Mediatizing the "madwoman": An analysis of the treatment of female mental illness on stage and screen since the 1940s

This project is an investigation of the prevalence and significance of the “madwoman” character in dramatic narratives of theatre and film in the United States of America since the 1940s. With consideration of the cultural history of psychiatric practice and the overwhelming evidence showing a particular bias regarding the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness in women based on preconceived notions of gender normativity, this dissertation critically examines how specific dramatized representations of female mental illnesses play out on stage and screen. The chapters and the case studies therein are grouped according to three broad categories of treatment: psychotherapy or “talking cures,” physical interventions (such as psychopharmaceutical drugs, electroconvulsive therapy, and lobotomy), and institutionalization or confinement. The final chapter explores one specific play, Sarah Ruhl’s In the Next Room, or the Vibrator Play, through both textual analysis and performance as research. Analyzing and comparing these works across time and media, ultimately reveals the ways in which depictions of female mental illness and treatment have changed—and how they have not. Even in the most recent works, written and set in the present day, it becomes clear that "traditional" (i.e. patriarchal) value systems still predominantly define what is and is not considered "normal" behavior, and what is and is not considered diagnosable and treatable—particularly in women.

Embargo status: Restricted until January 2026. To request access, click on the PDF link to the left.