Article #4 The Portrayal of the ‘Madwoman’ in
Victorian Literature - Was Braddon’s
Lady Audley truly ‘mad?’
The Portrayal of
the ‘Madwoman’ in
Victorian Literature -
Was Braddon’s Lady
Audley truly ‘mad?’ Abstract
Much of Victorian Literature features the inclusion of a
‘mad woman’- a woman who does not behave according to
conventional social standards and is unable to live a complete
life as a result. Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s Lady Audley however,
declares herself mad despite years of successful assimilation in
upper-class society. This article will examine whether Lady Audley
could truly be considered ‘mad’ within the parameters of the
common Victorian concept of ‘madness’, and will consider the
implications of these findings for the lives of those deemed to
be suffering from mental illnesses in the context of the twenty-
first century. Ultimately, this research will demonstrate the
need for greater communication between those suffering from
mental illnesses and those around them; in addition to a need for
understanding of the fact that actions alone are not necessarily
indicative of a person’s mental state. (Words- 141)
Author: Shaina
Paggett
Keywords: Lady
Audley’s Secret,
Madness, Mental
Illness, Victorian
Literature
Key Words/ Phrases: Lady Audley’s Secret, Madness, Mental
Illness, Victorian Literature
Introduction
Much of Victorian Literature features the inclusion of a
‘madwoman’: A woman whose mental faculties are said to inhibit
the way in which she interacts with society, preventing her from
living a complete and successful life as a result. This article will
examine Lady Audley’s actions in relation to the established
definition of ‘madness’, in order to determine whether or not
Lady Audley could truly be considered a ‘madwoman,’ both in the
context of the time in which Braddon was writing, and in relation
to twenty-first century understandings of mental illness.
Lady Audley’s Secret is a novel in which its titular character
consistently schemes and uses underhanded acts of violence
and manipulation in an attempt to hide her bigamy and retain
her position in upper-class society. Upon being discovered, Lady
Audley declares herself ‘mad,’ dissociating her personal choices
from her actions and being committed to an asylum as opposed
to a prison, in spite of the doctor’s reluctance to declare her
insane (Braddon, 1997, 274, 299). I wish to study Lady Audley’s
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