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Measure for Measure has often been interpreted as a Christian document setting forth the contrasting themes of mercy and justice, with Isabella representing the former and Angelo the latter; as a study of ideal kingship; as an expression of tragicomic view of man; as a problem play, a deliberate enigma;1 or as the reflection of a state of emotional turmoil that Shakespeare was passing through.2 Though Angelo has come in for a fair amount of psychoanalytical attention, Isabella, except for some passing remarks,3 has been spared. In this paper I propose to make good that deficit.
From a literary point of view Isabella and her chastity have been treated by many readers as pivotal for an understanding of the play, and critical judgments have naturally tended to attach the greatest importance to her role in the action. Attitudes to Isabella fall into two main divisions: she is regarded as either a saint, and therefore admirable, or as inhuman and callous, and therefore unlikeable. As examples of the former, Dowden praises “Isabella's saintliness” for being “an active pursuit of holiness through exercise and discipline;” Masefield waxes lyrical when he speaks of Isabella possessing “that whiteness of generosity which fills nunneries with living sacrifice”; Knight declares Isabella to be “more saintly than Angelo”; Chambers sees her as one who “urges forgiveness because a Christian must forgive,” and he insists on “the nobility of Isabel” being central to the play; Lascelles likewise regards “the dramatic center of the play” to be Isabella's “abhorrence of unchastity”; and Lever finds present in her “aspirations to celibacy and sanctity.”4