Ep. 007 – Rest Cures
The Rest Cure was a medical treatment combining various physical and mental treatments as well as a surprising diet. When Elizabeth continued to suffer side effects from a bout with typhoid, she undergoes a couple of rest cures. Out of those experiences came a novel, A Dark Lantern: A Story with a Prologue, that would be made into a film in 1920 starring Alice Brady and James Crane.
Related links & resources
Listen to the full episode: Spotify | Apple Music | Amazon
At Chinsegut, we have a cabinet filled with medical devices and medicine bottles collected by Dr. Dennis Gonzalez, a family practice physician in Brooksville and donated by his family following his death. From those ominous brown bottles lacking in labels, to miracle cure tonics, to the fancy contraption that shot out blades to bleed you so you don’t need leeches, the cabinet is a testament to the ever changing world of medical science.
Elizabeth’s diaries outline many different medical treatments she underwent over her ninety years of life, but few are more interesting than the rest cures she took in both the United States and Europe. She wrote, “I, being still invincibly determined to live - survived that grim experience.” Charlotte Gilman Perkins in her short story, The Yellow Wallpaper, seemed to share Elizabeth’s perspective, as did Virginia Woolf in her novel, Mrs. Dalloway. And yet the treatment continued for decades.
Watching Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, provided me another example of a medical practice we now disparage. The treatment for King George’s “madness” would today be labled torture and nothing remotely helpful for body or mind. Yet at the time, the torture wasn’t seen as cruelty but as necessary to helping someone become healthy.
Medical practices have changed quite a bit since Elizabeth Robins’ day, but certainly have not been perfected. No doubt 50 years from now practices seen as helpful will be looked back on as barbaric as scientists further research various ailments and diseases. May we continue to recognize the good, the bad, and the unhelpful ways we try to bring healing to our bodies, and be willing to change course as needed.
- Natalie
Want more? Connect with us at:
Credits:
References to Elizabeth Robins work printed/quoted with kind permission of Independent Age (Registered Charity No. 210729). Visit www.independentage.org to learn more.
Producer & Editor Lief Thomason, Odd Life Studios
Recorded at Profound Revelation Studios
Graphic Designer Barry Meindl, DaBarr Design
Web Designer and Social Media Manager Allisa Babor, Roots Creative Co
“Time is Whispering” Writer and Recording Artist Randi Olsen, Live Oak Theatre
Grant funding assistance by Florida Humanities
Rights to Elizabeth Robins materials owned by Independent Age
Host Natalie Kahler Natalie Kahler | Facebook
