Review of "The Snake Pit: An Autobiographical Novel" by Mary Jane Ward

This is the 75th anniversary edition of The Snake Pit, originally published in 1946. The book is a semi-autobiographical novel based on the author's committal to New York's Rockland State Hospital in 1941.

Author Mary Jane Ward

This update also includes an Afterword that discusses the 1948 movie 'The Snake Pit', starring Olivia de Haviland.

FYI: The photos in the review are from The Snake Pit movie.

*****

Virginia Cunningham finds herself sitting in a park, confused and hearing voices.



Sitting beside her is an attractive girl in a hoover apron, which Virginia considers inappropriate attire for leaving the house.



Moreover, Virginia is dismayed by her own dress, thinking she shouldn't be wearing this old rag because "you cannot go out on New York streets looking any old way."

Virginia blames the warmth of the sun for the confused thoughts and memories that meander through her head. She does know she's a novelist, and feels she should befriend 'hoover girl' who seems down on her luck.

Then Virginia's reflections are interrupted by a shrill voice saying, "All right. ladies." Hoover girl - whose name is Grace - springs up, pulls Virginia along, and hurries her to a line of women heading into a building. Virginia asks where they're going but Grace admonishes Virginia not to speak, because talking isn't allowed.



Virginia speculates she's in a zoo, because of the smell and odd-looking residents. When Virginia doesn't see cages, she decides it's not a zoo but an institution she's researching for her next novel - either a training school for underprivileged and delinquent girls or a prison.

Afterwards, going to the community washroom with a group of inmates, Virginia knows. She knows the prison idea is nonsense. She had invented a fantasy setting. Because around her in the washroom are women who are shut up with her, women who are far more wretched than criminals. Women who are "crazy."



Virginia knows she's been institutionalized at Juniper Hill Hospital for some time. She's also aware she has a husband named Robert.....



.....and a psychiatrist called Dr. Kik.



Virginia is in Ward 3, which is less restrictive than higher number wards but more repressive than Ward 1, from which most patients go home.

Virginia doesn't relish mealtime because she can't remember where to sit and the other women take all the food, which she doesn't like anyway. Virginia also has problems with work therapy: on floor cleaning duty she confuses the wet mop and dry mop; on floor polishing detail, the polisher is too heavy to push; in the sewing room, she can't work the machine; when bed-making is required, she can't make a hospital corner; when folding and stacking laundry, Virginia confuses the sheets, pillowcases, and slips, etc.

Virginia thinks there's something wrong with her head. Virginia is even suspicious of visits from her beloved husband Robert. She's certain the hospital substitutes a realistic imposter, and frequently feels the need to test his authenticity.



In the institute, Virginia's 'progress' is often one step forward, two steps back. After a series of electroshock treatments.....



.....Virginia goes to 'Staff' (a group of doctors who assess a patient's readiness to go home) to be evaluated for release.



Virginia gets confused and upset, and bites a psychiatrist's finger. Instead of being released, Virginia is sent back for further treatment.

During Virginia's stay at Juniper Hill she's moved back and forth from one ward to another, and - in addition to shock therapy - Virginia is (at one time or another) heavily medicated; wrapped in cold wet packs that inhibit movement; placed in restrictive lukewarm tubs; put into straitjackets; force fed with a tube; and more.







None of this is meant to be abusive, and indeed some of it may aid Virginia's recovery. Nevertheless this therapy is reminiscent of horror movies about insane asylums. Also as in films, some nurses are kind and friendly while others are sharp and harsh.





Sanitary conditions in Juniper Hill are less than ideal. Showers are restricted to a couple of minutes twice a week; clothing is rarely washed; and toilet paper - dispensed by a nurse as needed - sometimes runs out. Grooming is also sparse: an inmate's hair is combed once a week by a nurse and 'nice clothes' are restricted to visiting day and going to Staff.

On the upside, the patients bond with each other, and share cigarettes, chocolates, and gifts from home. Virginia describes some of the women incarcerated with her, including a woman who dances all day; a woman who has conversations with her invisible brother; a woman who sings all the time; a woman who thinks she's an aristocrat; a woman who doesn't speak a word; a woman who does the Charleston and sings Sweet Georgia Brown; and more. Though the women's' illnesses are sad, there's a humorous vibe to this.



There are also aggressive and violent women, and Virginia learns to avoid them.

