Through Mary Butts' letters to fellow writer and friend Douglas Goldring, aunt Ada Briggs, and daughter Camilla Rodker, a timeline of Butt's opium addiction relapses can be pieced together. This is made possible with the knowledge and understanding that Butts used code words (Ex. "Malaria") when discussing anything opium related. This may have been done for several reasons including to avoid legal persecution, judgment, and perhaps even embarrassment.

While we cannot be certain that every instance of Mary Butts mentioning or using certain words that have since been labelled as code words are indeed references to using opium or relapsing, simply knowing that Butts used code words such as “malaria” in place of “opium” and “relapse” provides an opportunity to better track her opium addiction, when it sparked up, the possible leading factors of Butts’ relapses, and consequences of heavy opium usage. With this in mind, the following timeline is a theorized mapping of her addiction in the final years of her life.

One interpretation of this quote is that Butts’ comments on being violently sick are alluding to some of the more extreme symptoms of withdrawal. Perhaps she had tried to quit her opium use, but when her symptoms became too much to bear, she started using once more. This would explain how she went from having a "cold [she] could not shake off," to feeling perfectly fine - she had started using again.

Again, Butts recalls being “violently sick,” this time while on a journey. Depending on the length of the journey it seems entirely possible that Butts was feeling the effects of withdrawal once more. The likelihood of this is even greater if we take into account that Butts was a frequent opium user and would therefore quickly feel the symptoms of withdrawal without a steady supply of opium.

Here Butts notes that she has “been really unwell again.” While it is well within the realm of possibility that she indeed fell prey to a cold, if we continue with the mindset that Butts predominantly alludes to relapsing as "malaria" and by extension, sickness, then this particular line has the potential to be another instance of Butts referencing a pattern of relapse. After all, it is just as much of an assumption to assume that Butts had a poor immune system and was regularly ill as it is to assume she had a frequent pattern of relapses.

In this situation, we can be fairly certain that Butts is referencing her opium addiction and relapsing as she specifically uses a known code word, "malaria." What really stands out is what seems to be Butts pondering a natural remedy for her addiction. One reading of this quote is that by relocating herself into a more natural environment, away from the busyness of the city, Butts felt less compelled to indulge in opium. This opens the door to other discussions such as whether or not Butts suffered from social anxiety. Something such as intense social anxiety might lead an individual like Butts to use opium as it lessons stresses, helping people to relax and have a good time.

Here we can see Butts commenting on how her delayed marriage to Gabriel caused her so much “unhappiness” that she became ill for months. Such a long-lasting "illness" tied to "unhappiness" may be a reference to Butts having a more delicate mental state. Such a delicate frame of mind would have easily resulted in Butts relapsing at the thought of delaying what she perceived to be a tremendously happy occasion? In this letter, Butts could have been telling her Aunt that she had been though an especially bad relapse.

Once again Butts appears to imply that - for the most part - residing in more outdoorsy areas has an overall positive impact on her health.

What stands out about this quote from Butts' letter is her kind mention of her mother. For the better part of her life Butts had a difficult relationship with her mother; being furious with her for selling her family home in Salterns, Dorset, including all of the furniture, in addition to their impressive collection of art by William Blake - for far below the market value - after the death of Butts' father. Yet here we can see the other side of their relationship. For everything that angered her, Butts and her mother clearly cared deeply for one another as her mother continuously came to the aid of Butts when she was horribly sick with "malaria."

Again, “malaria” is discussed. Yet what's really interesting is how Butts' comment here may be poetry. While Butts' comments on the sudden poor weather may further back the notion that her relapses were typically tied to her surrounding (i.e., bad weather led to a depressive spell resulting in opium usage to feel better), there is another reading of this line. Perhaps “…it turned after months of drought to a sudden soft rain…” is referring to having had a long period of sobriety before relapsing.

In this letter, Butts mentions that her “malaria” has returned worse than it’s been in “8 years.” What makes this so compelling is that Butts’ massive relapse appears to be the result of anticipating her relationship with her daughter Camilla worsening in the years to come. She comments that they are “more truly mother & daughter every day,” something they had not been up to the point of this letter, and yet while at peak happiness, she relapses worse than she has in years. Could it be that she was anticipating that the happy period they had together would amount to nothing and that their strained relationship would worsen? Does this indicate a self-destructive pattern throughout Butts' life?

Here is another example of Butts’ “malaria” acting up parallel with her family relations. This onslaught of "malaria" occurs just after her mother's departure. While Butts had a difficult relationship with her mother, her mother was also a key part of Butts’ support system; often aiding her after she relapsed. This relapse could have resulted from a fear that with time, Butts would lose her greatest support.

While we do not and likely will not even know for certain if this timeline is fully accurate in its theorization of Mary Butts' opium relapses throughout the years, it is through theories such as this that we, as Mary Butts enthusiasts, are able to form a better connection to a fascinating woman, and hopefully spark further meaningful discussions on who she was and the life she lived.

Mary Butts once said:

While I am certain that there are countless ways in which these words may be interpreted, I think of it like this: When there is so much left unknown, and that may always be unknown, we're given the opportunity to dive in headfirst and makes of things as we'd like. Mary Butts is a bit of a mystery, and that makes her all the more exciting!