This paper concerning the men and women patients of the Hôpital Saint-Jean-de-Dieu investigates gender stereotyping in mental disorders during the late-19th and early-20th centuries through an analysis of quantitative sources from over 8357 admissions. The asylum records (Registre des idiots de la Providence and the medical record, Form C) reveal that there were few differences between the medical diagnoses given and the behaviours of the patients who had been judged insane by their families. Nevertheless, a number of interesting contrasts emerge. The evidence also indicates gender distinctions; in general, the applicants tended to deny feeble-mindedness in men but recognized it as natural in women.