Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
1,776,340,612 visitors served.
forum mailing list For webmasters
?
New: Language forums
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

Madness

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Idioms, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
Madness
Alcithoe
driven mad by Dionysus. [Gk. Myth.: Kravitz, 16]
Alcmeon
driven mad by the Furies. [Gk. Myth.: Kravitz, 16]
Ashton, Lucy
goes mad upon marriage; stabs husband. [Br. Lit.: Bride of Lammermoor]
Bedlam
(Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem) first asylum for the insane in England; noted for brutal treatment of its patients. [Br. Hist.: EB, I: 924]
Belvidera
goes mad when husband dies. [Br. Lit.: Venice Preserved, Benét, 1052]
Bess o’ Bedlam
inmate of London’s lunatic asylum; female counterpart of Tom o’ Bedlam. [Br. Folklore: Walsh, Modern, 55]
Broteas
angered Artemis; she drove him mad. [Gk. Myth.: Kravitz, 47]
Butes
Dionysus drove him mad. [Gk. Myth.: Kravitz, 48]
Cleese, John
performs a manic comic character with persecution complex. [Br. TV: “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” in Terrace, II, 108]
Clementina, Lady
mentally unbalanced; vacillates between love and religion. [Br. Lit.: Sir Charles Grandison, Walsh Modern, 99]
Dervish
(Darwesh) member of ascetic order; frenzied, whirling dancer. [Muslim Rel.: Parrinder, 75; Jobes, 433]
Dympna, St.
curing of madness attributed to her intercession. [Christian Hagiog.: Attwater, 107]
Elvira
great mad scene caused by betrayal of Arthur. [Ital. Opera: Bellini, Puritani, Westerman, 133–135]
Erinyes
(Furies) three sisters who tormented those guilty of blood crimes, driving them mad. [Gk. Myth.: Benét, 320]
Furioso, Bombastes
goes mad upon loss of betrothed. [Br. Opera: Rhodes, Bombastes Furioso, Walsh, Modern, 64–65]
Gunn, Ben
half-demented castaway. [Br. Lit.: Treasure Island]
Hieronimo
Spanish general goes mad on seeing the body of his murdered son. [Br. Drama: The Spanish Tragedy in Magill II, 990]
King Lear
goes mad as all desert him. [Brit. Lit.: Shakespeare King Lear]
Leverkühn, Adrian
brilliant musician attains pinnacle; rapidly deteriorates mentally. [Ger. Lit.: Doctor Faustus]
Lucia
frustration causes her to murder husband. [Ital. Opera: Donizetti, Lucia di Lammermoor, Westerman, 126–127]
Mad Hatter
crazy gentleman who co-hosts mad tea party. [Br. Lit.: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland]
Madwoman of Chaillot, The
four eccentric women foil capitalistic exploiters. [Fr. Lit.: Benét, 618]
Mahony, Dr. Richard
tries in vain to stay the insanity that eventually overwhelms him. [Australian Lit.: The Fortunes of Richard Mahony in Magill II, 341]
March Hare
crazy rabbit who co-hosts mad tea party. [Br. Lit.: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland]
McMurphy, Randall Patrick
brash Irishman, lobotomized in asylum after causing numerous scandals. [Am. Lit.: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest]
Myshkin, Prince
four years in sanitarium; thought mad, treated for epilepsy. [Russ. Lit.: The Idiot]
Ophelia
goes mad after father’s death. [Br. Lit.: Hamlet]
Orlando
driven insane by lover’s betrayal. [Ital. Lit.: Orlando Furioso]
Rochester, Bertha
insane wife of Edward Rochester. [Br. Lit.: Jane Eyre]
Tom o’ Bedlam
an inmate of London’s lunatic asylum. Cf. Bess o’ Bedlam. [Br. Folklore: Benét, 3]
Very, Jones “monomaniac”
or “profoundly sane” ? [Am. Hist.: Hart, 883]
Wozzeck
thought of blood drives him to murder and suicide. [Aust. Opera: Berg, Wozzeck, Westerman, 480–481]


How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
They ran thus: "AN IMPENETRABLE MYSTERY SEEMS DESTINED TO HANG FOR EVER OVER THIS ACT OF MADNESS OR DESPAIR.
By the time we dragged him out of that, his madness had shifted to the belief that he was a great swimmer, and the next moment he was overboard and demonstrating his ability by floundering like a sick porpoise and swallowing much salt water.
Madness in its first stage--monomania--is a lack of proportion.
 
Encyclopedia browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Encyclopedia
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.