File:Nannchen Freudenberg in The Times of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 11 September 1881.jpg

A Beautiful Maniac. Separated From Her Lover by Religion a Pretty Jewess Becomes Crazy. New York City; September 10, 1881. On the bare floor in a corner of a room in the Castle Garden Hospital, in this city, is the prostrate form of Nannchen Freudenberg, a girl nineteen years old and of singular beauty. She has perfect features, rosy cheeks, large blue eyes, a wealth of dark brown hair and very pretty teeth. She is a raving maniac and is confined in a straightjacket. The girl came from Berlin by the steamship Neckar yesterday. But little can be learned of her history. The surgeon of the Neckar says be was informed when she was placed on board that about a year ago the girl showed signs of insanity, the combined effects of religious excitement and an affair of the heart. She is an Israelite and it is intimated that her parents prevented her from marrying the man of her choice because his faith was different from hers. It was thought that she had recovered from her mental disorder, but, as she brooded over her disappointment, her friends resolved to try the effects of a change of scene and she was sent here. The day alter the steamship left Bremen Miss Freudenberg began to act strangely, and on the voyage she had to be carefully watched. She talked constantly about religious matters and her lover. Several times she threw her arms about some of the male passengers and addressed them as the man from whom she had been separated. Her youth, beauty and distress won the warmest sympathy of everyone on the Neckar and she was tenderly cared for. No amount of persuasion could induce her to take food, and liquid nourishment was forced down her throat. The steamship's surgeon took her to Castle Garden and made Dr. Chapman acquainted with the case. She was put in the rooms where she is now confined and during the night became very violent. She destroyed the bed and chairs and it was found necessary to remove everything in the room to prevent her from inflicting self injury. Since the jacket has been resorted to she has lain on her back in the corner. Her eyes have a wild look, and she rolls them incessantly while the hospital resounds with her maniacal shrieks. It is impossible to get a coherent answer from her to any question. When offered breakfast this morning she turned away from the food with loathing, and the doctor tried to make her drink some milk, but she struggled successfully against his efforts. After a violent paroxysm this afternoon she was quiet for a while, turning her face toward the wall, while the tears ran like rain down her checks. She has a ticket for Baltimore but it is not known that she has friends there or elsewhere in this country. The Castle Garden authorities will send her to the Asylum for the Insane.

• Nannchen Freudenberg (1862-?)

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