Introduction
When this show opened, St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C., was a haven and a place of treatment for those who had mental health challenges(Adelaide Hall Asylum). Adelaide V Hall was one of them, whose biography would alter the direction of the understanding of mental disorders and the possibilities of art in the treatment of diseases. Adelaide was incredibly talented, and while she lived at the hospital, she made a piece of lace artwork that no one had seen before, and it was to depict the years of horror and anguish that she thought were her life. This complex and enigmatic composition, which depicted impenetrable characters and multiple references, would not only help her to express herself, but it would also become one of the primary tools of her psychoanalytic therapy with Dr. Arrah B. Evarts. The story of Adelaide Hall has been narrated in the film “The Secret of St. Elizabeths,” and it is a tragic story of the hopes, despair, and struggles of a woman who was looking for treatment and cure for her mental illness at the large mental hospital St. Elizabeths Hospital.
Adelaide’s Lace Artwork
The one single material or souvenir stemming from Adelaide Hall’s time at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital is lace artwork—extremely detailed—that she fashioned during her time at the facility. This is an outstanding work adapted to measure 3 by 5 feet in eastern size as evidence of Adelaide’s creativity and talent, as well as her emotional struggles.
The lace consists of a multitude of thin threads that are mutually interwoven to create a cloth with numerous obscure figures and designs. Straight away, one might consider it an art piece with a pleasant, sophisticated design with subtle signification on its surface.
As for the figures woven in the lace, they are human-like, but they may also symbolize more abstract shapes and motifs. The figures are of people who might be in sexual relationships, while others are depicted as those who are in discomfort or are angry. The impression that remained is that of a woman’s story, that of an emotional nature, which becomes the physical material of the lace.
Adelaide’s woven attire art continues to tell a rich story of the imitative force of art in the healing of the soul. By weaving delicate crafts, she was able to embody the ideas of herself that she had in her mind as well as the emotions and events that took place in her life, allowing her to give a solid, artistic form to her inner life. This lace symbolizes one of the most important facets of man’s character: the strong ability to create, even when one is faced with inhumane conditions.
Therapeutic Approach by Dr. Arrah B. Evarts
Doctor Arrah B. Evarts, who was among the few female psychiatrists in the country at the time, treated Adelaide at St. Elizabeths Hospital. Evarts was a psychoanalyst who employed various techniques to delve into the thoughts, emotions, dreams, and preoccupations of the patient in order to discover the sources of the problem.
It was in these sessions with Adelaide that Evarts insisted that her fears be voiced over the depicted figures in her big beaded lace picture. With these and other numerological associations, Evarts hoped to penetrate into the inner life of the main character and the causes of her mental ailment.
This selfishness caused David to reveal desires, traumas, and conflicts Adelaide was struggling to come to terms with. She often mentioned hesitancy for marriage, sex, temptation and sins, and religion, and she also described her difficult childhood when she was raped by her father. And these are such traumatic experiences that shaped the patterns in the lace artwork of a woman.
As a pioneering feline of its generation, Evarts endeavored to comprehend and translate Adelaide’s mental health in light of female sexuality. The Psychoanalytic Review presented her work, Adelaide’s lace, and their conversation to improve mental health treatment for psychiatric patients, shown in October 1918.
Essentially, Adelaide’s psychoanalytic therapy was intended as a process that would allow her to face her repressed desires, work them through, and find meaning for them in art. The consequences of the sessions, which took place in the case of Adelaide with Evarts, are still far from clear, but, at the same time, the author offers an example of how art can be applied in practice and how patient-oriented work can be effective.
Adelaide’s Traumatic Past
In the painting of the artwork ‘Lace’ by Adelaide Hall and in the interview with her therapist, Dr. Arrah B. Evarts, there is a clear indication that the childhood of Adelaide Hall was full of physical and sexual abuse by the father. These details were in her presentations to Evarts, as her father was a cruel and mean man who would regularly flog her whenever he was drunk. She did not acknowledge him with the appropriate endearment that would be termed “father”; instead, she had to address him as “Mr. ”Hall” or other names.
Eventually, the main character of the film, Adelaide, found herself having to live in the barn, where she had to share the bed with her father and brother. Abuse and incest in her childhood significantly affected the designs she made while working on the lace work. The souls in the laces seem to have fascination with marriage, lust, trespass, and the church, which may portray the torment she underwent.
”You know, one of the main characters in the story has the name “Mr.” Newer works include plays such as “The Great God Pan,” “Bunbury,” or, more commonly, “The One Man,” which is associated with the role of Adelaide’s father. The lace also drew characters from nursery rhymes such as Jack and Jill that, in Evarts’ analysis, represented characters from the Bible and even Queen Victoria. It is thus understandable for Adelaide to struggle with multifaceted internalization that comprises various symbols reflecting her desires, conflicts, and traumas.
