Isabella is a

stock character A stock character, also known as a character archetype, is a fictional character in a work of art such as a novel, play, or a film whom audiences recognize from frequent recurrences in a particular literary tradition. There is a wide range of st ...

used in ''

commedia dell'arte (; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charact ...

'', in the class of innamorata (female lover). In the ''commedia dell'arte'', the relationship of the ''innamorati'', or lovers, is often threatened by the '' vecchi'' (old men) characters, but they are reunited in the end. In his 1929 book ''The Italian Comedy'', Pierre Louis Duchartre writes that Isabella changed from being mainly tender and loving in the 16th century to a more flirtatious and strong-willed woman with a "lively, picturesque wit" by the end of the 17th century. Although actress Vittoria degli Amorevoli also played an inamorata named Isabella in the 16th century, the character Isabella is named in honor of the actress and writer

Isabella Andreini Isabella Andreini (born Isabella Canali, 156210 June 1604), also known as Isabella Da Padova, was an Italian actress and writer. Andreini was a member of the Compagnia dei Comici Gelosi, a touring theatre company that performed in Italy and Fr ...

of the commedia troupe

I Gelosi I Gelosi (; "the Zealous Ones") was an Italian acting troupe that performed commedia dell'arte from 1569 to 1604. Their name stems form their motto: , long thought to mean "Virtue, fame and honour made us jealous", or "We are jealous of attainin ...

, who popularized the role. A latter Isabella was played by Françoise Biancolelli of the Biancolelli acting family.

References

Commedia dell'arte female characters {{theater-stub