--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For eight years I was an inmate in a…" description: "\"For eight years I was an inmate in a state asylum for the insane. During those years I passed through such unbearable terror that I deteriorated into a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01f/frances-farmer-25869_actresses_for-eight-years-i-was-an-inmate-in-a-sta_1901698.jpg" --- # For eight years I was an inmate in a state asylum for the… ![“For eight years I was an inmate in a state asylum for the insane. During those years I passed through such unbearable terror that I deteriorated into a wild, frightened creature intent only on survival. And I survived. I was raped by orderlies, gnawed on by rats and poisoned by tainted food. I was…” quote by Frances Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01f/frances-farmer-25869_actresses_for-eight-years-i-was-an-inmate-in-a-sta_1901698.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01f/frances-farmer-25869_actresses_for-eight-years-i-was-an-inmate-in-a-sta_1901698.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01f/frances-farmer-25869_actresses_for-eight-years-i-was-an-inmate-in-a-sta_1901698.jpg) > “For eight years I was an inmate in a state asylum for the insane. During those years I passed through such unbearable terror that I deteriorated into a wild, frightened creature intent only on survival. And I survived. I was raped by orderlies, gnawed on by rats and poisoned by tainted food. I was chained in padded cells, strapped into strait-jackets and half-drowned in ice baths. And I survived. The asylum itself was a steel trap, and I was not released from its jaws alive and victorious. I crawled out mutilated, whimpering and terribly alone. But I did survive.” [Frances Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-farmer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes extreme suffering and resilience in a mental institution **In simple terms:** Endured severe abuse but survived Key Takeaway Survival through extreme adversity Themes trauma survival mental health Mood somber reflective Type historical testimonial When to use this quote - personal testimony - advocacy for mental health reform - historical analysis Key Concepts resilience institutional abuse Questions to Reflect On - What systemic changes could prevent such abuse? - How does sharing trauma aid healing? A Different Perspective Survivor accounts may be contested without corroboration ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actresses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actresses/) [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Asylum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asylum/) [Asylum Insane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asylum-insane-2811040/) [Asylums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asylums/) [Baths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baths/) [Being alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-alone/) [Bipolar disorder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bipolar-disorder/) [Cells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cells/) [Chained](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chained/) [Creatures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creatures/) [Deterioration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deterioration/) [Eight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eight/) [Frightened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frightened/) [Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half/) [Ice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ice/) [Inmates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inmates/) [Insane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insane/) [Jackets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jackets/) [Mental health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-health/) [Mental illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-illness/) [Mutilation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mutilation/) [Old hollywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-hollywood/) [Rats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rats/) [Release](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/release/) [Starlets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starlets/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steel/) [Survival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival/) [Survival Survived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival-survived-2811041/) [Survived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survived/) [Survived Asylum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survived-asylum-2811038/) [Survived Raped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survived-raped-2811039/) [Survivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survivor/) [Tainted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tainted/) [Terror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terror/) [Traps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traps/) [Unbearable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unbearable/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [Old age realizes the dreams of youth: look at Dean Swift; in his youth he built an asylum for the insane, in his old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/old-age-realizes-the-dreams-of-youth-look-at-dean-swift-in-his-youth/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Just previous to the birth of my little son, my mind gave way and my child was born in the asylum for the insane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belle-boyd/just-previous-to-the-birth-of-my-little-son-my-mind-gave-way-and-my/) [Belle Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/belle-boyd/) > [One of the things that's troubling is that people see Natalie Portman or some other Hollywood starlet who boasts of, hey look, you know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-holmes/one-of-the-things-that-s-troubling-is-that-people-see-natalie-portman/) [Anna Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-holmes/) > [“They came to be starlets; they ended up in Drive-Ins.