The representations and experiences of children inside pauper lunatic asylums embody a significant lacuna in the understanding of children and childhood during the nineteenth century. Considering the Victorian period as a time when the conceptual notion of a sheltered and romantic childhood emerged it is essential, both to studies of childhood and to the history of the asylum, to examine how children thought to be mentally abnormal were incorporated into a discourse of innocence. Families and medical professionals played important roles in the admissions process by providing testimonies that led to certifications of insanity. This article examines the concept of the insane child and how it related to ideas of childhood that emerged during the period. Furthermore, important issues are explored such as the fluid nature of describing mental illness during the period, the motives of both family and medical professionals in creating polarized narratives of the sick child, and the place of the child within the medical institution.

中文翻译：

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堕落、被剥夺、危险和越轨：描绘英格兰县精神病院的疯狂儿童，1845-1907 年

贫民疯人院内儿童的表现和经历体现了 19 世纪对儿童和童年的理解存在重大空白。考虑到维多利亚时代是庇护和浪漫童年的概念出现的时期，无论是对童年研究还是对庇护所的历史，都必须研究被认为精神异常的儿童如何被纳入有关清白。家庭和医疗专业人员通过提供导致精神错乱证明的证词在录取过程中发挥了重要作用。本文探讨了疯子的概念，以及它与这一时期出现的童年观念之间的关系。此外，