Book Review: The Woman They Could Not Silence
Be ready to be infuriated, riveted, and inspired. The Woman They Could Not Silence is a true story about Elizabeth Packard, a woman whose husband committed her to an insane asylum – for the crime of publicly disagreeing with him.
Elizabeth Packard was a housewife and mother of six who lived in Illinois in the 1860s. She was thoughtful, intelligent, and independent. After 21 years of marriage, her husband Theophilus has Elizabeth committed to the Jacksonville Insane Asylum. Theophilus, a local preacher, has been feeling increasingly threatened by his wife’s opinions about religion and child-rearing, and he believes that an asylum is the only way to silence her. So, he arranges for a local doctor to falsify a report on her mental health and has the county sheriff take her into custody.
As horrific as this whole situation is, Elizabeth quickly realizes that she’s not the only one to experience it. The Jacksonville Insane Asylum is full of sane, rational women whose husbands and families have tried to hide them away. Elizabeth observes the inhumane conditions inside the hospital, and the horrible way that the patients are treated for their “sickness.” Overseeing the asylum is Dr. Andrew McFarland, a man who may be even more dangerous than her own tyrant of a husband.
No one – not Dr. McFarland, the asylum employees, the community, her friends, or even her family – are willing to fight for Elizabeth. She and the other patients have been labeled “insane” and “crazy” so that their voices and needs can be ignored. No one wants to support these disenfranchised women. So, Elizabeth decides to fight for her own freedom and rights. She refuses to be silenced. Her work and words bring justice to those in the Jacksonville Insane Asylum, and eventually, make a long-lasting impact within the fields of US law and medical science.
Elizabeth Packard fought against the 19th-century laws that gave men a shocking amount of power over their wives. Readers may be surprised to learn about the state and federal laws concerning property ownership, child custody, and forced confinement (not to mention all of the gender-based social norms of the day). Elizabeth’s journey takes place in 1860s Illinois, but many of the themes of gender and discrimination could have been pulled from today’s headlines. To reinforce this idea, author Kate Moore transposes Elizabeth’s story with modern quotes about gender, politics, and equal rights.
While most of the story focuses on Elizabeth’s time within the Jacksonville Insane Asylum, readers learn that Elizabeth later becomes an advocate for the rights of those accused of insanity, as well as the founder of the Anti-Insane Asylum Society. Throughout her life, she also campaigns for divorced women to retain custody of their children. With The Woman They Could Not Silence, author Kate Moore highlights Elizabeth Packard’s amazing journey and her contributions to modern medical treatments and current laws on gender equality. Moore incorporates Elizabeth’s own speeches, articles, and diary entries to illustrate her passion and intelligence.
Kate Moore is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. Readers may know Moore’s previous work, Radium Girls, which is the true story of the women who suffered deadly injuries and diseases due to their exposure to radium at US dial-painting factories. Those courageous women fought a groundbreaking legal battle for workers’ rights and found themselves in one of the biggest industrial scandals in 20th century America. (It’s another highly-recommended read). Like Radium Girls, Moore’s book The Woman They Could Not Silence illustrates the inspiring strength of those who find themselves in impossible situations. Elizabeth’s bravery and tenacity helped shape a better life for herself, her fellow asylum patients, and for US women – for decades to follow. This book helps preserve her remarkable story.
Reviewers Note: If you’re the type of reader of likes to “go down the research rabbit hole” when you start a documentary or biography – try to stay strong and avoid the independent study. Elizabeth Packard is an unlikely hero who dealt with a seemingly endless amount of life’s obstacles. While you can find information about Elizabeth online, it will spoil some of the more shocking and disturbing moments that Kate Moore so carefully recreates. And there’s a lot of them.
The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear
By Kate Moore
Blackstone Publishing, June 2021
ISBN: 781492696728
This book review originally appeared in the October 2022 issue of the Georgia Bar Journal.