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/they-came-to-be-starlets-they-ended-up-in-drive-ins/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [Starlets were always turning up dead in people's pools. They fished them out like goldfish. Nobody seemed to find it unusual that so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-rosen/starlets-were-always-turning-up-dead-in-people-s-pools-they-fished/) [Jonathan Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-rosen/) > [Increasingly, stars are recruited from the ranks of professional models, with the result that today's starlets are better dressed and better groomed than ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-hayworth/increasingly-stars-are-recruited-from-the-ranks-of-professional/) [Rita Hayworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-hayworth/) > [Zhang Yimou is always going to need young, pretty girls for his films. But I don't really concern myself with what Zhang Yimou's next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-ziyi/zhang-yimou-is-always-going-to-need-young-pretty-girls-for-his-films/) [Zhang Ziyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-ziyi/) > [New York is the Hollywood of the publishing industry, complete with stars, starlets, suicidal publishers/producers, intrigues, and a lot of money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/new-york-is-the-hollywood-of-the-publishing-industry-complete-with/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [I am a tip-top starlet. That is my job that I am paid to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/i-am-a-tip-top-starlet-that-is-my-job-that-i-am-paid-to-do/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [... it's impossible to register any emotion without using some muscle which, in time, will produce a wrinkle. ... By the time she is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-kerr/it-s-impossible-to-register-any-emotion-without-using-some-muscle/) [Jean Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-kerr/) > [Once you were a starlet. Then you're a star. Can you be a starlet again?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayne-mansfield/once-you-were-a-starlet-then-you-re-a-star-can-you-be-a-starlet-again/) [Jayne Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayne-mansfield/) > [It's funny... you can make fun of AIDS or Haiti, but if you make fun of some starlet in Hollywood's looks? That's like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tosh/it-s-funny-you-can-make-fun-of-aids-or-haiti-but-if-you-make-fun-of/) [Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/) > [I don't consider myself a starlet or a Hollywood person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-wasikowska/i-don-t-consider-myself-a-starlet-or-a-hollywood-person/) [Mia Wasikowska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-wasikowska/) > [I was thrown into the fashion world, dating models - and you'd read about me dating a new starlet every month. That's just where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dorff/i-was-thrown-into-the-fashion-world-dating-models-and-you-d-read/) [Stephen Dorff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dorff/) > [I suppose you could pass for a starlet. You do have that femme fatale air about you. Like you crush boys’ dreams in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janette-rallison/i-suppose-you-could-pass-for-a-starlet-you-do-have-that-femme-fatale/) [Janette Rallison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janette-rallison/) ## More by Frances Farmer > [That satisfied me until I began to figure that if God loved all his children equally, why did he bother about my red hat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-farmer/that-satisfied-me-until-i-began-to-figure-that-if-god-loved-all-his/) [Frances Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-farmer/) > [If you get old fashioned enough, you'll always be in style.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-farmer/if-you-get-old-fashioned-enough-you-ll-always-be-in-style/) [Frances Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-farmer/) > [I just knew that God wasn't there. He was a man on a throne in Heaven, so he was easy to forget.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-farmer/i-just-knew-that-god-wasn-t-there-he-was-a-man-on-a-throne-in-heaven/) [Frances Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-farmer/) > [If a person is treated like a patient, they are apt to act like one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-farmer/if-a-person-is-treated-like-a-patient-they-are-apt-to-act-like-one/) [Frances Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-farmer/) > [I didn't think then, and I still don't, that I was actually sick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-farmer/i-didn-t-think-then-and-i-still-don-t-that-i-was-actually-sick/) [Frances Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-farmer/) > [There comes a point when a dream becomes reality and reality becomes a dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-farmer/there-comes-a-point-when-a-dream-becomes-reality-and-reality-becomes/) [Frances Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-farmer/) > [It puzzled me that other people hadn't found out, too. God was gone. We were younger. We had reached past him. Why couldn't they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-farmer/it-puzzled-me-that-other-people-hadn-t-found-out-too-god-was-gone-we/) [Frances Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-farmer/) > [I miss the comfort in being sad,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-farmer/i-miss-the-comfort-in-being-sad/) [Frances Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-farmer/) > [Never console yourself into believing that the terror has passed, for it looms as large and evil today as it did in the despicable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-farmer/never-console-yourself-into-believing-that-the-terror-has-passed-for/) [Frances Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-farmer/) > [Have you ever had a broken heart?