2016/05/07 by Jade Shepherd · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes #Historical Economic and Social Studies #Homicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse
paper · pdf · doi:10.1093/shm/hkw045
openalex publication_date 2016/05/07 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
This article compares the representations of jealousy in popular culture, medical and legal literature, and in the trials and diagnoses of men who murdered or attempted to murder their wives or sweethearts before being found insane and committed into Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum between 1864 and 1900. It is shown that jealousy was entrenched in Victorian culture, but marginalised in medical and legal discourse and in the courtroom until the end of the period, and was seemingly cast aside at Broadmoor. As well as providing a detailed examination of varied representations of male jealousy in late-Victorian Britain, the article contributes to understandings of the emotional lives of the working-class, and the causes and representations of working-class male madness.