Psychopathy in the Dramas of Minna Canth: The Cases of Mikko and Sylvi

Modern theories of psychopathy are used to shed light on the behaviors of two characters in Minna Canth's late nineteenth-century dramas Anna-Liisa and Sylvi. The characters of Mikko and Sylvi are shown to display characteristics of psychopathy as manifested in men and women, respectively. Although Canth's characters accord well with modern understandings of the disorder, they are not well explained from the standpoint of nineteenth-century understandings. The study offers possible interpretations of Canth's literary agenda in representing such characters in her dramas.