ble was physical
and then agreeing that it had been mental. When asked
whether she was happy or sad, she said "happy," but gave
objectively no evidence of elation. Her orientation was
defective. She spoke of being in New York and on
Blackwell's Island, but could not describe what sort of
place she was in, saying merely that it was "a good place,"
or "a nice country place," again "a good city." Once when
immediately after her name L. had been spoken and she was
asked what the place was, she said "The L." She knew that
she had arrived in the hospital that day but said that she
had come from Cleveland, and to further questions, that she
had come by train, but she could not tell how she reached
the Island. She claimed not to know what the month was and
guessed that the season was either spring or autumn
(August). She gave the year as 1917, called the doctor "a
mentalist," and the stenographer "a tapper," or "a mental
tapper." She twice said she was single. When asked directly
who took care of her, said "Mr. Marconi," who she claimed
at another time had brought her to the hospital. To the
question, who is he? she replied, "Wireless," and could not
be made to explain further. That night she urinated in her
bed, and later lay quite limp, again held her legs very
tense.
For five days she remained lying quietly in bed for the
most part, although once she called out "Come in, I am
here," "Jimmie, Jimmie" (husband's name). Several times she
threw her bed clothes off. Otherwise she made no attempt to
speak and took insufficient food unless spoon-fed. At one
examination she looked up rather dreamily but did not
answer. When shaken she breathed more quickly and seemed
about to cry but made no effort to speak. When left to
herself she closed her eyes and did not stir when told she
could go back to the ward. She was then lifted out of her
chair and took a step or two and stopped. Such urging had
to be repeated, as she would continue to remain standing,
looking about dreamily, although finally when taken hold of
she whimpered. When she got to the dining-table she put her
hand in the soup and then looked at it. So far there is
nothing in this case atypical of what we would call a
partial stupor. T
|