How to Take Action Like Nellie Bly

Believe you can and then try like Nellie Bly

Disclosure: There are some affiliate links below, and I may receive commissions for purchase made through the links in the post. However, these are products I highly recommend. I won’t list anything I haven’t tried and found personally useful.

Do you think humans learn from the past, or are we doomed to repeat ourselves? And how does this concept apply to you?

We have much to learn from those who came before, but it takes attention to pick up the wisdom. A lot of the potential for learning comes by how history is packaged, and story helps make it meaningful. If you could use a shot of courage to take action in your life—to reach and have courage—then read on and meet our history hero Nellie Bly.

Nellie became the first investigative female journalist in the late 1800s. By way of a mix of personal belief in herself, and genuine moxie, she persisted to become a famous reporter.

Without formal training as a journalist Nellie cultivated her skill on the job. And in spite of the reality she was a “second-class citizen,” (aka female) she made a name for herself and helped improve the lives of others as well.

When we left off in our last post, Nellie had worked for a Pittsburgh newspaper and wrote articles that drew attention to the plight of women who worked in factories. (Conditions were terrible.)

However, within a few months of writing groundbreaking features, the editor relegated Nellie to writing articles for the women’s section. She was determined she could do better and decided to head to New York City for more opportunities.

Tenacious and young Nellie Bly

A CRAZY ASSIGNMENT

Nellie secured a job with The New York World newspaper in 1887 at the age of 23. For her first assignment, the editor wanted her to go undercover as a patient into the New York Lunatic Asylum at Blackwell’s Island for a week and report what she experienced.

Treatment for the mentally ill in the 19th century was nonexistent. Nothing was understood of mental illness, and institutional care available was downright scary. Think dark Charles Dickens digs and you get the idea. The public feared the mentally ill, which is why the city worked diligently to have them removed from society and placed in institutions.

The conditions at the New York Asylum were suspected of being horrible based on unvalidated reports. However, most inspections revealed few infractions because the staff were warned ahead of time. The lack of transparency about what was going on inside led the editor of the World to suggest Nellie go incognito as a patient into the asylum.

Both the editor and Nellie wondered if she had the courage to take on the challenge. She would have to deploy enough dramatic skill to persuade others she was insane. She thought convincing others would be difficult, especially when she was in front of skilled doctors and staff.

Plus, Nellie would be in harrowing circumstances, dangerous conditions mixed with those who were truly insane. The editor pondered, could she “chronicle faithfully the experiences she underwent and describe the asylum’s inner workings which were always hidden by white capped nurses as well as by bolts and bars?”

With what became her characteristic bravado, Nellie asserted she could take on this challenge, and she committed to the project. Interestingly, she agreed to the work even though she wasn’t sure how the newspaper would get her out after a week.  

PLAYING INSANE

Nellie began her journey to get into the asylum by practicing her insane look in front of a mirror. Wide-eyed with a vacant stare she figured she looked the part, and even decided to stay awake for a night to help add to her look of delirium. If you’ve ever had a night or two without sleep, you know how nutty it can make you feel!

Nellie leveraged her exhaustion, put on conspicuously old clothes, and under the alias of Nellie Brown rented a room at a boarding house for women. Establishments like this boarding house were common for women who worked in the factories and elsewhere in the city. Nobody knew her, and she could display herself as confused and sad in the setting for full effect.

The matron of the house took Nellie’s money and placed her in a shared room with a roommate who already found Nellie to be odd. She began her performance immediately feigning melancholy and general bewilderment enough that she freaked the other woman out.

Secretly, Nellie had feared that, given she was sane, she would be found out as faking insanity—but she need not have worried thanks to the treatment of women at the time. Nobody wanted anything to do with someone behaving strangely, especially not of the female sort, and so the matron called the authorities the very next day.

THE PLOT OF INSANE THICKENS

Once in custody Judge Duffy presided over Nellie who was questioned. After a discussion about her accent (the assumption was that she came from Cuba), a spokesperson urged the judge: “Here is a woman who does not know who she is or where she came from. You should tend to this at once.” At every turn of Nellie’s experience, it was always males in charge who made the decisions.

A drawing depicting Nellie being examined for sanity by doctors. c. 1887

Duffy still felt Nellie’s accent and clothes were too fine for her to be without some family. A doctor was called in to assess Nellie’s health. She was afraid she would be found out by a professional but after the physician checked her tongue, her heart rate, and the dilation of her pupils, he concluded she was deranged, and Nellie was taken to Bellevue Hospital.

At the hospital other doctors questioned Nellie, but she refused to answer questions most of the time, and the order was given to take her to the insane pavilion. Nellie discretely interviewed other women at the hospital. She found a few who didn’t understand why they were detained, and felt they were as sane as her.

For example, one woman, a Miss Nevel, a chamber maid became ill due to overwork. She was sent to a nun’s home for care. Her nephew, a waiter, was out of work and unable to send money for her to stay at the nunnery, so Nevel was sent to the asylum at Bellevue.

Nellie soon discovered that Nevel’s story was similar for many women for whom being poor, female, and often an immigrant were all the authorities required to deem someone insane. And once labeled a lunatic, there was no way to prove one’s sanity.

After a couple of days at Bellevue, and further evaluations by doctors, Nellie succeeded in her role and was sent with other women by boat to Blackwell’s Island.

THE DARK CONFINES OF BLACKWELL’S ISLAND

The history of Blackwell’s dates to 1828 when New York City purchased the East River island. By 1832, a penitentiary was built there to isolate prisoners from the rest of the city. Over time, a complex of other buildings was established, including workhouses, a general hospital, almshouse, and a hospital for incurables—i.e., the mentally ill and physically disabled.

