Ophelia, Beatrice-Joanna and Isabella: an Analysis of Madness and Lovesickness in Early Modern England

The aim of this dissertation is to analyze how madness and lovesickness provided for the female protagonists of Hamlet and The Changeling an escape from the patriarchal society of early modern England. Moreover, this paper shows how important playwrights of the time, such as William Shakespeare, Thomas Middleton and William Rowley, took inspiration from the theories and treatises on madness, its causes, symptoms and cures, published during the English Renaissance, to insert mad characters in their works. To be more precise, the first chapter highlights the historical context and the different studies of scholars of the time on this subject, giving particular attention to the process of inclusion of women in case studies, validating their suffering. The second one analyses the character of Ophelia, female protagonist in Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, her way of speaking and how madness frees her from the limitations and expectations of the society. Finally, the third and last chapter focuses on the characters of Isabella and Beatrice-Joanna, protagonists of The Changeling by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley, describing their behaviour and actions aimed to defend their personality and desires in a world controlled by men. However, even though these women’s insanity gives them a small amount of independence from male expectations and demands, most of their lives end tragically. Isabella is the only one who succeeds thanks to her pretended insanity, perhaps because she maintains her sanity despite being surrounded by insanity.