ABSTRACT
The spatial division of Severalls by gender meant the men and women who lived and worked there led very separate lives. For the women this arguably meant the creation and reinforcement of patriarchal, Victorian ideals of femininity. The laundry and needle-room were located on this side, and many women patients worked in them. There were few opportunities for women patients to work outdoors in 'public' areas, as male patients did on the farms and gardens. There were far fewer opportunities for women to play games and sports outdoors; until latter years the provision for exercise for women patients was generally performed indoors in gymnastics classes, or movement to music. Male patients, on the other hand, had opportunities to play football, cricket, bowls, and many were members of teams and inter-hospital leagues. As in the outside world, women's activities were more confined to the 'private' realm of indoor space. Yet, paradoxically, this confined space meant that women patients and staff inhabited a place that was almost entirely and exclusively female, and for many women this provided shelter, protection and 'asylum' from an outside world in which violence and abuse by men could be, and often had been, terrifying. Moreover, this uniquely female space offered the chance to establish, maintain and reinforce friendships between women, both among patients and among staff.
