I'm watching Anne of Green Gables (2017 version) lately. Man, in the 1800s if you acted like this you would be dealt with. There's a reason there aren't any characters like Leslie in those shows.... people like that weren't allowed to go on acting that way. Most people start to smarten up when they get hungry and realize if they don't work long and hard hours they're going to starve to death over winter. Hiding in bed and feeding the kids junk food wasn't an option.

That said, people in the 1800s took better care of each other. There were real families and real communities back then, so even though there was misunderstanding and stigma around mental illness, many family members were able to get the care they needed from their community. Nowadays that's almost totally lacking, so you have to feel badly in some way for the Leslies.