Through it all Virginia and her husband Robert rely on Dr. Kik to help Virginia get better. Dr. Kik and other doctors at the institute apparently succeed, because Virginia is released.



However Virginia's illness, supposedly caused by financial problems and stress, is never affirmatively diagnosed. (In real life, the author - Mary Jane Ward - was committed three more times during her life, in 1957, 1969 and 1976).

The narrative, mostly told in the first person, shows that Virginia is intelligent, articulate, and has a good sense of humor.



Virginia sometimes jokes with the doctors, and when one nurse tells another that Virginia "itesbay, ickskay, and is utsnay", Virginia thinks of things that prove she's not utsnay (nuts).

The original book published in 1946 ends with Virginia's release from Juniper Hill. This revised edition goes on to discuss he 1948 movie, The Snake Pit. I watched the film (which is available on YouTube) to compare book and movie. The movie is good but should be thought of as a separate entity from the book.



Some scenes in the movie closely follow the novel, and some parts are made up out of whole cloth. For example, the filmmakers felt compelled to explain Virginia's illness. Thus Dr. Kik psychoanalyzes Virginia and uncover the childhood traumas that led to her illness. This is straight out of a Freud handbook and there's nothing about it in the novel.

Also, movieland Virginia - during her stay at Juniper Hill - is usually clean and well-dressed with her hair nicely combed. She's not the disheveled mess we read about in the novel. I understand movie license but would have liked to see a more realistic depiction of the book.

The Snake Pit was a best seller in the 1940s, and led to changes in the mental health industry. It's still worth reading and I highly recommend it.

Thanks to Netgalley, Mary Jane Ward, and Library of America for a copy of the book.

Rating: 4 stars

Review of "Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York" by Elon Green

 

 

Author Elon Green

In the early 1990s a serial killer was murdering gay men who frequented New York City bars and pick-up spots, but the crimes got little press coverage and passed below most people's radar. Now that true crime has become such a popular genre, Elon Green tells the story of the 'Last Call Killer', who eluded law enforcement for many years.

The story starts on May 5, 1991, when a maintenance worker on the Pennsylvania Turnpike found a body wrapped in plastic bags in a rest area trash can.







The victim was Peter Anderson, fifty-four, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.



The next year, on July 10, 1992, two New Jersey Department of Transportation employees found a disarticulated body in plastic bags at a rest stop in the Garden State.



The dead man was Thomas Mulcahy, fifty-seven, of Sudbury, Massachusetts.



Then on May 10, 1993, plastic bags containing the dismembered body of Anthony Edward Marrero, forty-four, of Philadelphia, was found on a roadway in New Jersey.



And finally, on July 31, 1993, the butchered body of Michael Sakara, fifty-six, from Manhattan, was found in plastic bags on a roadside in Rockland County, New York.


Road in Rockland County, New York

When investigators on the separate cases shared information, it became clear a serial killer was at work, and authorities speculated about additional victims, as yet unfound. A multistate task force was assembled to catch the perpetrator, but the killer was elusive, and the endeavor took years.



In addition to describing the murders and the police investigations, author Elon Green delves into the history of the victims and the anti-gay atmosphere that forms the background for the crimes.

The 1900s were not friendly to queer people. A 1923 New York State law made it a criminal act for a man to even ASK another man for sex, and after WWII "the U.S. State Department was purged of gays and lesbians, whom Senator Joseph McCarthy deemed a threat to national security." Prejudice against gays increased when the AIDS pandemic started to spread in 1980, and gay-bashing in the streets of New York became common.


A man kneels down at a memorial for Mark Carson, after another man yelled homophobic slurs at him before shooting him in the head. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Sadly, New York City law enforcement showed "systemic indifference" to crimes against queer people. As an example, Green writes about three gay men in Chelsea who were attacked by white kids with bats in 1980. "One man lost two teeth; another sustained thirty-six stitches to his forehead, a damaged eye, and a broken nose. Reporting such crimes to the police was considered not worth the trouble, for there was rarely any recourse. An activist told the Daily News, 'If you go to court and it's brought out that you're gay, the defense will make a bum out of you'." This feeling was commonplace, and many queer victims suffered in silence.

To meet in a relatively safe atmosphere, homosexual men would congregate in gay bars, which spanned the gamut from cheap joints to elegant piano bars. Green describes many New York City gay bars - their location, atmosphere, and clientele.


