“The left leg is not well”: Identity, Economy, and Ability in Early Modern Drama

Authors

• Emma D. Whaley, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

First Advisor

Kelly Stage

Date of this Version

4-22-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Citation

A thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts

Major: English

Under the supervision of Professor Kelly Stage

Lincoln, Nebraska, April 22, 2026

Comments

Copyright 2026, Emma D. Whaley. Used by permission

Abstract

The human reality of the disabled experience often goes overlooked by scholars analyzing early modern literature. Most scholarship seems to interpret disability as metaphorical without examining the human who experiences it. In this paper, I will be examining disability in three early modern texts as literal and inquire into the realities of the disabled experience for the characters. A Larum for London, The Shoemaker’s Holiday, and The Fair Maid of the Exchange all prominently feature a disabled character—Stump, Ralph, and Cripple respectively. These characters offer a depth of personhood rarely examined in early modern literary scholarship, even in the intersecting field of disability studies. They fight for their nations, losing limbs in the process, but maintain strict moral codes. They are economic contributors, a stark contradiction to the beggars and vagrants that scholars most often center in conversations about disability. Most importantly, they express profound senses of identity and understanding of what it means societally to be disabled in their texts. By analyzing these texts through these three lenses—soldiering, economics, and identity—I aim to return the focus of early modern disability scholarship to the humanity behind the characters who are so often seen as merely representative.

Advisor: Kelly Stage