Despite some cases where people know few details about Adelaide’s ordeal at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, her lace artwork and the understanding that Dr. Evarts gives are powerful evidence of how a traumatic childhood affected Adelaide’s sanity and her artwork. Each individual piece of lace embodies a symbol of struggle and the human spirit.
Evolution of Adelaide’s Mental State
This paper seeks to present Dr. Arrah B. Evarts’ case records of Adelaide V. Hall, a female patient who faced a total transformation of her mental health status while at St. Elizabeths Hospital. Based on the full story that Evarts tells and Adelaide’s personal recollections, this story provides a grim testimony of a woman in search of therapy for post-trauma stress and major mental disturbance.
Adelaide skirts, created with detailed and enigmatic motifs depicting various characters and symbols, can be regarded as an attempt to turn a new leaf and become creative in the face of confinement. Meticulously moving from one side of the material to the other, Adelaide spread designs on the material; she didn’t aim for a precise placement; this brief display was a brief escape from her turmoil.
But I must also note that this period of relative serenity did not last long, as what followed was quite the opposite for Adelaide—it was a state of deep sorrow and mental turmoil. Evarts described that Adelaide had glimmers of a range of emotions, such as excitement, aggression, and even deep sorrow, which explained the nature of her mental instability.
The burnt lace as the main artwork is also used to express the imagery of Adelaide, even in her dreams, to depict Mr. Hall as the father abusing her. The detailed depictions of the marriage license and the fateful sin through the symbolic characters symbolized in Adelaide’s personality what her troubled past was seared into her mind.
Taking into consideration of the painting and the sessions with Dr. Evarts, Adelaide can be recognized as the victim of trauma whose case presents a complex relation between art and mental health. The mental state of the protagonist, adopted as Adelaide, during the stay in St. Elizabeths Hospital shows that mental disorders are not a simple concept and that the current problems as well as creativity could be greatly influenced by one’s past.
Legacy and Preservation
Adelaide Hall’s asylum experience is a crucial part of cultural history and solely for that reason, it deserves to be preserved for future generations to understand and appreciate.
The experience of Adelaide Hall and her lace artwork at St. Elizabeths Hospital and subtle narrative in the early centuries has changed the way how psychiatric treatment and art was considered and used. Even with the destruction of many patient records in the 1970s, much about Adelaide’s mental state remains unknown, however with the aid of her lace and the help of the information given by her psychologist Dr. Arrah B. Evarts it is possible to be let into the life of a psychiatric patient in the seventies.
In this regard, the artwork of lace left in Adelaide at the National Museum of Health and Medicine has been preserved so that her legacy can continue to be brought up in the study of the future generation. The lace raised erotic connotations and mysterious figures symbolism of it in the picture contribute to the work and function as a clue to understanding the depth of the influence that the past events and traumas left on Adelaide’s psychology.
Adelaide Hall’s work, through the photographs that were taken of her in concentration camp, and through the documentation by Dr. Evarts on the Psychoanalytic Review, Hall’s legacy is a triumph of the human spirit even in the face of despair, suffering, and death. This story also focused on the avenues to respect those going through this ordeal, the relationship people have with art when going through the ordeal and how art form could be a way of treating the condition.
Continually throughout the middle of the twentieth century, mental health continues to be a difficult subject to discuss and is also an area which still requires patient centrism even as the world advances while Adelaide Hall’s time in the asylum serves as the reminder of accomplishments made and more needs to be done. It is crucial to understand that the stories of those with mental disorder should be saved and shared for the sake of both honoring the individuals and striving to create the acceptance and better quality of life for future generations of mentally ill people.
Conclusion
Adelaide Hall’s story in this way serves as a lifeline and social documentation of the realities of the asylum (Adelaide Hall Asylum) and mental health from her time at St. Elizabeths Hospital –pieced together and embodied through her beautiful lace and artwork then psychoanalysis with Dr. Arrah B. Evarts. There is not much information regarding Adelaide as the patient files were destroyed, but her story should be considered as engaging and informative to the audience as the story of patients in the beginning of the twentieth century who was struggling to stay mentally stable and to find the necessary medical help.
Adelaide’s lace artwork at the National Museum of Health and Medicine is meaningful as it means that she can touch and be seen as a reminder that there was a person inside of her; that trauma and mental health need to be understood and properly framed. By allowing Dr. Evarts to publish his analysis of Adelaide’s artwork and continuing to investigate the artwork, Adelaide’s story helps society to learn and understand a human being’s life, as well as the significance of the ability to empathize and respect patients in the field of mental health.
When considering Adelaide Hall and the struggles that she encountered in her live are, one is left with the sentiments of understanding human strength and the impact of creativity in facing life challenges. Keeping Adelaide’s memory alive and chronicling her story to transform the culture and continue the process of destigmatization for any people with mental health disorders in the modern world is a great way to improve ourselves and turn a new page in history. The brief encounter experienced by Adelaide Hall in an asylum will remain inspiring and compelling for one to avoid giving up on the process of regard, cure, and compassion towards mental health.
