Thanks JP for this info on how baths were used to treat the mentally ill during the early parts of the 20th century... and what this has to do with Blanche. Great AO3!
What is Hydrotherapy?
University of Western Ontario Library
Caltech Article on Hydrotherapy
“The first widely acknowledged effective
somatic therapy of the twentieth century was hydrotherapy. Introduced into
state hospitals throughout the United
States in the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries, this therapy consisted of a number of devices and
techniques that employed water. The two most frequently used forms of
hydrotherapy were the continuous bath and the wet sheet pack (Baruch, 1920;
Finnerty & Corbitt, 1960; Wright, 1940)… Continuous baths required more
elaborate devices than did wet packs. The baths most often consisted of a tub
with an inlet for hot water and an outlet to drain the water. Attendants placed
the patient in the hammock to which he or she was fastened. Attendants then
covered the tub and patient with a canvas sheet that had a hole for the
patient's head to go through. A series of valves and temperature gauges allowed
the attendant to regulate both temperature and water flow. A single treatment
could last anywhere from hours to days.”
NYU commentary on Streetcar
“is aware she has
got to “keep ahold of myself” (p. 10). She won’t be seen in the light, indulges
in a nip (or two) of liquor, and soothes herself with therapeutic baths
(hydrotherapy had been a popular 19th-century treatment for anxiety)”
“the text fully
supports a diagnosis of severe Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (plus Histrionic
Personality Disorder and Alcohol Abuse) the film appears to suggest that
Blanche is suffering from a psychotic disorder (i.e. schizophrenia).
Practically speaking, it can still be tricky to differentiate between the two.
Actually, if one imagines that Stanley’s explosive behavior is the result of
war trauma, a case might be made that there are two characters here who are
suffering from PTSD. “
From Guy Class MD, MFA
NYU school of medicine:
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