A Mad World and Adultery Elliot Amoroso College

Through his work, A Mad World, My Masters, Thomas Middleton challenges the viewer’s perspectives on adultery by portraying it as comical, rather than starkly reproachable. During the first four acts of A Mad World, My Masters, the play seems to encourage the audience to support Penitent Brothel and Mistress Harebrain as they successfully carry out an affair unbeknownst to Master Harebrain, an emotionally abusive dupe. Despite the play’s comic take on the liaison, once Penitent Brothel and Mistress Harebrain actually have sex, the arrival of the Succubus brings a drastic shift in tone. With her appearance in Act IV, Scene Five, A Mad World, My Masters begins drawing parallels with supernatural tragedies like the works of Shakespeare released around the same time. One could argue that this incident is the catalyst for a change in the play’s viewpoint. However, through analysis of the liaison both before and after Mistress Harebrain and Penitent Brothel consummate their affair, I will argue in this essay that A Mad World, My Masters does not shift its viewpoint but in fact stays resolute in its stance that the affair between Mistress Harebrain and Penitent Brothel should be supported.

To begin, I will detail how the play presents...