The risk of this venture for Nellie can’t be overstated. During the 1800s, psychiatrists or “alienists” as they were often called were frequently deployed in situations (including domestic ones) to police women who fell out of step with the social expectations of the day.

A husband, for example would hire a psychiatrist, to evaluate an unruly wife and then have her institutionalized. In an article by The Atlantic, one woman, a mother of six named Elizabeth Packard, grew fed up with her husband’s Calvinist ways and decided she wanted to attend the Methodist church instead.

Packard’s husband had her imprisoned as a lunatic with the assist of an alienist. She spent three years in an asylum before her grown son claimed her. Most women, as Nellie soon discovered, found little hope of ever being released once diagnosed insane.

INSANE TREATMENT

At Blackwell’s Nellie experienced the treatment received by all new inmates—from the removal of all her clothes and personal items, to the cold bath and first rough scrub down by a woman on bath detail.

Primitive and thin clothing were doled out, and all the women were ushered off in wet bodies and clothes to be housed in the women’s section of the facility.

Beyond the cold temps and the frigid baths was the food which was nearly inedible. Often rancid and unpalatable, even healthy women could hardly eat the food provided. And for the truly medically ill, the poor diet was a guarantee of further decline and death.

The prevailing opinion of the staff was that charity by definition meant the recipients were undeserving. The basics given could be less than minimal because those people receiving them were of no value.

Nellie detailed the types of questions—often nonsensical—women were asked by physicians in her ward at Blackwell’s. She described the use of drugs such as laudanum which was opium to keep the inmates in a stupor much of the time.

Once Nellie was in the asylum she decided to behave her normal sane self while there. She questioned doctors about the care, often at her peril.

What Nellie found especially difficult were the days of doing nothing, with no reading or activities other than the work the inmates did for the asylum like factory labor. She understood that being sane was of no help to anyone who had been sent to Blackwell’s under false pretenses.

Nellie found that it was the drudgery of each day with no hope of ever being freed that was enough to bring otherwise healthy women into mental despair and anguish. And the futility of trying and prove one’s sanity was an inescapable part of the system. Most women knew their only way out was by death.

TORTURE AT BLAKWELL’S

Nellie reported torture conducted by nurses and matrons of the asylum. She told of stories from other women about beatings and being tortured by choking and saw the evidence of the injuries from these beatings firsthand.

And for those who were mentally ill, Nellie described how the nurses would torment and tease them for entertainment. There was no treatment for the insane, only a setting that agitated unhealthy minds.

Most of these behaviors were secreted away from the superiors. Any woman who complained could find herself noted a troublemaker and perhaps labeled criminally insane. The penalty for the criminally insane was harsher imprisonment and more aggressive torture.

NELLIE’S NEXT CHAPTER

Fortunately for Nellie, she was rescued from the Blackwell’s by means of a “family member” who came to accept responsibility for her. Nellie went on to write “Ten Days in a Mad House” which was acclaimed in its day, widely read, and made her famous.

Nellie’s findings received such wide attention that they were presented to a grand jury investigation exploring the care of the mentally ill. Due to Nellie’s reporting and testimony, a million dollars was awarded by the city for treatment of the insane, and improvements were made in the New York asylum.

Nellie’s success in her undercover work, and the resulting book launched the beginning of shock or sensational journalism. For Nellie, there would be another famous adventure that sent her packing on a trip around the world. We’ll talk about her record-breaking travel experience in our next installment.

Take a leap of faith in yourself like Nellie Bly

WHAT IS NELLIE SAYING FOR YOU?

Today our society still struggles to appropriately care for those suffering with mental illness, but we’ve come a long way from the days of insane asylums in the 1800s.

What can Nellie’s story teach us about courage and action? She acted out of necessity, and she didn’t let gender or education hold her back from trying in a field that had been for males only.

Nellie was a single young woman in the 1800s who needed to find work, and traditional women’s work wasn’t going to suffice. She put her neck on the line to become a journalist, but more than that she made an impact for others such as the women in the asylum.

Nellie’s story reminds us that to be fearful and move forward anyway can yield powerful results. Where in your life could you channel a bit of Nellie Bly? 

Would you like some Nellie on display to remind you of her great story? Check out our printable Nellie Bly history hero cutout! You can download and print our figure of her, apply some of your craft energy, and place her wherever you’d like to be reminded you have courage, too.

If you’d like to listen to Nellie’s account of her experience in “Ten Days In A Mad-House,” check out the version available at Audible. Listening to audible books is one way I enjoy more books than I could manage to read. Plus, you can take in a book while doing other things which just makes you feel super-efficient, or lounge and listen. 

photo credits

Blackwell’s Island New York Public Library

Photo by Photo by Michael Baldovinos on Unsplash

Sherry and Alexandra Borzo together in Lima, Peru

Sherry is the founder of Storied Gifts a personal publishing service of family and company histories. She and her team help clients curate and craft their stories into books. When not writing or interviewing, Sherry spends loads of time with her grandchildren and lives in Des Moines, Iowa.

STORIED GIFTS SHOP

Need a beautiful infusion of inspiration for your storied life? Please check out the Storied Gifts Shop where we offer Wearable Wisdom & Daily Inspirations.

The shop is a mother and daughter venture for Sherry and Alexandra Borzo of Content In Motion. They both work to help their client's stories sing. The shop is their effort to inspire a focus on healthy minds for everyone through positive thought.

LET’S BE FRIENDS

Please like the Storied Gifts Facebook page. We offer tips and inspirations to help you tell your stories and live a storied life by harnessing your healthy mind through the power of the thoughts you choose.