In the 1890's, a woman was put in an insane asylum for having "unwomanly" opinions.

This is a story that was passed down in my family. I'm not sure if it's true, but I've decided to post it anyway.<br><br>My mother's mother was a suffragette. She believed in women's rights and she wasn't afraid to say so in the 1890's.<br><br>She was from a well off family, and her parents were quite happy to support her education and her career. They had wanted her to be a doctor, but she decided to study law instead. They were against it and they refused to fund her education in law, so she ran away from home to go to law school.<br><br>She graduated with honors and got a job at a large law firm. She was doing well in her job until she was fired after one of her clients (who was a wealthy businessman) was convicted of price-fixing. My great grandmother was very vocal that the judge had gotten it right.<br><br>She couldn't find work anywhere else, so she decided to start her own practice. She built a reputation as a tough and fair lawyer, but she struggled financially. She had a small office and she had very few clients.<br><br>One of her clients was a young woman who was trying to get a divorce from her husband. The husband was a wealthy man, but he was physically abusive and the wife wanted out.<br><br>My great grandmother had a lot of hope for this case. She believed they would win and it would set precedent in her state for women being allowed to divorce physically abusive spouses.<br><br>The case was lost on a technicality. My great grandmother had misfiled one piece of paperwork which meant that the couple was stuck together and the wife would have to continue taking the beatings.<br><br>This devastated my great grandmother. She cried about it for days, and when she stopped crying she became angry. She was angry at her client for giving up in the face of continued abuse. She was angry at the judge and the jury. And she was angry at the legal system which seemed designed to keep women in their place.<br><br>She became very vocal about her anger. She spoke out in public about the horrible way that the law treated women. She spoke out about the horrible way that women were expected to behave.<br><br>She became a local celebrity of sorts. People would come and watch her give speeches in the park. They would attend her events. She was a magnet for attention, and she reveled in it.<br><br>Eventually, someone went to the courts to have her committed to an insane asylum for being "unwomanly" in her behavior and opinions. Before the hearing, my great grandmother was warned that if she showed up to the hearing, she would definitely be committed. So she didn't show up.<br><br>The court issued an order for her to be committed based solely on her reputation and her notness. She was served the papers at her office and she was given five days to turn herself in to the asylum. <br><br>She never did, and a warrant was issued for her arrest. But it was never enforced. She continued her speeches. She continued her rallies. She never stopped.<br><br>I don't know how long she lived after that. I don't know if she ever got caught. All I know is what my mother told me, that her mother was a brave and stubborn woman who never backed down from what she believed in, even in the face of institutionalized sexism.