A gay dive bar in NYC


The Townhouse piano bar in NYC

The Townhouse, a gay bar that opened in 1989, was old-fashioned by design. Green writes, "Geographically, the Townhouse wasn't so far away from the noise and the grime and the cut-rate sex workers - walking distance even. But milling around that warm, inviting back room nursing a cocktail, a few feet away from the piano and elegantly attired men, you could almost pretend it was another country."

The police learned that several of the serial killer's victims frequented the Townhouse bar, which seemed to be a favorite hunting ground for the perp. The murderer was thought to pick up a victim near closing time, and he was dubbed the 'Last Call Killer. '

Serial killing, even of gay people, was anathema, and the push to protect the queer community was assisted by the Anti-Violence Project (AVP), which began on the cusp of the AIDS epidemic. Green details the birth and evolution of the AVP, which was instrumental in making the police and district attorney more accountable for anti-gay crime in New York.



The slayer is identified toward the latter part of the book, and Green outlines his background, appearance, profession, habits, modus operandi, etc.


The Last Call Killer

The author tried to interview the perp, but the killer refused to cooperate, so Green's analysis is incomplete, but still very informative.

The author's end-notes demonstrate how much research went into the book, which is an encompassing account of LGBTQ issues in 20th century New York and a fascinating story of the Last Call killer and his crimes....which began before he took the life of Peter Anderson in 1991. I don't want to give away spoilers, so for a complete picture, you'll have to read the book.

Thanks to Celadon Books for a review copy.

Rating: 4 stars

Review of "Archie Meets Nero Wolfe: A Prequel to Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe Mysteries" by Robert Goldsborough

This 8th book in the 'Nero Wolfe Mysteries' is a prequel.

*****

Rex Stout's "Nero Wolfe" books - set in the middle years of the 20th century - are among my favorite light mysteries.



Wolfe is an eccentric, obese private detective who lives in a brownstone in New York City; almost never leaves his house; spends four hours a day tending his orchids; has a chef who prepares delicious gourmet meals; loves beer; and employs Archie Goodwin as his assistant, legman, and gadfly.



After Rex Stout died, the series was continued by Robert Goldsborough, who stayed true to Stout's formula. This Goldsborough book is a bit of a departure, being a prequel that harks back to the depression, when nineteen-year-old Archie first arrives in New York City from Chillicothe, Ohio.



The depression makes employment hard to find, and Archie's first job is night watchman for the Moreland Import Company docks. Soon after Archie starts, two thugs try to steal a shipment of Swiss watches and clocks, and - after the goons shoot at Archie - he returns fire and kills them. This leads to Archie's dismissal for being 'trigger happy', but Archie's determination and smarts get him a position with Del Bascom's private detective agency.....which results in his meeting Nero Wolfe.

Wolfe, a private detective who sees clients in his home on 34th Street, is hired by hotel magnate Burke Williamson. Williamson's eight-year-old son Tommie was kidnapped from the family's front lawn and a $100,000 ransom has been demanded, with a warning NOT to call the police. Williamson hires Wolfe to help deliver the money and retrieve the boy.



Wolfe calls in his usual free-lance operatives, Saul Panzer;



Fred Durkin;



and Orrie Cather.



For extra manpower Wolfe also hires Bill Gore and Del Bascom - who totes Archie along to help. Archie proves himself invaluable to the operation, and - by the end of the book - is hired to be Wolfe's assistant.



It's interesting to see Archie as a very young man, and fun to observe his decision to buy a dictionary, so he can look up the 'hard' words that make up Wolfe's everyday conversation.

In addition to the series' recurring PI characters, we meet belligerent stuttering Lieutenant Rowcliff - who's continually enraged by Archie's wisecracks and Wolfe's arrogance;



cigar-chomping Inspector Cramer - who gets annoyed with Wolfe's interference in (what Cramer considers) police matters;



and Sergeant Purley Stebbins - who's usually on hand to arrest the perps.



Wofle's personal chef, Fritz Brenner, is present as well....



.....and he prepares a Cassoulet de Castelnaudary. Archie skips eating it though because (in those early days) Archie 'was unsure as to what kind of grub this was.'



Of course fans of the series know that Archie becomes quite the gourmand later on.

This is a fun prequel, recommended to readers who like the series and fans of cozy mysteries.

Rating: 3.5 stars