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-farmer/have-you-ever-had-a-broken-heart/) [Frances Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-farmer/) > [I couldn't get that same feeling during the day, with my hands in dirty dish water and the hard sun showing up the dirtiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-farmer/i-couldn-t-get-that-same-feeling-during-the-day-with-my-hands-in/) [Frances Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-farmer/) > [The more people pointed at me in scorn the more stubborn I got and when they began calling me the Bad Girl of West…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-farmer/the-more-people-pointed-at-me-in-scorn-the-more-stubborn-i-got-and/) [Frances Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-farmer/) > [The Sunday School teacher talked too much in the way our grade school teacher used to when she told us about George Washington. Pleasant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-farmer/the-sunday-school-teacher-talked-too-much-in-the-way-our-grade-school/) [Frances Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-farmer/) > [I have learned that to have a good friend is the purest of all God's gifts, for it is a love that has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-farmer/i-have-learned-that-to-have-a-good-friend-is-the-purest-of-all-god-s/) [Frances Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-farmer/) > [I think God just died of old age. And, when I realized that he wasn't any more, it didn't shock me. It seemed natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-farmer/i-think-god-just-died-of-old-age-and-when-i-realized-that-he-wasn-t/) [Frances Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-farmer/) [Explore all 22 Frances Farmer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-farmer/) ## More Actresses quotes > [I feel excited about getting older as an actress, too. I think there are some amazing opportunities around the corner and I don't need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sutton-foster/i-feel-excited-about-getting-older-as-an-actress-too-i-think-there/) [Sutton Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sutton-foster/) > [I think most of us are raised with preconceived notions of the choices we're supposed to make. We waste so much time making decisions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bullock/i-think-most-of-us-are-raised-with-preconceived-notions-of-the/) [Sandra Bullock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bullock/) > [I've been told before, and I tend to believe it, I'm not like most actresses out there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moira-kelly/i-ve-been-told-before-and-i-tend-to-believe-it-i-m-not-like-most/) [Moira Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moira-kelly/) > [Marilyn was a great actress, not a dumb blond bombshell. She was very smart, very astute and a good businesswoman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-schiller/marilyn-was-a-great-actress-not-a-dumb-blond-bombshell-she-was-very/) [Lawrence Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-schiller/) > [By the time I was seventeen, I was on my way to Hollywood and didn't look back. My family is supportive now, but like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-heard/by-the-time-i-was-seventeen-i-was-on-my-way-to-hollywood-and-didn-t/) [Amber Heard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-heard/) > [Just have fun. Smile. And keep putting on lipstick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-keaton/just-have-fun-smile-and-keep-putting-on-lipstick/) [Diane Keaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-keaton/) > [There are a lot of great actresses out there. You learn to appreciate each one for what they offer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-pratt/there-are-a-lot-of-great-actresses-out-there-you-learn-to-appreciate/) [Victoria Pratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-pratt/) > [I want to be fulfilled creatively as an actress and get to be in roles that are meaningful and impactful. I hope the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amandla-stenberg/i-want-to-be-fulfilled-creatively-as-an-actress-and-get-to-be-in/) [Amandla Stenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amandla-stenberg/) > [There's certain things I try to avoid, as an actress, just to keep my world from being as narrow as it could be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/famke-janssen/there-s-certain-things-i-try-to-avoid-as-an-actress-just-to-keep-my/) [Famke Janssen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/famke-janssen/) > [All the baggage that comes with fame, being an actress. The down side to it is the intrusion into your life and this expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-watson/all-the-baggage-that-comes-with-fame-being-an-actress-the-down-side/) [Emma Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-watson/) > [I am going to be a great actress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivien-leigh/i-am-going-to-be-a-great-actress/) [Vivien Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivien-leigh/) > [As a black actress you've got to work doubly hard. But it doesn't ever get me to the point where I give up on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naturi-naughton/as-a-black-actress-you-ve-got-to-work-doubly-hard-but-it-doesn-t-ever/) [Naturi Naughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naturi-naughton/) > [I've seen new actresses do one show and disappear or struggle for years to get their next break. I've been fortunate enough to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjeeda-sheikh/i-ve-seen-new-actresses-do-one-show-and-disappear-or-struggle-for/) [Sanjeeda Sheikh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjeeda-sheikh/) > [I knew I wanted to be an actress as soon as I popped out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-wallace/i-knew-i-wanted-to-be-an-actress-as-soon-as-i-popped-out/) [Dee Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-wallace/) > [Campaigning actress ASHLEY JUDD refuses to 'breed' with her racing star husband DARIO FRANCHITTI while there are starving children in the world. . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-judd/campaigning-actress-ashley-judd-refuses-to-breed-with-her-racing-star/) [Ashley Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-judd/) [Browse all 1,881 Actresses quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actresses/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For eight years I was an inmate in a state asylum for the insane. During those years I passed through such unbearable terror that I deteriorated into a wild, frightened creature intent only on survival. And I survived. I was raped by orderlies, gnawed on by rats and poisoned by tainted food. I was chained in padded cells, strapped into strait-jackets and half-drowned in ice baths. And I survived. The asylum itself was a steel trap, and I was not released from its jaws alive and victorious. I crawled out mutilated, whimpering and terribly alone. 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