9th Annual WML Academic Symposium

Time: 12:00
Room: 301
Presenter(s): Leah Tripp
Title: Manufacturing Madness: The Purpose of Twelfth Night’s Malvolio
Developed under the guidance of Dr. Eric Dunnum , English

This paper argues that Malvolio from Twelfth Night is used by Shakespeare to expose the unfair and unjust ways that mental illness was exploited and treated in the early modern era. The play then can be understood as a type of mental health advocacy in that it works to establish a more humane diagnosis and treatment regiment for the mentally ill.