[Xenalyte]

Sounds like you’ve read some of the same stuff I have!

My personal contention is that she started out high-strung and flighty, then got a little unstable . . . but I don’t think she was clinically insane.

(But I’m playing her nutty as a fruitcake, ‘cause crazy is comedy gold.)

[AnAmericanMother]

I think she started out neurotic, and her relatives probably pushed her right over the edge. (Southerners have a lot of experience with relatives that are a 'little off' but manage to function o.k. As Florence King said, "Put a fence around the South, and you'd have one big madhouse.")

And you're right, from a theatrical point of view crazy is a big draw, long as it doesn't shade over into SCARY.

But . . . how scary could a lady in medieval robes and headdress BE . . . .?

. . . uh, never mind . . .