Reference to:
The Snake Pit
An autobiographical novel by Mary Jane Ward
1946, Random House
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A novel based on the author's own experiences in asylums
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The Snake Pit, the novel
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p217
Long ago they lowered insane persons into snake pits; they thought that an experience that might drive a sane person out of his wits might send an insane person back into sanity... They had thrown her into a snake pit and she had been shocked into knowing that she would get well.
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Throughout the novel Virginia complains of loss of memory, possibly through the use of electroconvulsive therapy (shock treatment).
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The asylum in which the young woman is detained is the modern equivalent. Gives extra meaning to the song.
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Robert Smith has said that he went through a period of reading various works on mental illness. This was one of the most influential novels on the subject.
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The Snake Pit, the song
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Well we're a mile under the ground
And I'm thinking that it's Christmas
And I'm kissing you hard
Like I've got very important business
And no-one knows
And no-one sees us
Because they're drinking theirselves senseless
And I'm writhing
And I'm writhing
And I'm writhing in the snakepit
Well I'm out in a car
And it's just full of stupid girls
And I've forgotten how to speak
And I just can't remember a word
And my eyes feel like they're bursting
And they're splitting like plums
And I'm writhing
And I'm writhing
And I'm writhing in the snake pit
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Songwriters: Boris Williams / Laurence Andrew Tolhurst / Porl Thompson / Robert James Smith / Simon Gallup
The Snake Pit lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
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