Case 12.—Charlotte W. Age: 30. Admitted to the Psychiatric Institute October 21, 1905.
F. H. The father was alcoholic and quick-tempered; he died when the patient was a child. The mother was alcoholic and was insane at 40 (a state of excitement from which she recovered). A brother had an attack of insanity in 1915. A maternal uncle died insane.
P. H. The patient was described as jolly, having many friends. She got on well in school and was efficient at her work.
She was married at 23 and got on well with her husband. The latter stated, however, that she masturbated during the first year of her married life. The first child was born without trouble.
First Attack at 25: Two or three days after giving birth to a second child, her mother burst into the room intoxicated. The patient immediately became much frightened, nervous, and developed a depressive condition with crying, slowness and inability to do things. During this state she spoke of being bad and told
her husband that a man had tried to have intercourse with her before marriage. This attack lasted six months and ended with recovery.
When 29, a year before her admission, she had an abortion performed, and four months later another. Her husband was against this, but she persisted in her intention. Seven months before admission she went to the priest, confessed and was reproved. It is not clear how she took this reproof, but at any rate no symptoms appeared until three weeks later, after burglars had broken into a nearby church. Then she became unduly frightened, would not stay at home, said she was afraid the burglars would come again and kill "some one in the house." The patient herself stated later, during a faultfinding period, that at that time she was afraid somebody would take her honor away, and that she thought burglars had taken her "wedding dress." "Then," she added, "I thought I would run away and lead a bad life, but I did not want to bring disgrace to the family."
The general condition which she presented at this time is described as one of apprehensiveness when at home. For this reason she was for five weeks (it is not clear exactly at what period) sent to her sister, where she was better. About a month before the patient was admitted, the husband moved, whereupon she got depressed, complained of inability to apply herself to work, became slow and inactive, and blamed herself for having had the abortion performed. She began to speak of suicide and was committed because she bought carbolic acid. She later said that while in the Observation Pavilion she imagined her children were cut up.
Under Observation the condition was as follows:
1. For the first three days the patient, though for the most part not showing any marked mood reaction, was inclined at times to cry, and at such times complained essentially that this was a terrible place for a person who was not insane.