I have not read/seen very much about asylums and gerrieb describes what little I have heard. I may have missed something but I didn't think it was a necessary plot line in the book except to demonstrate how much hatred and power Lyndon had over Opaline.

Saint Agnes’s and the people who ran it and worked there were absolutely horrid. It was so sad that she was kept there for such a long time. I did read One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and watched the movie. Many years ago I saw the movie Snake Pit. I was very young when I saw it and it was frightening.

I recently read a novel called The Foundling, which is based on a true story about an asylum-like facility that existed in the early 20th century. In fact, I have read many books that feature this subject matter over the years and what they all have in common is the mostly abhorrent way "patients" were treated in those facilities, specifically women. St. Agnes's being no exception.

Obviously, St. Agnes’s was a horrible institution though Opaline’s experiences there were somewhat poorly described in my opinion. For example, Mary becomes her only friend and becomes very sick but apparently recovers and then, just her later death is just barely noted. I was aware of this type of institution and the fact that many women were put there for unsubstantiated reasons. I just read a book review of a 1954 book called Beyond the Glass by Antonia White which describes the similar conditions of Bedlam or The Royal Bethlem Hospital in London which could have been the prototype for St. Agnes’s. Mary Todd Lincoln was placed in an asylum and the book Mary, Mrs. A. Lincoln describes a situation not wholly unlike Opaline’s. I also think that the incarcerations of women suffragettes bore many of the same aspects.

Opaline is absolutely my favorite character in this book. Her experience in St. Agnes's, the Connacht District Lunatic Asylum, is horrifying on so many levels. Her powerlessness against the patriarchy and Lyndon totally reflects the inequality women faced and still face. Her initial incarceration and the realization that there was no hope, the abhorrent conditions-lack of appropriate shelter, inadequate clothing and poor diet, the treatment by the staff-including not informing her of her mother's death, and lying to her about her baby, and the fact that it was also a financial windfall for the director are so disturbing. I have not read the many nonfiction books that detail all these types of institutions, but have read of them in newspapers and magazines..so am aware that this happened entirely to frequently to so many women.

The subject of asylums has always interested/horrified me! Compared to other books, I found this to be quite accurate. Also, from personal family stories...it definitely happened; and it was all too common.

If this subject piques your interest, you may like these books:

The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic by Darby Penney & more

What She Left Behind: A Haunting Story of 1920s Historical Fiction by Ellen Marie Wiseman

It made me sick. I have read several books recently about how prevalent this was. If you had money and a female family member that qas a nuisance, it was much to easy to hide them away. It's difficult to think that family and friends didn't try to do more but maybe they did, but power trumped their attempts.

OMGosh what a horrible place. If you look at history there have been hospitals,convents and schools that have operated as deplorable. I think the writer hit the nail on the head in her descriptions of St. Agnes. It definitely made me cringe.

I have not read many books about asylums per se, but I vividly remember reading "The Nickel Boys" by Colson Whitehead. It focuses on a juvenile institution in the south and was based on actual occurrences. Horrific! There was an institution not far from where I grew up on the east coast and even the outside of the building and grounds were frightening to see, barred, grey, dreary. Hopefully, with the evolution of psychiatry and treatment programs, and with protections for patients improving over the years, one would be hard pressed to see today what was described in the book. Thank you to Jessica F for the book suggestions. Perhaps I haven't read much on this before because it is so frightening, but it seems to be worth a try.

I actually found it pretty shocking. I knew of homes where unmarried women went to have their babies, and I knew people were sometimes wrongly committed to asylums, but I think this is the first time I encountered such a blatant attempt to permanently sequester women who didn't conform.

On a side note, did anyone think of Jane Eyre during that section, when Opaline's close friend died at the asylum?

Like so many horrors in life, it is difficult to read about it. However, I appreciated getting a glimpse into that part of history. I wish it was only historical as stories are heard about similar situations worldwide still today. Oppression and control takes many forms.

I think this was a fairly accurate description of what went on in these type of institutions back in the day with little or no oversight. Homes/institutions for unwed mothers, for those with mental problems, orphanages were all about the same in how patients were treated.

For the past six years I have been visiting my daughter and her family, expats, twice a year near Dublin. During these visits I learned about the Mother and Baby homes that existed in Ireland. The Magdelene Laundries, also known as the Magdelene asylums, were institutions usually run by Roman Catholic orders , which operated from the 18th to the late 20th centuries. The history about these homes is tragic and should be read about by all of us. I was shocked that this abuse went on well into modern times. In fact, a formal state apology was not issued until 2013 and by 2022 the government had paid out 33 million euros to 814 survivors. This abusive treatment of unwed pregnant women did not happen only in Ireland. Women are still suffering from abuse and control in many forms all over the globe. What happened to Opaline and is still happening to women breaks my heart.

The asylum section caused me anxiety. Especially because it was so abused by men who misunderstood strong women. I just tried to read The Woman Who Would Not be Silenced and had to save it for another time because it’s a true story and I need some time between this book and that topic. One statement from that book though that resonated was ‘they used to call us witches and now they call us crazy’. This still happens when men try to silence a woman who makes them feel insecure. I loved Opaline’s strong spirit. I hated Lyndon and glad he didn’t get a redemption arc.