TEN DAYS In A MAD-Home By Nellie Bly

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Nellie Bly was an intrepid female journalist in a time when the idea of having women in the workplace was still a questionable and controversial matter. This especially pertains to positions that have long since been male dominated and controlled. If women were to have occupation at all, they usually filled more respectable and passive jobs, such as being a teacher, governess, or a secretary. Nellie Bly surpassed the menial gender specific roles, and became one of the very first female investigative reporter. Her exploits spanned many different causes and adventures, and to this day, she remains a shining beacon of perseverance and inspiration for countless independent women. Within the introduction of her book, TEN DAYS IN A MAD-HOUSE, she states her satisfaction in the eventual outcome of her groundbreaking …show more content…

It caught young Elizabeth’s eye, and she decided to write a response. Her reply to the article entitled “What Girls Are Good For,” impressed the editor so much that he offered her a full time job. A more detailed account can be found within a biography simply titled "Nellie Bly, (1864-1922),” by Arthur Fritz. When she was only 19 years old and helping her mother run a boarding house in Pittsburgh, under the pseudonym of “Little Orphan Girl,” she penned a blistering response to an extremely sexist article, which “admonished women for even attempting to have an education or career, suggesting they should stray no further than the home.” As the letter was written under a pseudonym, the editor of The Pittsburgh Dispatch, George Madden, posted a notice requesting that whoever wrote the response to travel to the newspaper and meet with him. Upon their meeting, he offered her a chance to rebut the offensive article, validating her skills as a writer. As soon as he read her response, he hired her on the

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