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Frances Farmer: Arguments against widely reported aspects of Farmer's medical treatment
In the years since Farmer's death, her treatment in institutions has been the subject of serious discussion and wild speculation, such as the sensationalized chapter relating to her breakdown, in Hollywood Babylon by Kenneth Anger. Her own ghostwritten autobiography published after her death described the brutality of her incarceration, and claimed that she had been raped, beaten, doused in freezing baths, and forced by a warder to eat her own feces. The book's author, Farmer's friend Jean Ratcliffe, admitted that she had written the book specifically with the view to creating a saleable and filmable property. Ratcliffe later admitted that she had deliberately exaggerated Farmer's torment, and that much of the finished work was not contributed by Farmer.
A further biography
Shadowland by William Arnold, published in 1978, asserted for the first time that Farmer had been the subject of a transorbital lobotomy. This statement was widely accepted as factual, and scenes of Farmer being subjected to the procedure were used to shocking effect in the film
Frances. Arnold stated several years later that his intention had not been to create a true biography of Farmer, and that much of his story had been "fictionalized". Debunkers of this aspect of Farmer's representation have stated that medical records for Western State Hospital, where Farmer was a patient, show that lobotomies were practiced during her time there. Considered a ground-breaking medical procedure at the time, the hospital did not attempt to conceal their work, and on the contrary had kept extensive records. Although a number of patients have been recorded as receiving the procedure, there has been no evidence presented to support the claim that Farmer was among them. It has been further stated that former staff members have confirmed in interviews that Farmer did not receive a lobotomy. Medical records also show that Farmer had no surgery of any kind while at Western State Hospital.
Associates who knew Farmer during her later years in Indianapolis have described her as a woman capable of unreasonable or temperamental behavior, who could sometimes be confrontational and difficult. They describe emotional outbursts similar to those attributed to Farmer during her Hollywood years. They also describe a woman who was able to establish a comfortable lifestyle and a successful career, (albeit hampered by alcoholism), in which she was required to display creativity and intelligence, and to communicate and interact effectively with a variety of people, especially during her 6 year role as a television presenter. These comments do not support the biographical description of her as a "lobotomized zombie".
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