This research examines the cultural history of swooning, showing how it shifted from a masculine trait in medieval romance to a feminised one in early modern theatre. Analysing English plays, it reveals evolving anxieties about emotional expression and gender, offering insights into how social norms continue to shape perceptions of vulnerability today.

This thesis reinterprets early modern English drama to argue that witchcraft plays critique political power rather than reinforce royal authority. By overturning the binary between kings and witches, these works portray rulers as tyrannical and question accusations of witchcraft, revealing how stories of witches shape ideas of power, blame, and misfortune.

This talk examines how nineteenth-century British novels portray domestic violence as a necessary tool for women to escape the restrictive inside–outside gender model. Using Bertha Mason in Jane Eyre, it shows how violent acts disrupt patriarchal structures, granting women agency, identity, and a path toward equality.