Normality Narrative in the Context of the Lunatic Rights Movement

Tomke Hinrichs

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Chapter 8 Normality Narrative in the Context of the Lunatic Rights Movement

In: Narrating the Heritage of Psychiatry

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Tomke Hinrichs

Tomke Hinrichs
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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 143–164

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004519848_010

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Abstract

Around 1900, German psychiatry was in a transition phase. To gain the necessary acceptance from science and also from society, the young medical discipline had to establish itself. Psychiatric patients were supposed to comply with the diagnosis they received from their doctors. But some of them didn’t and tried to obtain society’s support in their own way. I examine the situation of psychiatry and the handling of people, who became “psychiatrised” – meaning people who unwillingly became subject to psychiatric treatments. The focus lies on cases, which are relevant in the context of the lunatic rights movement from the 1890s onwards, where the affected persons were trying to obtain their rights and citizenship back, because they did not only lose certain civil rights, but also were mostly ‘processed’ as objects during the treatment.

Writing pamphlets was one option for patients to try and convince a broader public that they were, in fact, not lunatic. In these pamphlets, they told about their diagnosis and the experiences they had made in asylum. Furthermore, they submitted petitions to some parliaments to get their civil rights back. My research focuses on how these persons were reificated as objects and how they tried to return to themselves/their selves as subjects.

A more extensive question is here the question of normality. Since this enables the writers to find their way into society, they use it as an argument. The normality narrative is the core of my thesis. Some questions are: What does normal mean? How do they try to explain that they are normal? To be “normal” was their way back into society. It meant that they are healthy – not mentally ill – they could be a “normal” member of the society.

In this article I would like to reconstruct some cases and to point out how the writers try to show within the brochures how normal they are. Some questions will be: Which argumentation did they use? Are there similarities to each other? Are there some connections between the different cases?

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Narrating the Heritage of Psychiatry

Series: Narratives and Mental Health, Volume: 1

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004519848

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 09 Oct 2024

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Chapter 8 Normality Narrative in the Context of the Lunatic Rights Movement

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Narrating the Heritage of Psychiatry

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